Jon C. Dalton

Core Values and Commitments in College: The Surprising Return to Ethics and Character in Undergraduate Education

A surprising thing happened on the way to increasing secularism in American higher education: colleges and universities have become increasingly engaged with the moral values and character development of their students. This article examines the return to ethics and character on campus and what the search for core values and commitments means for undergraduate student learning and development.

Community Service and Spirituality: Integrating Faith, Service, and Social Justice at Depaul University

This article examines how a faith-oriented institution, DePaul University, seeks to deepen students’ community service experiences and faith commitments by integrating community service with faith and social justice commitments. This institutional case study of DePaul University’s efforts may provide some insights into the linkages between faith and civic engagement and how colleges and universities, both faith-oriented and secular ones, can utilize community service experiences as a means to help students grow morally and spiritually in higher education settings in ways that prepare them to be more ethical and engaged citizens.

How We Teach Character in College: A Retrospective on Some Recent Higher Education Initiatives That Promote Moral and Civic Learning

In the past two decades, colleges and institutions have devoted energies and resources to a wide range of educational programs and initiatives. Although often not labeled as “character” development programs, these initiatives are designed to guide the personal moral values and behaviors of college students relating to pressing contemporary ethical issues and problems. The authors examine some of these ethical development efforts, reasons for their importance to colleges and universities, and ways they have helped to shape the moral atmosphere of college life and the character of their students today.

College Peer Culture: Taming the "Monster Within the Gates"

College peer culture is perhaps the single most important influence on student learning, values, and behavior in the college environment and yet it remains one of the least studied and understood aspects of higher education. This article examines the nature and influences of peer culture in contemporary higher education, the power it possesses to define meaning and purpose in the lives of college students, and reasons why colleges and universities should give more serious attention to this potential “monster within the gates.”

When Faith Fails: Why Nurturing Purpose and Meaning Are So Critical to Student Learning and Development in College

To learn and grow in college, students must be able to question their convictions, explore new pathways, and cope with crisis without disconnecting from a deep ballast of faith that these challenges have purpose and meaning. An attitude of faith has an important influence on student welfare and success in college because it provides a critical psychological and spiritual ballast that is needed to respond to the intellectual and emotional upheavals that college life usually brings. This article examines the role of colleges and universities in nurturing students’ search for meaning and purpose in college.

From Volunteering to Voting: Higher Education's Role in Preparing College Students for Political Engagement

Colleges and universities are doing a remarkable job of involving college students in community service and, in many cases, creating structured opportunities for students to reflect on and learn from their service experiences. They are, however, much less effective at preparing and motivating college students to become engaged in the political process.

Student Voting and Political Engagement in College: Should Higher Education Be Doing More to Promote Civic Agency?

As the nation prepares for a pivotal general election this fall, it is timely to consider what role colleges and universities should play in promoting student participation in the political process. While colleges and universities have become deeply invested over the past 20 years in promoting community service and integrating service learning into the curriculum, there continues to be considerable uncertainty about the role of promoting student involvement in the political process and in the broader arena of public work.

Ten Ways to Encourage Ethical Values in Beginning College Students

Hundreds of thousands of new students will begin college this fall, and most colleges and universities have designed elaborate orientation activities to induct beginning students into the academic and social cultures of their campuses. These orientation activities are usually crammed with advising and registration information, academic and social rituals, campus tours and welcoming activities designed to help new students get off to a good start in their academic study and navigate their way around their new surroundings.

A Profession in Search of a Mission: Is There an Enduring Purpose for Student Affairs in U.S. Higher Education?

Student affairs is a relatively new professional field in American higher education, although its primary functions are rooted in some of the earliest American colleges. Despite its growing presence and influence in American colleges (and increasingly in colleges and universities in other countries) the field of student affairs work has struggled throughout its history to clearly define its central mission and role in higher education. The authors of this article examine some of the reasons for the profession’s failure to achieve broad agreement on an enduring mission and purpose and some implications of this circumstance for student affairs’ future role and contributions to American higher education.

From Self to Others: Moral Development as the Art of Making and Sustaining Friendships in College

Moral learning and development happen in many ways in college. In this essay the authors explore the domain of student friendships in college and how the tasks of establishing and sustaining close friendships foster moral awareness and commitment.