When I interviewed Olivia during the summer of 2024, I was collecting stories from higher education administrators about leadership and burnout. Olivia is a senior leader in academic affairs whose role, thanks to mandates by new leaders and people leaving the institution, includes what was previously the work of three people. Olivia told me she had planned to work into her 70s but now dreams of early retirement every day because of her huge workload and toxic executive leaders. She says,
Character (Still) Counts: Moral Injury and the Case for Character Education
Many academic leaders remember the Character Counts! initiative from the 1990s and early 2000s. It was visible in schools and youth programs nationwide, emphasizing as core values the Six Pillars
Teresa Maggard Stephens
June 15, 2026
