黑料爆料

, Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at 黑料爆料鈥檚 , and , associate dean of curriculum and general education, have received a $393,000 Educating Character Initiative (ECI) Institutional Impact Grant from Wake Forest University鈥檚 Program for Leadership and Character. Holding joint responsibility as principal investigators, Hooten Wilson and Begin will purpose this grant, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., to support Pepperdine鈥檚 expansion of the 鈥攁 rigorous, discussion-based sequence of courses in which students engage directly with some of the most influential works of Western civilization鈥攖o become a full core curriculum alternative to regular general education requirements. 

Jessica Hooten Wilson leading class discussion

鈥淧epperdine has always been unique in its dedication to both Christian virtue formation and intellectual vigor and vocational preparation,鈥� says Hooten Wilson. 鈥淕reat Books is not an education for the few but for everyone, and this grant opens the doors wider than before to invite more students to the table of this feast of discourse.鈥� 

Aligned with ECI鈥檚 mission to support a wider community of individuals and institutions to educate character within colleges and universities, the grant will help broaden students鈥� access to Pepperdine鈥檚 Great Books program, which invites students to engage in timeless conversations that shape moral character and deepen intellectual curiosity. The grant will also provide support for faculty members and build upon programs for greater community engagement, such as the existing Great Books Club for Pepperdine alumni and parents. 

鈥淎t Seaver we have always been concerned with the whole person,鈥� says Begin. 鈥淏ut we sometimes assume character development through osmosis鈥攂y putting students in contact with faculty and staff of high character that they, too, will increase in character. With this project we hope to bring character development to the foreground and become more intentional about cultivating character in our students.鈥�

Paul Begin

Hooten Wilson is an esteemed scholar and prolific writer whose work explores the intersection of faith, literature, and culture. She has authored nine books, received a handful of Christianity Today Book of the Year Awards in Culture and the Arts and is a Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum. She is an alumna of the Great Books colloquium at Seaver College. 

An alumnus of Seaver College, Begin earned his master鈥檚 and PhD in Spanish at the University of Virginia. As a faculty member and an administrative lead, he is committed to enriching the Seaver academic curriculum through creating opportunities that will foster moral reasoning and intellectual courage. 

鈥淭he Great Books colloquium invites students into a story that began before them and continues after them,鈥� explains Hooten Wilson. 鈥淲e aim beyond career readiness to form embodied souls ready to witness to the world what human flourishing looks like in action.鈥