“My name is ‘Sheetza,’” Shanghai native Xizi Liao says when introducing herself. “It rhymes with pizza.”

With support from her professors and friends, Liao has embraced her American education and is well known around the Wake Forest campus. The senior has held several leadership positions during her four years of college, including president of the Resident Student Association. This fall, she will attend graduate school to study college student development.

But not all international students are as determined to get through the challenges of adjusting to college life in America as Liao, nor do they all find the support they need when they arrive on campus.

Liao, a business and enterprise management major, is one of 143 international undergraduate students who call Wake Forest home, and one of nearly 200,000 students from China enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.

“From my first days on campus, faculty mentors have helped me conquer my fears and acclimate to my new environment. But it’s not the same for every Chinese student in the U.S.,” says Liao. “If you want to be immersed in the academic and social culture here, you have to speak English and learn to ask questions.”

Addressing the so-called “China conundrum”

There are significant differences between Chinese and American education systems that create challenges for Chinese students. In addition to the inherent language difficulties, the Chinese high school curriculum is designed to prepare students for the high stakes national exam where answers come from memorization. That focus lacks opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving, creative expression, and collaboration—skills that are critical for academic and social success in the U.S.

“At Wake Forest, it’s the student’s responsibility to do much of the learning outside of class time. Discussions take place in class, and if you don’t ask questions, your professors and peers assume you know the answers. In China, students depend on the teacher for information. The teacher helps the student walk the walk. It’s a very different style.”

To help bridge the academic and cultural differences between educational experiences in their home country and those in the U.S., Wake Forest is introducing the Wake Forest Advantage program. The initiative is designed to help international students prepare for higher education in the U.S. before they arrive on campus.

Piloted and rolling out first in China, the program is designed to benefit both the students who complete the program and the institutions that enroll them.

Liao was introduced to American culture before starting at Wake Forest — attending summer programs and competitions in the U.S. But many Chinese students apply to American colleges and universities having little or no understanding of English and American culture.

Chinese students sometimes struggle academically and socially once they arrive in the U.S., in part because admissions offices lack the information or validation they need to choose among Chinese applicants. In addition to language and cultural barriers, challenges arise from a significant number of falsified application documents, letters of recommendation and high school transcripts submitted by prospective students.

Wake Forest Advantage is the only program of its kind to address the challenges higher education faces in determining which international applicants are prepared for study in the U.S. and which may have trouble adjusting.

Wake Forest Advantage highlights

The goals for the curriculum, designed by Wake Forest faculty and developed collaboratively with EdisonLearning, are to help improve oral and written English skills while increasing students’ awareness and understanding of performance expectations in American college classrooms. Sessions include lessons on academic research, writing, and speaking and provide students with practice working collaboratively with their peers. The activities include content that helps Chinese students understand American culture and history.

There are three models available to Chinese families:

The first model, the traditional Wake Forest Advantage program, is an after school supplementary model with teachers employed and trained by Wake Forest. The program runs in collaboration with partner high schools. Students and teachers meet once a week for three hours — providing Chinese students with approximately 90 hours of educational and cultural training.

The second model for the program is the embedded Wake Forest Advantage, where schools in China use the traditional Wake Forest-designed curriculum within the regular school day. These schools have their own expat instructors who are trained by Wake Forest to deliver 90 hours of training during normal instructional hours.

Finally, the Wake Forest Summer Academy incorporates much of the content and methodology from the traditional and embedded models delivered in a shorter time frame (72 contact hours). Wake Forest professors, alumni from the Wake Forest Teacher Education programs, and students currently enrolled in Wake Forest Teacher Education programs deliver the instruction.

Students in the traditional and embedded programs create a Digital Portfolio — a video-based reflection that combines student performance in class with video reflections composed by and delivered orally on camera by the student.

Created by the student in China, evaluated at Wake Forest University, and mailed directly from Wake Forest to the colleges and universities where program participants apply for admission in the United States, this validation of students’ abilities provides admissions officers with incontrovertible visual and audio confirmation about their Chinese applicants’ readiness.

Each student’s application arrives at U.S. college admissions offices in a distinctive package, with a Wake Forest Advantage logo and a gold, silver or bronze seal. Gold signifies that the student presented in the portfolio is ready for the most challenging undergraduate institution. Silver and bronze indicate progressively lower levels of readiness, but in every case admissions officers will know that the student applying has been through a rigorous preparation program and is familiar with what is expected for study in the U.S.

A global education: Why preparedness matters

In our increasingly global society, international student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities continues to increase. The more quickly international students are able to become acclimated and engaged in their education, the more quickly the campus community benefits from the global experience of international education.

