A new grant project aims to redefine student success at AUM
Auburn University at Montgomery has earned a $49,000 grant from Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative to redefine student success more holistically through character-building workshops, programs, and curricula.
The one-year, capacity building grant will support AUM’s “Purpose and Character for Student Flourishing” project, led by Aaron Cobb, Department of English and Philosophy Chair and Professor of Philosophy; Stephen Bray, Director of Central Advising; and Lynn Stallings, Interim Dean of University College and Honors Program Director.
The project’s goal is to prepare students for success in college and beyond by helping them clarify their purposes and develop the traits it takes to be successful, such as resilience and perseverance, Bray said.
“AUM faculty and staff care deeply about our students and their success,” he said. “While traditional metrics of institutional health are critical for assessing our viability, there is value in exploring new ways of measuring and fostering student achievement. This grant affords AUM the opportunity to bring together faculty and staff who will think intentionally and deeply about students flourishing and what it will take from each of us to build a system that addresses our students’ needs holistically.”
A key component of the project will be providing opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to learn together from experts in moral psychology and philosophy about the importance of purpose and character development for student success in an institutional context. The project’s leadership plans to apply these insights to curricula, academic advising, student activities, and the UNIV Student Success Program for first-year students at AUM.
“In some ways, this work is a continuation of the efforts already taking place in key areas across campus,” Stallings said. “This project aims to strengthen that work by creating a shared language and vision and establishing a framework for our work with students.”
Professional development opportunities offered under the project will also serve as a catalyst for cross-institutional conversations that unify and align AUM’s faculty and staff efforts to work with students in ways that develop their character and traits to be successful individuals.
“We are excited to have a project that expands knowledge on the nature of purpose as a virtue,” Cobb said. “This project will give us important insight on the impact of character-based pedagogies and curricula in university settings. As we pilot and assess the project’s initiatives and interventions, we will disseminate what we learn to other universities.”
AUM’s grant is one of 41 capacity-building grants provided through Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative.
Purpose and Character for Holistic Student Success Launch Event
In August, AUM will host a launch event for the grant project featuring Anne Colby, a lifespan developmental psychologist and former director of the Henry Murray Research Center at Harvard University.
What: Launch of AUM’s “Purpose and Character for Holistic Student Success” project
When: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., August 30
Where: Taylor Center 221-223
Speaker: Dr. Anne Colby, a lifespan developmental psychologist who is the former director of the Henry Murray Research Center at Harvard University and senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Colby will discuss the psychology of purpose and its importance for higher education. Afterward, participants will engage in roundtable discussions on Colby’s presentation and the broader themes of the grant.
Registration: Open to faculty, staff, and student leaders. Lunch provided. RSVP online.
About the WFU’s Educating Character Initiative
Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative, a part of its Program for Leadership and Character, mission is “to inspire, educate, and empower leaders of character to serve humanity.” Through innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research, the program aims to transform the lives of students, foster an inclusive culture of leadership and character, and catalyze a broader public conversation that places character at the center of leadership. The Educating Character Initiative is a project funded by a $30.7 million grant from the Lilly Foundation to support a wider community of individuals and institutions to educate character within colleges and universities. Through the creation of a network of interested institutions and educators, the development and dissemination of research and resources, the organization of conferences and convenings, and the direct awarding of grants to individuals and institutions interested in advancing this work in their own contexts, the initiative aspires to nurture a creative, compassionate, and collaborative community of educators who can learn from each other as partners in character education.
