School for Ethical Education (SEE) - Integrity Works! Facilitators and Funders

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Project Facilitators

Co-Principal Investigator
David B. Wangaard is the director of The School for Ethical Education (SEE). Prior to earning his doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Colorado, David was a K-12 school principal in Alaska. He has been applying his character education strategies in schools since 1984. Dr. Wangaard has taught junior high and high school math, sponsored student councils and student led community service projects, coached track, co-lead student foreign travel and led summer wilderness canoeing trips. Dr. Wangaard brings these eclectic interests to SEE recognizing how ethics and character are promoted in a variety of learning environments. David has successfully presented at numerous national and international character education conferences. He is an instructor for SEE courses as well as an adjunct instructor for the University of Bridgeport and facilitated regional character education conferences. While working at SEE, he has published two teacher/student workbooks to support character education. Since 1999, David has also been a consultant for the Character Education Partnership (CEP) as an evaluator for CEP’s National Schools of Character Program.

Co-Principal Investigator
Jason M. Stephens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, where he teaches classes on cognition, motivation, instruction, and research methods. Prior to joining the faculty at UConn in 2004, Dr. Stephens was a research assistant at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for six years, where worked on the Political Engagement Project and the Project on Higher Education and the Development of Moral and Civic Responsibility. In addition to the role and impact of higher education on undergraduates’ moral, civic and political development, his research interests include academic motivation, achievement and dishonesty among secondary and postsecondary students. He is co-author of Educating citizens: Preparing America’s undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility (2003) and several related articles. Dr. Stephens is a graduate of the University of Vermont (1991), holds an M.Ed. degree from Vanderbilt University (1994), and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University (2004) and was a past Templeton Scholar.

Research Associate
Tom Calabrese is an Associate Professor at the School of Technology, department of Computer and Information Science, for Johnson & Wales University. Professor Calabrese has 26 years of industry experience in networking, security, and software engineering. Prior to joining Johnson & Wales, he was the Vice President of Research and Development for a network security solutions provider owned by Cisco Systems. At Johnson & Wales, Professor Calabrese teaches a variety of courses in Computer Science, Computer Security, and Network Engineering. His academic interests include: educational technology product design, technology and academic misconduct, cryptography, network simulation, intelligent tutoring systems, and analysis of algorithms. Professor Calabrese is currently in pursuing a PhD in Learning Technology at University of Connecticut. He has a Masters degree from Villanova University (1997), and a Bachelors degree from New York University (1981).

Graduate Student Assistant
Katherine Picho is a doctoral student in Cognition & Instruction at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include leadership and gender, stereotype threat, and problem-based learning. She also lectures Business Communications at the University of Hartford. Ms. Picho has a strong background in research and statistical analysis and has served as a consultant for companies in various fields ranging from medical research and pharmaceuticals to telecommunications and marketing. She is fluent in several languages (English, French and Luo) and has lived on three continents (Africa, Europe and North America). Ms. Picho earned her Master of Arts Degree in Communications from the University of Hartford (2005) and a Baccalaureate in Communications (Cum Laude) from the University of Ottawa-Canada (2003).

Project Funders

John Templeton Foundation, 300 Conshohocken State Rd., Suite 500, West Conshohocken, PA 19428

Richard Davoud Donchian Foundation, 640 W. Putnam Ave, 3rd Floor, Greenwich, CT 06830

Wright Investors’ Service, 440 Wheelers Farms Rd., Milford, CT 06461