<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/westmont-news/national-grant-aims-deepen-student-character-development.html" dsn="news"><pubDate>10/06/2026</pubDate><title>National Grant Aims to Deepen Student Character Development</title><excerpt>Westmont College has received a $457,745 grant to expand its efforts to integrate intellectual, moral and spiritual formation directly into classroom instruction and campus culture. Administered through the Educating Character Initiative, a project of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, which aims to catalyze a national movement placing virtue and character at the center of higher education. The 2026 Educating Character Initiative Institutional Impact Grants support 44 projects directly impacting 49 institutions nationwide. </excerpt><author>Scott Craig</author><image><img src="/files/SPiritual-Formation-Chapel.jpg.webp" alt="Deepen Student Character Development"/></image><caption/><description>Westmont College has received a $457,745 grant to expand its efforts to integrate intellectual, moral and spiritual formation directly into classro...</description></item>