Colorado State Recognized as One of Country’s Top Universities that Encourage Character Development

Colorado State University has been named as one of the nation’s leading higher education institutions that encourage student character development in a national guidebook.

"The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development" names Colorado State in its Honor Roll, a section that recognizes the top 100 colleges and universities for their overall record of commitment to inspiring students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives. Colorado State also is included in two separate sections that profile the university’s volunteer service program and its faculty and curriculum program.

"Colorado State is committed to helping students in the lifelong process of character development," said Colorado State President Albert C. Yates. "We strive to create programs that will help students strengthen moral reasoning skills and make ethical decisions, and we are proud to have these efforts recognized by the Templeton Foundation."

"Univerisities can choose to play an important role in the character development of students," said Keith Miser, Colorado State vice president for student affairs. "Part of Colorado State’s mission statement as a land-grant institution is to prepare its students for lives of personal and civic responsibility. We believe it is our responsibility not only to prepare students for successful careers, but also to help students develop strong values. We are pleased to be recognized for this commitment in "The Templeton Guide.’"

Colorado State’s Office of Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs, a program highlighted in "The Templeton Guide," offers students opportunities to participate in partnerships between the campus and the broader community. The office, established in 1975, each year engages more than 8,000 students in service projects including alternative breaks, an annual food drive, environmental clean-up days and partnerships with local children and citizens with disabilities. The office also initiated the Service Integration Project, which helps faculty across the university to integrate service-learning into the curriculum.

The Ethics Workshop at Colorado State also is praised in "The Templeton Guide" as a program that engages students, faculty and staff in dialog about contemporary moral and ethical issues. Thousands of students have participated in the workshop since its establishment 10 years ago, and the program has been recognized by national associations and has been used as a model at other institutions. The program is designed to help participants uncover and clarify personal values, move across cultural boundaries and act ethically in an increasingly complex global society.

"Colorado State University’s strong commitment to character development and the strength of its program make it a model for colleges and universities nationwide," said Arthur J. Schwartz, director of Character Development Programs at the John Templeton Foundation. "With ‘The Templeton Guide,’ we hope to help prospective college students and their parents who want to know what colleges are doing to promote the core values of honesty, self-control, respect and service to those less fortunate. ‘The Templeton Guide’ identifies colleges that encourage students to understand the importance of personal and civic responsibility, which will help them succeed in college and beyond. Colorado State’s work in this area is most impressive."

"The Templeton Guide" contains profiles of 100 Honor Roll institutions along with 405 exemplary college programs in 10 categories and 50 college presidents who have exercised leadership in character development. Colorado State and the Air Force Academy are the only two Colorado institutions to be named twice consecutively on the guidebook’s top 100 Honor Roll. Other Colorado schools mentioned in the guide this year include Regis, University of Denver and University of Colorado at Boulder.

Today’s announcement marks the latest in a series of positive rankings for the university from a variety of national publications. This fall in "U.S. News and World Report," Colorado State was ranked among the top universities in the country–moving up to the second tier in the annual "America’s Best Colleges" issue. The July issue of "Black Issues in Higher Education" ranked Colorado State in the top 100 for institutions granting master’s degrees to Native Americans. The publication also ranked Colorado State in the top 100 in preparing Hispanic students in professional health professions and related sciences. Last fall, Colorado State was ranked in the top one-third of the 100 best public universities by "Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine."

Established in 1987, The John Templeton Foundation works closely with educators, scientists, theologians, medical professionals and other scholars throughout the world to support more than 100 programs. The Foundation’s College and Character Initiative supports national programs that offer meaningful opportunities for college students to learn about, reflect upon, and practice the virtues of personal and civic responsibility.