Academic Excellence in Motion: Wake Forest’s Summer of Discovery
This summer witnessed Wake Forest’s intellectual community in full flourish—from the canals of Venice to the innovation hub of Wake Downtown. Our faculty, staff, and students didn’t just pause for summer “break;” they transformed it into a season of groundbreaking research, cross-cultural collaboration, and knowledge creation that spans continents.
As we launch into Fall 2025, these summer achievements set the stage for even more extraordinary opportunities ahead. Wake Forest College and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences continue to prove that true academic distinction isn’t confined to one space or one semester—it’s a year-round commitment to pushing boundaries, fostering connections, and elevating scholarship and creative work to new heights.
Sincerely,
Jackie Krasas, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dean’s Office Announcements
SEPTEMBER COLLEGE FACULTY MEETING
Our first College Faculty Meeting will be on Monday, Sept. 8, at 3:30 p.m. in Broyhill Auditorium in Farrell Hall. Please do attend and encourage your new faculty colleagues to do the same. Our Zoom option is available if you are unable to attend in person. These meetings are very important for all of us, not just for conveying the business of the College and GSAS, but for opening up space for conversation about the pressing issues we face at this unique and historical moment in higher education. Visit the College website for upcoming faculty meeting dates.
REMINDER: FACULTY FUNDING DEADLINE
The Fall 2025 deadline for Archie, Faculty Development, and Research & Experiential Learning applications is Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Visit the College website for additional details.
All applications should be submitted electronically to Carol Sowers, sowrsc@wfu.edu, with application, CV, and any supplementary documentation combined into a single PDF.
COLLEGE FACULTY AWARDS: NOMINATION DEADLINES
THE REID-DOYLE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
The Reid-Doyle Prize honors a Wake Forest College junior faculty member who holds the rank of Assistant Professor or who was promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor in the last academic year. Nominations are submitted by chairs, program directors, or senior faculty (with chair approval) from within the nominee’s department or program. Please visit the Reid-Doyle Prize page on the College website for complete nomination information. The submission deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 15.
TEACHING PROFESSIONALS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
The Teaching Professionals Award honors a Wake Forest College Teaching Professional faculty member at any level of their career. Nominations are submitted by chairs, program directors, or senior faculty (with chair approval) from within the nominee’s department or program. Please visit the Teaching Professionals Award page on the College website for complete nomination information. The submission deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 15.
2025 MAJOR/MINOR FAIR
Mark your calendars for the Major/Minor Fair, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Tribble Courtyard. In the event of rain, the fair will be in Benson 401. Additional details and sign-up information will be available soon. If you have immediate questions, please contact Ali Haddleton, Senior Academic Counselor, OAA, kittam16@wfu.edu.
For Faculty & Staff
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FORM REMINDER
Global Wake Forest kindly requests that faculty revisit the International Travel Forms process when preparing for the fall semester.
All individuals traveling on University-sponsored international travel must follow the International Travel Policy and submit a series of forms to the Center for Global Programs and Studies (GPS).
Wake Forest will not disburse funds for international travel until the required forms have been submitted and approved. All required forms must be submitted at least one month prior to the start of individual travel. Please visit the GPS website for more details and to access the forms.
BICENTENNIAL SPACE PLAN OPEN HOUSE
The Bicentennial Space Plan will hold its third workshop from Sept. 8 to Sept. 10. The planning team will present a summary of findings from phase one, including existing conditions, space analysis, and engagement to date.
The two open houses will be on Monday, Sept. 8, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. outside of the Pit and on Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Wellbeing Center Living Room. Please feel free to drop in as your schedule allows.
NATIONAL HUMANITIES CENTER WEBINARS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FACULTY
Last year, Wake Forest became a sponsoring institution of the National Humanities Center, making their “Scholars at Work” webinar series free and open to all Wake Forest faculty. These online, professional development sessions are designed to support humanities scholars in their research, teaching, and public engagement efforts. The next webinar topics include: “Grant Writing 101 for Humanities Faculty” on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. and “Copywriting and Intellectual Property” on Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
Visit the NHC Webinar Series website for a complete list of topics and upcoming dates.
PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOTS AVAILABLE FOR FACULTY AND STAFF
Studio-quality headshots are available at no cost to Wake Forest faculty and staff on the second Wednesday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon at the University Corporate Center. Appointments are required.
LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
The Leadership & Character Certificate Program is designed for faculty and staff who aspire to make a meaningful impact in their work and the broader university community. It provides research-based tools and practical strategies to integrate character principles into daily professional practice, fostering leadership that aligns with Wake Forest’s mission of developing ethical leaders.
Visit the Leadership & Character website to learn more about program highlights, certificate requirements, and the registration process.
Please contact Kathleen Stimely, mckeekl@wfu.edu, with any questions.
HR UPDATES RECRUITING RESOURCES
HR has recently refreshed their recruiting resources, providing even more comprehensive support for staff recruitment efforts. Updates include a new workshop video, “Thoughts in 30 — Running a Non-discriminatory Staff Search” and a “New Hires: Onboarding Guidance for Leaders” webpage, with a newly added “Onboarding Plan Template.” These enhancements reflect HR’s ongoing commitment to providing support that streamlines processes and helps staff build strong, successful teams. Visit the HR website to view the videos and additional toolkits, templates, and forms.
WAYS TO GIVE TO COFFEE TRUCK EMPLOYEES
Many have asked about how to help those who were injured in the coffee truck explosion on move-in day. Please find information and ways to give on this website.
URECA DAY 2025
URECA Day will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 in the Sutton Center (lower basketball court). Please join students as we celebrate their scholarship with fellow faculty, friends, and family!
Any Wake Forest student who has participated in mentored scholarship is welcome to be part of URECA Day. Mentors, let your students know that they must submit their abstracts online through the submission portal on URECA’s website by Friday, Sept. 12 in order to be included in the URECA Day program.
ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION FROM CLASS: FACULTY PORTAL
The Center for Learning, Access, and Student Success (CLASS) has an online portal that coordinates students’ accommodation notifications. To access the portal, faculty and staff can go to the CLASS website and click on the gold “Faculty Portal.” Log in using your WFU login and password.
CLASS has also updated and expanded Faculty Resources on their website, including syllabus statements; training and resources; and examples of student accommodations. If you have difficulty with the portal or have questions about students’ accommodations, contact CLASS, class@wfu.edu.
FALL ’25 CAMPUS ENGAGED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Are you a faculty member interested in incorporating sustainability guest lectures, campus tours, or place-based projects into your courses this fall? Contact the Office of Sustainability’s Engaged and Experiential Learning for Sustainability Manager, Krista Stump, stumpk@wfu.edu, to schedule a consultation. Krista will help identify and plan engagements that align with your course’s learning outcomes and connect you with campus resources to bring them to life. Visit the Office of Sustainability website to learn more about Engaged Learning opportunities.
Technology
GETTING YOUR CANVAS COURSES READY FOR THE NEW SEMESTER
Every semester, Instructional Technology Group members field numerous questions about Canvas courses. ITG member Scott Claybrook has put together a blog post addressing the most common ones. As always, feel free to reach out to Scott or any ITG for assistance with all of your technology needs.
CAT Resources
FALL BOOK DISCUSSION
10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People
Join CAT for a discussion of David Yeager’s 10 to 25, an exciting new book that explores how educators might interact with young people. This book explores Yeager’s research on adolescent brain development and his “mentor mindset,” offering practical strategies to foster respectful, empowering relationships with students aged 10 to 25. In this discussion series, we will both read and apply Yeager’s ideas for supporting more engaged and motivated young adults.
Meets 6 times this semester (9/9, 9/16, 9/30, 10/7, 10/21 & 10/28) on Tuesdays, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and includes time for individual work and peer feedback.
Visit the CAT website to register.
