Higher Education Character Development

Building Flourishing Institutions One Student, One Leader, One Virtue at a Time

At the Flourishing Leaders Academy, we partner with colleges and universities to embed character development into the fabric of higher education.

Our work helps institutions cultivate students who are not only intellectually prepared but also autonomous, antifragile, ethically minded, and committed to lives of meaning and purpose.

A classroom with students seated at tables facing a presenter, who is standing beside a podium and in front of two large screens displaying a presentation with the logos 'ASU' and 'HEROIC.' The room is well-lit with overhead lights and has beige walls.

We draw upon internationally recognized frameworks, including:

Character Education in Universities: A Framework for Flourishing from the Oxford Character Project and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues

  • The Jubilee Centre’s Framework for Character Education in Schools

  • The VIA Institute’s Character Strengths Tools and Assessments

  • The Golden Mean Instrument for virtue-based assessment

Our Approach

What many universities lack—and what we uniquely provide—is a philosophically rigorous yet practically actionable approach to character education. Our consulting offers a flexible, research-based roadmap for integrating flourishing and virtue into leadership programs, academic departments, student development initiatives, and institutional culture.

Through strategic guidance, faculty development, program design, and assessment support, we help higher education leaders:

  • Clarify their institution’s vision for human flourishing

  • Design interdisciplinary and co-curricular initiatives that foster character

  • Evaluate the impact of programs using meaningful data

  • Inspire students to explore the “why” behind their education — not just the “what”

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Flourishing isn’t an extracurricular goal—it’s the purpose of education. Let’s build environments where students don’t just succeed, but grow into wise, compassionate, and courageous leaders.