Character Education Initiative

Education for the whole person.

A Faculty-Led Initiative Into How We Cultivate Flourishing In Our Disciplines And In Our Students

ACC's Character Education Initiative

A core group of 12 ACC faculty (8 institute faculty, 3 co-leads, and 1 project advisor) have been working to create a Character Education Framework that provides the conditions for a cohesive and meaningful learning experience across first-year general education courses. Together this group is developing resources and practices that instructors can infuse into their courses to integrate habits of mind that build intellectual and civic virtues in learners as a natural path through the course material.

This work has been made possible by a significant Institutional Impact Grant awarded to ACC from Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative. ACC is one of only two community colleges and just 33 higher education institutions nationwide to receive this competitive grant. This award positions us at the forefront of character education in the community college setting, and we’d like you to be a part of this exciting new initiative.

Our Model

Link to Our Model for detailed descriptions.

Current Announcement

The Character Education Initiative Communities Of Inquiry (Fall ’26 & Spring ’27)

16 new faculty join 4 cohorts; courses redesigned

Learn More »

August 3, 2026

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How has your community college teaching experience shaped your character over your career?

Learning with and from my colleagues—as well as my students—has nurtured my open-mindedness and intellectual humility, and allowed me to indulge my natural curiosity.

My goal as an instructor is to inspire my students and serve as a model of virtue, taking care to nurture the curiosity and excitement they feel towards learning while doing my best to help them develop academically.

Working with students from diverse backgrounds, including heritage language learners, students learning Spanish for the first time, early college students, working adults, and students with disabilities, has taught me to listen carefully, avoid assumptions, and respond to individual circumstances with compassion and accountability.

Teaching in a community college has taught me, more than anything else, that good teaching, and the development of good knowledge systems, is rooted in caring relationships defined by integrity and a commitment to truth.

My students bring different backgrounds, responsibilities, strengths, and challenges into the classroom, and they have taught me to listen, adapt, and learn about what might help them succeed.

Teaching has helped me hold on to a sense of wonder and to remain open to what I might learn from each new human encounter in the classroom.

Communities of Inquiry — News:

Explore the latest announcements, cohort highlights, and news from ACC’s Character Education Initiative.