Southern Methodist University (SMU) has been selected as one of 42 colleges and universities nationwide to receive a 2025 Capacity Building Grant from the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), a national program led by the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University.
The $40,400 grant will support SMU’s project, From Nodes to Networks: Defining, Unifying, and Promoting Character Education at SMU, a university-wide, multidisciplinary initiative led by the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. Throughout the next year, this initiative will work to deepen the university’s commitment to ethical leadership by identifying and connecting character education efforts across academic disciplines, co-curricular programs, and community partnerships.
“This grant affirms the important work already happening at SMU and positions us to more intentionally coordinate and strengthen how we form students of character,” said Rita Kirk, director of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. “Our goal is to create a university-wide framework that reflects SMU’s values and prepares students to lead with integrity in all spheres of life.”
Kirk adds, “The successful grant proposal reflects broad-based support and collaboration across campus. The Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility extends its sincere gratitude to the members of its Advisory Board, the Faculty Advisory Committee, and numerous colleagues across academic and student affairs who provided valuable feedback throughout the grant development process.”
The ECI’s Capacity Building Grant program is made possible through support from Lilly Endowment Inc. and aims to foster leadership and character development in higher education. In 2025, the program awarded 40 grants to 42 institutions as part of its broader effort to cultivate a nationwide community of educators advancing character education.
For more information on the Educating Character Initiative, visit leadershipandcharacter.wfu.edu.
ABOUT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM FOR LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER AT WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: The mission of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University is to inspire, educate, and empower leaders of character to serve humanity. Through innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research, we aim 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.