FALL BOOK DISCUSSION
The Opposite of Cheating
Join your colleagues for a timely discussion of Tricia Bertram Gallant’s and David A. Rettinger’s The Opposite of Cheating, a guide to fostering academic integrity in the era of generative AI. During this discussion, we’ll explore the book’s research-backed strategies for understanding and preventing cheating, not just as a disciplinary measure, but as an opportunity to enhance student learning and personal growth.
Meets 3 times this semester (9/17, 9/24 & 10/1) on Wednesdays, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in ZSR 665. We will provide the book for the first 15 registrants. These discussions are very popular, so we ask that you register only if you are available to attend all sessions.
Visit the CAT website to register.
REAL TALK ABOUT AI ON CAMPUS: A STUDENT-FACULTY DIALOGUE
The CAT is pleased to host a workshop dedicated to understanding our students’ experiences as pioneers in an educational landscape being remade by generative AI. In this workshop, participants will interact with a panel of students, engage in small-group discussions, and leave with a more nuanced understanding of what students need and want from their instructors to thrive in this new environment of AI. The conversation will be facilitated by CAT Assistant Director Karen Spira and a panel of WFU students on Friday, Sept. 19, at 9:30 a.m. in the ZSR Faculty Commons Classroom 665 (6th floor Wilson Wing).
Visit the CAT website to register.
CONFIDENTIAL FEEDBACK ON TEACHING OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY
Are you interested in getting feedback on your teaching? CAT team members are available for Student Feedback Sessions to collect Small Group Instructional Feedback (SGIF) from your students. Gathering feedback is an effective way to show students you value their perspective, find out how a course is going, and make mid-semester adjustments as needed. We are also happy to arrange a confidential Teaching Observation. We’ll observe unobtrusively and then meet with you to provide feedback, either in narrative or quantitative formats.
Visit the Program & Services page on the CAT website for more information.
Research Funded
Dr. Kate Allman, Executive Director of Winston-Salem TEACH, received funding from US Army Research Office – ARO “Developing a measure of change: A Planning Grant.”
Dr. Dominic Veconi, Teacher-Scholar Postdoctoral Fellow, received funding from the American Mathematical Society for “The Lorenz attractor has Bernoulli equilibrium states.”
Dr. Fan Yang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, received an NSF award for his project titled, “CRII: III: Towards Efficient Interpretation for Explainable Learning: A Computational Perspective on Attribution and Recourse.”
Dr. Kyana Young, Associate Professor of Engineering, received funding from North Carolina State University for her project titled, “Use of Meltblown Nonwoven Fabric for Stormwater Runoff Treatment.”
For more faculty funding, visit Inside WFU.
Books Published
Dr. Margaret Bender, Professor of Anthropology, The New Voice of God: Language, Worldview, and the Cherokee Bible. University of Oklahoma Press, 2025.
Dr. Adam Lenton, Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Decolonizing Russia?: Disentangling Debates. Cambridge University Press UK, 2025.
In the News
DR. VAN DOORN-HARDER NAMED KENAN PROFESSOR IN THE HUMANITIES
Dr. Nelly Van Doorn-Harder, Professor of Religious Studies and Co-Director of MESAS, has been appointed as the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Humanities. Read the announcement on the College website.
DR. ESAREY WINS NATIONAL POLITICAL METHODOLOGY MENTORING AWARD
Dr. Justin Esarey, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, won the 2024-2025 Becky Morton & Tom Carsey Political Methodology Mentoring Award for his outstanding commitment to mentorship. Dr. Esarey was nominated by undergraduate and graduate students from all three institutions where he has taught— Wake Forest, Rice, and Emory. Read the full announcement on The Society for Political Methodology website.
DR. LOWMAN, GRAD STUDENT CO-AUTHOR NEW STUDY ON TROPICAL FOREST CLIMATE
Dr. Lauren Lowman, Associate Professor of Engineering, and her Ph.D. student David worked with colleagues to publish a new article on the importance of canopy plants in regulating temperatures and water storage in tropical forests. Read the full article, “A novel model quantifies epiphyte-mediated temperature and water dynamics in a tropical montane cloud forest.”
