Research

Interdisciplinary Centers

The Phronesis Project: Exploring Character, Practical Wisdom, and Professional Formation

Acting Directors
Dr. Paul Lewis
College of Liberal Arts, Christianity Department

Professor Mark Jones
Walter F. George School of Law

Dr. Kelly Reffitt
Tift College of Education, Teacher Education, Macon

Mercer Participation
College of Liberal Arts
Walter F. George School of Law
Tift College of Education

Description
This project grew out a four-year exploration within the University of vocation and professionalism across the professions, which was sponsored by the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan. Professional formation has become a timely topic through the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s several reports on the professions, but it has long been a singular concern at Mercer, ranging from the School of Medicine’s specific mission of service to the School of Law’s unique first-year professionalism courses to the College of Education’s and School of Theology’s emphasis on character traits or dispositions (Knowing, Doing, Being) as prerequisite for practice. The Phronesis Project proposes to deepen and highlight this Mercer distinctive throughout the curriculum, as well as to develop a unique national venue for addressing character development and professional formation through interdisciplinary, case-based workshops, symposia, and conferences on the cultivation of practical wisdom in the professions.

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