Last week, Wake Forest welcomed EGOT-winning artist John Legend as the final speaker in this year’s Face to Face series. Before the event, I had the opportunity to speak with him backstage. What struck me most wasn’t his fame or accomplishments but his steady, […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk
Dear faculty, staff and students, After more than 32 years as a leader in academic medicine, Dr. Julie A. Freischlag will retire at the end of 2025 as CEO and chief academic officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer and executive vice […]
Categories: Emails
Though I serve as Wake Forest’s President today, my life and career are profoundly shaped by my work as a scientist. Building from my first lab experience as an undergraduate student to decades of running complex experiments with my graduate students and fellows as a […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk
Dear Wake Forest community, Welcome back from spring break. We hope each of you found time for the people and activities that bring you strength and joy. As we return to the daily routines of University life, we write to share how we continue to […]
Categories: Emails
President Wente walks and talks with Liz Gandolfo, Associate Professor of Catholic and Latin American Studies in the School of Divinity, about how people of faith respond to major challenges in the world. Dr. Gandolfo’s teaching and research place Christian theology in conversation with human responses to vulnerability, suffering, violence and oppression. They discuss student engagement and how faculty perspectives from various departments enrich her classroom discussions.
Categories: Walk with Wente
Updated: Thursday, Feb. 20 (8:22 p.m.) Dear members of the Wake Forest community, I am pleased to announce that Wake Forest will rename South Residence Hall for two Wake Forest University alumni and professors, each a trailblazer and exemplar Demon Deacon in their own right: […]
Categories: Emails
Good afternoon, and welcome to our annual Wake Forest Founders Day ceremony. Each year, we come together as a community to celebrate the founding of Wake Forest College, in February of 1834. This year, 2025, marks 191 years of Wake Forest! Many universities celebrate the […]
Categories: Speeches
This coming Thursday we will gather in Wait Chapel for our traditional Founders Day celebration, marking 191 years of commitment to our academic mission. Reflecting on this commitment has been particularly poignant over the past several weeks as we are witnessing a rapidly changing landscape […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk
As we commemorate the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, I am reflecting on the question in the title of Dr. King’s final book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? This question – posed in […]
Categories: Emails
Over winter break, I spent time thinking about my mentor and teacher, the late Dr. Howard Schachman. Last year, I was asked by the National Academy of Sciences to co-write a tribute to Howard, and it has been an honor to do so. Howard […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk