marvin w. berkowitz, ph.d.

Dr. Marvin W Berkowitz is the inaugural Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education and Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In 1999 he was the inaugural Ambassador H.H. Coors Professor of Character Development at the US Air Force Academy. He served as Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Ethics Studies at Marquette University. He was also founder and Associate Director of the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Born in Queens NY in 1950, he earned his BA degree from the State University of NY at Buffalo in 1972. He earned his Ph.D. in Life-span Developmental Psychology at Wayne State University in 1977. He served as a Research Associate at the Center for Moral Development and Education at Harvard University 1977-79.

He has also served as a Visiting Professor at the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development and Education in Berlin (1987-8), as a Visiting Scholar for the Gordon Cook Foundation in Scotland (1995), and as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, England (2019-2021).

Dr. Berkowitz’ research interests are character education, moral development, and educational leadership. He is author of PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement (2021), You Can’t Teach Through a Rat: And Other Epiphanies for Educators (2012), Parenting for good (2005), editor of Moral education: Theory and application (1985) and Peer conflict and psychological growth (1985), and author of more than 100 book chapters, monographs, and journal articles.

He is founding co-editor of the Journal of Character Education. He has also served on many Boards including for Character.org, the John Templeton Foundation, the Jean Piaget Society, and the Association for Moral Education. He has served as Principal Investigator of numerous grants from, among other sources, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, US Department of Education, and the John Templeton Foundation.

Dr. Berkowitz was named "Outstanding Young Educator of 1983" by the Milwaukee Jaycees, was cited as one of Milwaukee’s "87 Most Interesting People" in Milwaukee magazine (1987), named “Best University Professor” in a 1998 readers’ poll of the Shepherd’s Express, served as Ethicist in Residence at the University of South Florida (2002), received the International Leadership Network “Applause Award” (2004), was named Educator of the Year by the St. Louis Association of Secondary School Principals (2005), was an inaugural recipient of the Bill Porzukowiak Character Award from the Belleville (IL) 118 School District (2005), and received the Sanford N. McDonnell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Character Education Partnership (2006), the first Exemplary Partner Award from the Charmm’d Foundation (2008), the Good Works Award from the Association for Moral Education (2010), the University of Missouri System’s Thomas Jefferson Professorship (2011), and the Kuhmerker Career Award from the Association for Moral Education (2013).

Marvin Berkowitz is co-founder of ComedySportz, a nationally franchised improvisational comedy show, and has co-written the play “Chuck, Bob, and Louie” which won best of show at the 1994 Milwaukee Festival of Ten Minute Plays. For five years he was author of a weekly newspaper column on parenting for character published in the Topeka (KS) Capitol-Journal. He is also a two time Missouri State Senior Division Soccer gold medalist (2006, 2007). He has been married to Judith Gewanter Berkowitz for over 48 years and has one son, Daniel William Berkowitz.

UMSL CoE - Berkowitz