Call for Applications: Character Forward Fellows

October 8, 2025

The Character Forward Fellows Program invites Pratt undergraduate students to explore the ethical and character dimensions of engineering through a focused spring-semester learning community. Fellows will examine how technology shapes humanity—and how engineers can shape technology with wisdom, justice, courage, and discipline. Participants will take a seminar on Ethics & Technology and join a small cohort of peers, faculty, alumni, and industry leaders committed to developing engineers of character who will leverage technology for the good of humanity.

Please note that the deadline to apply for priority consideration is October 23, 11:59 p.m.

Character Forward is an initiative within Pratt to make strong character essential to engineering excellence. It is a partnership between Pratt and The Purpose Project at Duke, a collaboration between the Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke Divinity School, and the Provost’s Office.

PROGRAM

Character Forward Fellows will enroll in EGR 190: Ethics and Technology (½ credit), a course designed to help engineering students reflect on the nature of technology and how we ought to use it. The class meets Tuesdays, 1:25–2:40 PM, Spring 2026.

In addition to the course, Fellows will participate in a Character Formation Cohort, a series of four 90-minute sessions held throughout the spring semester. These sessions bring together students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals to cultivate the virtues of wisdom, justice, discipline, and courage—traits essential for ethical leadership in engineering.

COMMITMENT

The fellowship is a one-semester commitment (Spring 2026).

Course: Fellows must enroll in EGR 190: Ethics and Technology (½ credit).
Cohort: Fellows attend four 90-minute character formation sessions held during the semester (dates announced after selection).

ELIGIBILITY

All Pratt undergraduate students with a GPA at or above 3.0 are eligible to apply. Faculty and staff are encouraged to nominate students who show promise as future engineering leaders of character.

AWARD

Fellows receive a $1,000 fellowship award.

APPLY

If you would like to become a Character Forward Fellow, please complete the application at the link below.

APPLY HERE

The deadline for priority consideration is October 23, with rolling applications accepted as space allows. Decisions for priority consideration come out on October 29.

CONTACT

If you have any questions about this program, please contact the director of this program, Rich Eva, at richard.eva@duke.edu.

Rich Eva is the inaugural Director of Character Forward, an initiative in Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering that integrates character formation across the engineering experience. He also serves as a research fellow with Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics. Rich earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Baylor University and his A.B. from Princeton, graduating with honors. His experience as a Division I athlete at Princeton sparked his interest in leadership and character development. After graduation, he worked in New York City as an assistant vice president at Barclays Bank, where he specialized in contract negotiation and organized pro bono service initiatives. Returning to academia to pursue ethics, Rich has taught classes on logic, medical ethics, tech ethics, political philosophy, and history of philosophy, and he has published research in these areas as well. His current work with Character Forward focuses on equipping engineering faculty and students to become leaders of character who harness technology for the good of humanity.