The John Templeton Foundation's College and Character Initiative was begun out of the belief that colleges should do as much as they can to reinforce the positive values instilled by parents, like honesty, compassion, self-discipline, and respect. By inspiring students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives, colleges fulfill their educational mission and prepare their graduates to meet the challenges of tomorrow. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of a true education."

The College and Character Initiative does not seek to impose any ideology or narrow agenda on institutions of higher education. Nor does it endorse any particular approach to character development. Rather, it proceeds from the clear conviction that colleges and universities have an obligation to promote and reinforce positive values that strengthen individuals and our society at large; that opportunities abound to pursue this goal in many aspects of campus life; and that each institution must determine its own approach to character development within the context of its unique history, mission, and identity.

To this end, the College and Character Initiative seeks to foster widespread conversations within the higher education community about character development and to inform potential students, parents, policy makers, and the general public of how colleges and universities are responding to this challenge individually and collectively.

The initiative incorporates five major areas of activity:

Grantmaking -- The Foundation supports programs that encourage character development efforts at colleges and universities through direct grants to higher education organizations and associations. Among the groups that have received such grants:

• American Council on Education
• Campus Compact
• Center for Academic Integrity
• Institute on College Student Values.

Public Education -- The Foundation is engaged in a wide range of activities designed to promote public awareness of the issue of college and character; inform prospective college students and their parents of character development efforts at undergraduate institutions; and enhance discussion of character development among educators. These include:

• The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development, which recognizes and profiles exemplary college programs, presidents who have exercised leadership in student character development, and institutions named to the Templeton Honor Roll for their record of commitment to inspiring students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives;

• the College and Character website;

• efforts to promote coverage of character development issues in the popular media;

• an on-line journal on character development (to debut in winter 2000); and

• a major national survey on public attitudes toward character development in higher education (scheduled for spring 2000).

Building Relationships -- The Foundation is building relationships with educational associations and other organizations that together will form a network of support for character development activities on college campuses. This effort includes participation in special meetings and conferences as well as programs, discussion panels, and displays at association annual conventions.

Conferences and Meetings -- In addition to supporting programs conducted by other organizations, the Foundation itself will sponsor meetings and conferences that will focus on specific areas of character development. These sessions will bring together educational leaders, scholars, and experts in the field to discuss the issues and identify ways to address them.

Research -- The Foundation supports research on character development and the "best practices" employed by colleges and universities. For example, the Foundation recently funded a multi-campus longitudinal study by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles of factors that affect a young person's moral development during the college years.

For further information on the John Templeton Foundation's College and Character Initiative, contact Program Director Arthur Schwartz at (610) 941-2828 or David Merkowitz at (301) 277-8042.