Wake Forest, Palmer Foundation announce partnership to promote leadership and character through golf

The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation and the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University are forming a partnership to promote leadership and character development through youth golf programs around the world and to support student-athletes at Wake Forest.

The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Leadership and Character Development Program at Wake Forest University, made possible by the Palmer Foundation and the Godfrey family, is guided by the virtues that made Arnold Palmer a champion of character in golf and beyond.

“Golf is an ideal opportunity to teach life lessons to young people. It’s a game of integrity and honesty. Character is an essential element,” said Amy Palmer Saunders, Board Chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation and daughter of Arnold and Winnie Palmer.

“Our goal with this new initiative is to prepare young people for success in life, whether they continue to play competitive golf or not.”

Amy Palmer Saunders, Board Chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation

“We believe that character is the foundation not only of leadership but of life,” says Dr. Michael Lamb, senior executive director of the Program for Leadership and Character. “In his Wake Forest commencement address in 2005, Arnold Palmer encouraged us all to teach ‘the basic traits and habits that make good citizens and good human beings.’ Our aim is to do just that — to help as many young people as possible — at every stage of development — embrace character as their foundation for what Mr. Palmer called ‘a life well played.’”

Corey Crossan will lead the initiative. An NCAA golfer during her time at Eastern Michigan University, Crossan earned her PhD in Kinesiology at Western University, where she studied character development in sports. She also serves as a research and teaching fellow with the Oxford Character Project and is the co-founder of Virtuosity Character, a mobile app that supports the daily, deliberate practice of character-based leadership development. In her role with the Program and Wake Forest, Crossan will work closely with the Palmer Foundation and its many partners to create curriculum, programming and tools to help young golfers become better at the sport and to live life on the basis of character. 

“Sports impact character, for better or for worse,” says Crossan, who credits her experiences as an athlete with leading her toward the study of character. “I believe deeply in…