UNG receives grant for character education

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) College of Arts & Letters will soon have another tool in its kit to develop leaders of character. It recently received a Capacity-Building Grant through Wake Forest University's Educating Character Initiative (ECI).

This process will start with the team of Dr. Doris Wesley, Dr. Laura Ng, Dr. Diane Cook, and Dr. Zachary Elison cultivating the character education curriculum around the experiences of UNG students, faculty and staff members. 

"What makes our CARE (Compassion, Acceptance, Respect and Empathy) approach especially meaningful for UNG is that we are not beginning by telling students what these character traits should look like. We are beginning by listening," said Wesley, an assistant professor in the School of Communication, Film & Theatre and principal investigator for the grant. "Our students across five campuses bring different experiences, responsibilities and perspectives, and this research allows those voices to help shape a framework that is authentically grounded in the UNG community. Ultimately, we hope the CARE framework can give us a shared language for how we learn, lead and live well with others."

UNG is one of 68 institutions impacted by 60 Capacity-Building Grants announced nationally in July 2026. Supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered through Wake Forest University's Program for Leadership and Character, ECI Capacity-Building Grants awarded up to $50,000 to help each awardee develop character education in ways that fit their own missions, cultures and student populations.

This yearlong research will center voices from across UNG's student populations to understand and practice these virtues, then turn those insights into a framework UNG can use. The project also strengthens UNG's connection to a national conversation about character in higher education and positions UNG to share its research and best practices with peer institutions, which aligns squarely with UNG’s core values of excellence, integrity, respect, and stewardship.