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‘The Pearl’ semester: Wake Forest in Charlotte

Wake Forest University is launching a new study away program in Charlotte for sophomores and juniors that will integrate rigorous academic inquiry with high-impact professional experience.  The program is designed to allow students to explore the intersections between business and the liberal arts. The first cohort in 2027 will tackle subjects ranging from the modern…

Belonging is key to a college degree

In the social media era, you can look at a university’s Instagram feed and get the impression that every day rates a 10/10 and everyone belongs. But Shannon Brady, a Wake Forest University psychology professor who studies the implications of social belonging, cautions you to look deeper. Smiles on faces and free hoodies emblazoned with…

Ballet dancer Misty Copeland to deliver 2026 Commencement address

Ballet dancer, author and founder Misty Copeland, who made history as the first Black woman to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, will deliver Wake Forest University’s commencement address on Monday, May 18. The ceremony will take place on Hearn Plaza and begins at 9 a.m. Copeland began her ballet studies at…

National Inventors Hall of Fame announces 2026 inductees

Two Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers are among 15 innovation pioneers who will be honored in the 2026 class of National Inventors Hall of Fame ® Inductees  Dr. Louis Argenta and Dr. Michael Morykwas, both professors emeriti of plastic and reconstructive surgery, co-invented Vacuum Assisted Closure, a medical device that uses controlled suction…

Categories: Awards & Recognition


GDP forecasts, penny shortages, and Super Bowl prediction market betting

As 2026 begins, Wake Forest economics professors are available to decode the partisan bias in GDP data, discuss the rounding reality of a pennyless economy, and explain how prediction markets are transforming Super Bowl betting.  Economic forecasts are dominating the headlines. New research from Wake Forest University suggests these "objective" numbers might be less neutral…

Categories: Experts


German National Team Selects Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University and The Graylyn Estate as Host Site for FIFA World Cup 2026™

The German Men’s National Team has selected Winston-Salem as its home base for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, choosing Wake Forest University and The Graylyn Estate as its official training site and team headquarters – bringing one of the world’s premier soccer programs to the Triad and placing Winston-Salem on an international stage. As part…

Tropical trees are fighting an uphill battle with climate change. And they’re losing.

When William Farfan-Rios hikes through the remote forests of the Peruvian Amazon and Andes, he’s doing much more than feeding his appreciation for the natural world. He’s trying to identify the trees that can survive a warming climate—and, ultimately, save one of the world’s largest carbon sinks from collapse. As a biodiversity fellow in forest…

Multi-agent AI could change everything – if researchers can figure out the risks

You might have seen headlines sounding the alarm about the safety of an emerging technology called agentic AI. That’s where Sarra Alqahtani comes in. An associate professor of computer science at Wake Forest University, she studies the safety of AI agents through the new field of multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL). Alqahtani received a National Science…

Groundbreaking ceremony held for Wake Forest office building at The Grounds

Wake Forest University celebrated the groundbreaking today for an office building at The Grounds that will house 400 University staff when it is completed in 2027. “This place will be a hub of great energy, excitement and collaborative work,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jackie Travisano.   A lunchtime celebration was held at…

Categories: Community Impact


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