Selected Events
FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE NETHERLANDS TO VISIT WAKE FOREST
On Thursday, Aug. 28, at 4 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium, the Program for Leadership and Character will host Shefali Razdan Duggal (P ’24), the former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands and the first person of color to serve in that role. She will share her insights into the role character plays in diplomacy and politics. Learn more about the event, which is open to the public, on the Program for Leadership and Character website.
UT LAW PROFESSOR TO GIVE LECTURE, “DIFFERENTIATING ACADEMIC FREEDOM FROM FREE SPEECH”
Professor David Rabban, Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas School of Law, will discuss “Differentiating Academic Freedom from Free Speech” at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, in the Law School Auditorium, Worrell Professional Center. Professor Rabban’s talk addresses some of the urgent and timely questions of our era and draws from his recent book, Academic Freedom: From Professional Norm to First-Amendment Right. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Politics and International Affairs, the Wake Forest School of Law, and the Delta of North Carolina Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Wake Forest and is open to the public. A reception will follow.
STUDENT ART EXHIBIT OPENS SEPT. 12
The WFU Employer Relations team within the Office of Personal and Career Development welcomes faculty, staff, and students to view a fall semester campus art exhibit collaboration. The exhibit will feature student art from the spring 2025 printmaking class, taught by Adjunct Assistant Professor Bryan Ellis, and will be on display in the Brockway Recruiting Center, located in Farrell Hall, Room A05 (lower level). The exhibit will open on Friday, Sept. 12, with a gallery opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
WAKE FOREST TO CELEBRATE RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS WITH COMMUNITY RECEPTION
The Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry and Creative Activity along with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) invites the Wake Forest community to a reception to celebrate fiscal year 2025 achievements in research and scholarly activities. A series of project slams will highlight the diverse research and scholarship being conducted across disciplines.
Please plan to attend a celebratory reception on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Benson 401. Remarks begin at 4:15. Light refreshments will be served. Please use this Google form to RSVP by Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Please email Rick Orzechowski, orzechr@wfu.edu, with questions.
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September 2, 2025Fall 2025 Academic Calendar: Important dates and deadlines for the Wake Forest College (Undergraduate College) and School of Business undergraduate programs. Please visit the RegistrarÕs Office website at registrar.wfu.edu/calendars/ for the most up-to-date academic calendar information and exam schedules. -
September 2, 2025 | 10:00am
Z. Smith Reynolds LibraryTobacco has played a significant role in shaping North Carolina’s cultural, economic, and social identity, even before the state’s official establishment. Early depictions of Native American communities along the coast at the end of the 16th century show cultivation and use of the plant. During the 19… -
September 2, 2025 | 10:00am
Lam Museum of AnthropologyExperience the world of medieval China through the imaginative artistry of miniature ceramic figurines. This exhibit features dozens of ceramic figurines in the Changsha style, a type of pottery manufactured in southern China from the 8th to the 10th centuries CE. The figurines represent a range of subjects including domestic … -
September 2, 2025 | 10:00am
Lam Museum of AnthropologyThe Lam Museum of Anthropology is excited to showcase a selection of newly acquired objects from the closed Museum of World Cultures at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. This partnership brings back into public view nearly 300 ethnographic, historical, and archaeological pieces from around the world, and adds significant depth to … -
September 2, 2025 | 10:00am
Lam Museum of AnthropologyRug weaving is one of the oldest and most well-known Tibetan arts. This exhibit draws from that ancient tradition to examine a selection of saddle rugs from the Nicholas Salgo Collection. Visitors will learn how the imagery, colors, and forms used in these rugs reflect Tibetan cultural values, religious beliefs, … -
September 2, 2025 | 12:00pm
Worrell Professional CenterInterest meeting for 1Ls to learn more about SBA, Honor Council, and elections.
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