Close up of the ASU charter with a blurred bicycle crossing the view.

Cultivating Civic Virtues through Action

What is the CCVA project?

The Cultivating Civic Virtues through Action (CCVA) Initiative is a university-wide effort dedicated to strengthening the civic character and virtue necessary for a thriving pluralistic democracy. At its core, CCVA focuses on five interrelated civic virtues: Civility, Empathy, Epistemic Humility, Openness to Ideas and Civic Grace.

Civic virtues are not merely abstract ideals. They are enduring character traits developed through practice, reflection, and intentional action. In a societal age marked by deep difference, these virtues equip students, faculty, and community members to engage across disagreement, navigate uncertainty and contribute to the common good. CCVA provides conceptual grounding, practical tools, and a growing library of classroom-ready resources to cultivate character and virtue in courses and in daily life.

Why virtues?

Democratic societies flourish when citizens are disposed to foster the common good while respecting freedom and equality. CCVA focuses on five virtues essential to that work:

Civility

Treating others with dignity and seriousness, even in disagreement

Openness to Ideas

Engaging new perspectives with curiosity and discernment, not blind acceptance

Empathy

Understanding others’ feelings and perspectives with balanced concern

Civic Grace

Extending goodwill and unearned kindness, even to opponents

Epistemic Humility

Recognizing the limits of one’s knowledge and remaining open to correction

Together, these virtues form the habits of mind and heart that sustain democratic life.

Click each virtue below to learn more.

How to join

Faculty

Currently, we have finished recruiting for our third faculty community of practice (CoP). Stay tuned for updates on when we will be recruiting for another CoP.

Students

There are two main ways that you can join:

Join a Humanities Lab course. View upcoming courses here.
Do you like doing projects that matter with people who share your curiosity? The Humanities Lab and Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics invite all students to join a Student Community of Practice (CoP). Over the semester, students will create projects driven by their interests while exploring civic virtues such as intellectual humility, kindness, open-mindedness, and empathy. Projects may extend to public forums for civil discourse and collaboration with students from University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. To join, email [email protected] with a 3-4 sentence note about why you want to join.