Dr. Thomas Lickona is a developmental psychologist, professor of education emeritus, and founder-director of the Center for the 4^th and 5^th Rs (Respect and Responsibility) at the State University of New York at Cortland.  The handbook Moral Education calls him “the father of modern character education.”  He is a past president of the Association for Moral Education and Board member of Character.org.  He speaks around the world on fostering moral values and character development in schools, families, and communities.

 

His eight books on moral development and character education include Raising Good Children, Educating for Character, Character Matters, Smart & Good High Schools (with Matthew Davidson), and a book for teens, Sex, Love, and You (with Judith Lickona and William Boudreau, M.D.).  His latest book, How to Raise Kind Kids, will be published by Penguin in April 2018.  

 

His Center was the subject of a New York Times Magazine cover article, “Teaching Johnny to Be Good, and currently partners with England’s University of Leeds on the Narnian Virtues project.

He received the “Sandy Award” for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education and has been a guest on national media such as “Good Morning America,” “Larry King Live Radio,” “Focus on the Family,” and National Public Radio. 

 

He and his wife Judith have two grown sons and 15 grandchildren and live in Cortland, New York.