A sought-after speaker on topics of leadership, character, hope, and St. Augustine, Michael has delivered keynotes, lectures, speeches, as well as a Class of 2025 commencement address.
Recent Interviews and Podcasts
Selected Academic Lectures, Panels, and Presentations
- “A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought,” NYU-Florence, 2025
- Panelist, “Virtues, Justice, and National Identity,” Moral Responsibility and the Future of Democracy Conference, NYU-Florence, 2025
- “Err on the Side of Gratitude,” Maryville College Commencement Speech, 2025
- “A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought,” Institute for Human Ecology, The Catholic University of America, 2025
- “Why Character Matters for Higher Education,” Opening Keynote, Coalition for Transformational Education Conference, University of Miami, 2025
- “Leading Yourself: Purposes, Pressures, Virtues, and Practices” (with Kenneth Townsend), ACC Academic Leadership Network Conference, Wake Forest University, 2025
- “Difficult Hope: Wendell Berry and Climate Change,” Course on The Sustainability Virtues: Cultivating Character for a Flourishing Future, Arizona State University, 2025
- Panelist, “Humanities and Leadership,” Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics, University of Navarra, Spain, 2025
- “How to Become a Better Leader: Seven Strategies for Cultivating Character,” University of Memphis, Ascend Health Sciences Day, 2025
- “How to Educate Character: Seven Strategies for Cultivating Virtue,” Rhodes College, 2025
- “Exemplars of Justice: Supporting College Students’ Critical Consciousness Development through Interinstitutional Engagement with Moral Exemplars” (with Sara Etz Mendonça and Kate R. Allman), Kern Partners in Character Education Leadership Conference, 2025
- Panelist, “Questions of Character: How to Build Institutional Capacity and Empower Faculty and Staff,” Educating Character Initiative Webinar, 2025
- Panelist, “The Arts of Leading,” Rhodes House, University of Oxford, 2025 Panelist,
- “Cultivating Character in the University,” Conference on Character and Global Challenges, University of Oxford, hosted by Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, 2025
- “Climate Change and the Virtue of Hope: Lessons from Wendell Berry,” Conference on Character and Global Challenges, University of Oxford, hosted by Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, 2025
- “Questions of Character,” Oxford Character Project and Hong Kong Jockey Club, University of Oxford, 2025
- “Character in the Curriculum,” Convening on the Moral and Civic Life of Colleges, Making Caring Common, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2025
- “The Arts of Leading” (with Edward Brooks), Georgetown Humanities Initiative, Georgetown University, 2024
- Panelist, “The Arts of Leading: Perspectives from the Humanities and the Liberal Arts,” Wake Washington Center, 2024
- “Hospitality, Humility, Heart, and Hope,” Educating Character Across Differences Conference, Wake Forest University, 2024
- “Educating Character Across Differences,” Educating Character Across Differences Conference, Wake Forest University, 2024
- Panelist, “Character, Service, and Leadership Programme Evolution,” Rhodes Trust, University of Oxford, 2024
- “Beyond Pessimism: Exploring the Character of Hope,” Fireside Chat with Dusya Vera, Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey School of Business, Western University, 2024
- “Dialogues with Antiquity: Commencing Character,” Civics Institute, University of Denver, 2024
- “How to Educate Character,” F. M. Kirby Foundation Lunch and Learn, 2024
- “The Politics of Stewardship: Augustine on Using and Enjoying the Commonwealth and Creation,” Reconsiderations VI: Politics After Augustine: Prospects for Unitas in a Foundationless Age, Villanova University, 2024
- “Seven Strategies for Developing Character in the University,” Faculty Course Development Workshop, Wake Forest University, 2024
- “How to Educate Character: Seven Strategies for Cultivating Civic Virtue,” Civil Rights and Civic Virtues Summer Seminar, Auburn University at Montgomery, 2024
- Panelist, “Creating Cultures of Character on Campus,” Higher Education and Human Flourishing Conference, Virtues & Vocation, University of Notre Dame, 2024
- “Living the Questions,” Rhodes Trust, University of Oxford, 2024
- “A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought,” Augustine and Contemporary Political Thought Graduate Seminar, University of Notre Dame, 2024
- “The State of Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities,” Moral Ecology Trust, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, 2024
- “Higher Purposes for Higher Education: Developing Character to Support Vocation,” NetVUE Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2024
- “Program for Leadership and Character and Educating Character Initiative,” Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University, 2024
- “Seven Strategies for Educating Character in the University,” Educating Character Initiative, Wake Forest University, 2024 Faculty Luncheon on Educating Character in the University, Whitworth University, 2024
- “Character Formation in the University,” George Fox University, 2024
- “What’s Hope Got to Do With It?: Politics in a Time of Presumption and Despair,” George Fox University, 2024
- “What Is Character, and Why Should We Educate It?” and “How to Cultivate Character in the University,” Senior Leadership Character Retreat, George Fox University, 2024
- “How to Build Institutional Capacity: Lessons from Wake Forest” (with Kenneth Townsend), Educating Character Initiative, Wake Forest University, 2024
- “How to Cultivate Character: Seven Strategies for Developing Virtue,” Thomistic Institute, University of South Carolina, 2024
- “Learning How to Be Better People,” Belmont University, 2024
- “Educating Character in the University,” Faculty Workshop at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, 2024
- “The Courage to Teach Character,” Keynote Address, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Oxford, 2024
Colleges/Universities
Conferences
Organizations
