Inaugural Leader of Character Award Presented to Dean of Arts & Sciences Glenn Sanders, Ph.D.
Inaugural Leader of Character Award Presented to Dean of Arts & Sciences Glenn Sanders, Ph.D.
King University Dean of Arts & Sciences Glenn Sanders, Ph.D., has been named the recipient of the inaugural Nathan O. Hatch Leader of Character Award, presented by the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), a project of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University.
The award is named for Wake Forest University President Emeritus Nathan O. Hatch, Ph.D., a pivotal leader who significantly advanced the university’s overall standing and who is regularly cited as one of the most influential scholars in the history of religion in America. He is the author of “The Democratization of American Christianity” and “The Gift of Transformative Leaders,” as well as the author or editor of seven additional books on American history. He had the original vision to establish the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest.
The award was presented in King’s Memorial Chapel by Michael Lamb, Ph.D., who serves as the F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, executive director of the Program for Leadership and Character, and associate professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Wake Forest.
“The Nathan O. Hatch Leader of Character Award was created to honor an outstanding member of the Educating Character Initiative who has gone above and beyond to contribute to building communities of character, both at their institution and in the larger community,” said Lamb. “Dr. Sanders has been highly involved in our Educating Character Initiative, not only in leading King’s grant but in serving as a resource for others in the community, and we applaud his efforts.”
In addition to his duties as dean, Sanders is the principal investigator of a three-year, $250,000 grant from the ECI titled “Thoughtful, Resourceful, Responsible: Three Years Forming Character at King.” Awarded in 2024, the grant was one of only 24 given nationwide, placing King in the company of such other institutions as the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Purdue, Harvard, and the U.S. Naval Academy, among others.
“At every opportunity, Glenn has been a humble, eager, and active learner who has embraced the complexity and nuanced dimensions of character across contexts, bringing to each experience an open mind and an open heart,” said Jennifer Rothschild, Ph.D., director of the ECI. “He has shown himself to be a steadfast advocate for King, quick to give credit to his colleagues, thoughtful about King’s students, and a seeker of opportunities to contribute to the character of his institution. In all his interactions, he invites others to share in his enthusiasm for building a community of character.”
Sanders holds a bachelor’s degree in English, history, and philosophy from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, a master’s degree in the liberal arts from Baylor, and a doctorate in History from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He has served at King since 2018.
“Dr. Sanders’ selection as the inaugural recipient of this award speaks both to the kind of person he already is and to the life he continues to pursue,” said Andrew Tooley, Ph.D., president of King. “The virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, curiosity, and humility are not achievements one obtains and then possesses, but rather life-long pursuits. As a leader of character, Dr. Sanders models for us the daily persistence required for the cultivation of these virtues, and inspires us all to imagine with him a world in which the pursuit of virtue shapes not only our individual lives, but our families, our civil society, and our institutions.”
For more information, visit Nathan O. Hatch Leader of Character – The Program for Leadership and Character.
