PROVIDENCE, RI — Providence College has received a $1,125,554 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to establish the Saint Dominic Fellows Program, a three-year initiative focused on integrating virtue and leadership formation into undergraduate education.

The award, the largest the college has received from the NEH, will fund the project titled “Virtuous Citizens: Integrating Virtue and Leadership through the Saint Dominic Fellows Program at Providence College.” The grant was announced in January as part of $75.1 million distributed to 84 humanities programs nationwide.

Raymond Hain, an associate professor of philosophy and associate director of the Humanities Program, will serve as project director. The initiative will emphasize character and leadership development within the Catholic and Dominican intellectual tradition. Hain said the program aims to strengthen campus culture and contribute to the renewal of American civic life by combining academic study with mentoring and leadership training.

Participants will engage in interdisciplinary coursework, opportunities to cultivate civic and cardinal virtues, and vocational formation through off-campus experiences and on-campus mentoring designed to develop leadership potential.

The Humanities Program at Providence College offers two interdisciplinary majors and a minor, integrating studies in languages, literature, fine arts, history, theology and philosophy. Enrollment has grown from 15 degree-seeking students in 2023 to 94 students.

Founded in 1917, Providence College is the only U.S. college administered by the Dominican Friars. The Catholic liberal arts institution enrolls approximately 4,500 undergraduate and 450 graduate students and offers more than 60 academic majors.