Wolfgang Althof, the Teresa M. Fischer Endowed Professor of Citizenship Education at UMSL, will serve as president of the Association for Moral Education through 2016. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Wolfgang Althof is used to wearing several hats as both the Teresa M. Fischer Endowed Professor of Citizenship Education at University of Missouri–St. Louis and a director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at UMSL.

Now he will add one more hat to his collection as the president of the Association for Moral Education. Althof began the new position last month during an annual conference in Montreal. His term will run through 2016.

“I’m honored to serve as the president of the AME,” Althof said. “I hope to work to increase the interdisciplinary character of the membership and its international visibility to facilitate open dialogue among individuals working in multiple roles and contexts, including the college, school, family, workplace and the larger society.”

AME provides an international forum for the interdisciplinary study of the moral and ethical dimensions of human development and education. The association is dedicated to fostering communication and cooperation among scholars and practitioners considering all aspects of moral learning, development and action across the life span.

Althof is an expert in character education, citizenship education, child development and educational reform. For the last 15 years, his focus has been on moral and character development and citizenship education in schoolwide programs and on their contribution to school and staff development. Through the center he oversees the Missouri Youth Engaged in Local Government, commonly referred to as the MY LOGO program, and Kids Voting Missouri. MY LOGO teaches students about local government and issues in Missouri. Kids Voting Missouri gives students a chance to learn about and take part in the voting process.

Born in Hannover, Germany, Althof earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Hamburg in Germany, a doctoral degree in education from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and a doctoral degree in educational sciences from the Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany.