Over the summer, Villanova University received a three-year $822,258 grant to strengthen character education for undergraduates. The initiative, co-led by Dr. Anna Moreland of the Honors Program and Dr. Michael Tomko of the Department of Humanities, will fund projects that showcase Villanova’s Augustinian tradition in ways students can directly experience.
The grant isn’t just about academics. It opens opportunities for students across all colleges and classes. Yes, there will be new courses, workshops and lecture series, but the bigger impact will be felt in the rhythm of campus life. Plans include a revitalized humanities lecture series, expanded symposiums with national speakers and a new team of undergraduate “Augustinian Ambassadors” who will receive mentorship, leadership training and chances to bring Augustinian values to the wider student body.
“This project is about learning in community, narrating and understanding a life of purpose and transformation,” Professor Tomko said. “Villanova has a rich Augustinian tradition. Sometimes we don’t realize how fruitful it is and how much it can offer students today.”
The best part? It’s geared toward undergrads, not just professors or graduate students. That means the opportunities—whether a dinner discussion at the Dundale Mansion, a stipended leadership workshop or a cross-school initiative linking humanities to nursing, engineering and business—will meet students where they are.
The grant debuts on Oct. 3, when humanities professor Dr. Veronica Ogle leads the inaugural Integral Humanities Symposium, “Awakening into Wonder with Augustine.” The discussion is open to students from all classes and colleges and will take place at Villanova’s Dundale Mansion, featuring high-end catering.
On Oct. 21, Villanova will host New York Times columnist David Brooks for a talk on “How to Want the Things That Are Truly Worth Wanting.”
This grant arrives as many students feel pressured to reduce education to a résumé line or a step toward the job market. As opportunities across professional sectors grow more competitive, whether for computer science or classics majors, one thing is clear: there’s more to an applicant than just their grades, references, and internship experience. Yet, it so often seems like college students have to prioritize what looks good in order to get ahead. We feel forced to neglect opportunities to think critically and explore the bigger questions in life for the sake of achieving the next thing in our five-year plans.
The initiatives spearheaded by these departments, however, encourage Villanova students to slow down and think about the “Why?” and the “How?” instead of just the “What’s next?” in their daily lives.
With courses like God, Human Person, World, and Society, the humanities department encourages students to zoom out beyond the here and now. Similarly, the Honors Program’s three-semester academic cohort titled The Good Life unites first-year students across colleges to think about how they can live meaningfully at Villanova and beyond. These courses are available for students no matter their major, creating a unique space for dialogue featuring a range of perspectives.
These are invaluable steps that show undergraduates how they can apply Augustinian principles to make a difference, wherever they end up in post-graduate life. By investing in the pilgrim virtues—humility, forgiveness, patience, wonder and conviviality—Villanova is making a firm statement: a Villanova education should form not just future employees but whole persons. Humanities and Honors do this in a way that join the philosophical and the pre-professional. In a culture that often prizes speed and utility over reflection and purpose, that message feels refreshingly distinctive—and very Augustinian.
