Shaping Character for Lives of Purpose Wendt Character Initiative
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Shaping Character
Grounded in the Golden Rule, we cultivate character virtues such as humility, compassion, integrity, respect, empathy, courage, justice, and stewardship, and bring our vision to life through four core pursuits that reflect the integration of head, heart, and hands.
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Meaningful Change for the Common Good
By fostering a community where individuals learn, grow, and serve, we seek to create a more just and flourishing world.
About
Lives of Purpose
By integrating our head, heart, and hands, we ensure that our approach is both holistic and transformative, empowering individuals to grow in character and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
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What's Happening
We've received a generous Institutional Impact grant from the Educating Character Initiative to support expanding our work in character development in 2025-2028! Read the announcement.
We've got big plans for the coming years and are updating our website to match! Please be patient and visit us again soon to check out what's new.
Peruse our Spring 2025 Newsletter and Winter 2024-25 Newsletter for a look at what we've been up to over the past year!
Coming Up:
Opportunities for everyone
- October 6th, 7:00 p.m. - Joshua Freedman, CEO of Six Seconds: The Emotional Intelligence Network, will deliver the Fall 2025 Michael Lester Wendt Character Lecture in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center. Free and open to the public!
- February 9th, 7:00 p.m. - Travis Frampton, President of University of Dubuque, will deliver the Spring 2026 Michael Lester Wendt Character Lecture in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center. Free and open to the public!
Opportunities for UD Students
- October 7, 10:45 a.m.-noon - UD Kindness POP-UP Festival, Chalmers Field
- October 8, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Lunch & Learn with Joshua Freedman (RSVP to wendt@dbq.edu)
- Various group service projects planned - check out the Wendt Character Initiative page on Campus Groups to see upcoming projects!
Opportunities for UD faculty/Staff
- September 17, 8:30-10:30 a.m. - Wendt Open House - stop by the Wendt Center to discover exciting changes, learn how to get involved, and enjoy refreshments
- October 8, 3:30-4:30 - Lunch & Learn with Joshua Freedman (RSVP to wendt@dbq.edu)
- Fall Book Discussions: Build the Life You Want by Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey and A Pedagogy of Kindness by Catherine J. Denial
New Directions for 2025-26:
- Wendt Character Ambassadors serve as character leaders to campus
- Pathways to Purpose Program engages students from all areas of campus
- Wendt Character Scholars move to cohort model
- Pop-up Festival led by Patti Freedman, Vice President of Six Seconds: The Emotional Intelligence Network