In her role as a campus life residence hall advisor, Liao says she sees first-hand the communication challenges between American and Chinese students.

“American students are scared of what to say to international students, but they are definitely curious. We can build community faster if international students come to campus already familiar with the American culture. Even something as simple as responding to “What’s up?” can be uncomfortable if you don’t know that’s a typical greeting.”

“Chinese students who come to the U.S. have both academic and social challenges,” says Associate Provost for Global Affairs Kline Harrison. “In order for Wake Forest students to enjoy the benefits of a global educational experience, it is important for Chinese students to feel confident in their academic abilities and confident about interacting with American peers. Students coming to Wake Forest with the Wake Forest Advantage experience are more likely to fully benefit from their college years as true Demon Deacons and are also much more likely to reach their potential as sources of enrichment for the university community as a whole.”

To learn more, visit the Wake Forest Advantage website.

A senator, a humanitarian and a banker received the University’s 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of their extraordinary service to Wake Forest, their field, humanity or society.  Richard Burr (’78), Jane Cage (’78) and Graham Denton Jr. (’67) were honored.  Read their individual stories and watch videos presented at the awards ceremony April 19.

Wake Forest University graduate Wade Murphy (’00) is donating $1 million to support the Humanities Institute, extending the reach and impact of humanities and the liberal arts. Murphy is the youngest person in the University’s history to make such a large gift.

“Wade’s generous support underscores the critical role that the humanities play in the education and preparation of today’s students,” said Mary Foskett, professor of religion and director of the Humanities Institute. “The humanities are rooted in intellectual traditions that empower students to engage the world. Today’s graduates must be prepared to interpret complex information, understand diverse cultures and create solutions that serve the common good. Wake Forest provides a rigorous liberal arts education, where the humanities are central, and where faculty and students confront big questions in innovative ways.”

Murphy, the executive vice president of Marmik Oil in El Dorado, Ark., graduated in 2000 with a major in history. He earned an MBA from American University in 2007. He has served as a member of the Wake Forest Young Alumni Development Board and currently serves on the Wake Forest College Board of Visitors.

“Wake Forest is and always has been a place that teaches students how to identify and pursue that which is good, beautiful and true,” said Murphy. “One of the prevailing reasons I want to support the Humanities Institute is that it will go a long way to ensuring that these ideals are carried forward.”

The Humanities Institute was launched in October of 2010 to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship and explore creative ways to use knowledge to solve real-world problems.

With Murphy’s support, the Institute will continue to build partnerships that contribute to the common good. One example of this kind of work is Humanities Matters, a program funding “The Imagination Project: Artists of the Holocaust” — a collaboration among professors and students that aims to educate audiences about anti-Semitism and promote understanding, tolerance and respect.

In December 2010, the National Endowment for the Humanities offered the Institute a challenge grant of $500,000 with Wake Forest raising $1.5 million by July 2015 to establish an endowment that will help sustain the Humanities Institute and its mission for years to come. With Murphy’s gift, the Institute has exceeded the challenge amount more than two years earlier than required.

“Not only has Wade given us the needed funds, he has made it clear that Wake Forest University values the liberal arts,” said President Nathan O. Hatch. “It is comforting to know that the next generation of Wake Forest stewards is stepping forward in leadership and acting definitively toward preserving the very best of the Wake Forest education.”

Based on his experience as a Wake Forest student, Murphy wants to affirm the central place the humanities have played in shaping his life.

“We cannot expect to continue to build a Wake Forest for future generations without appreciating and honoring the Wake Forest that was provided for us by those who embodied the Pro Humanitate model,” said Murphy. “I fervently believe that the Humanities Institute will help us carry that spirit forward for many generations of Wake Foresters to come.”

The University enhances its efforts toward creating a diverse, inclusive, and inquisitive community this month with the opening of its new Women’s Center.

“Gender conversations are integral to developing mind, body and spirit,” says Paige Meltzer, director of the Center, “and can help us forge connections within our communities, improve campus culture, and nurture women’s potential. Women who feel respected and empowered build strong communities, strong families, and strong relationships — personal and professional.”

Meltzer, who comes to Wake Forest from Harvard University, holds a doctorate in women’s history and is an advocate for public policy initiatives that create a culture of inclusivity. She sees the Center as a place of collaboration and networking and plans to let campus constituents shape the Center’s priorities. But she does anticipate promoting female leadership in student government and other campus organizations, professional development, and body wellness.

The Center’s work affects all members of the Wake Forest community. “We may not always think about it, but women’s rights affect men and families and society. The Women’s Center is a resource that can help us to recognize gender inequality and promote change on campus and beyond.” Those are conversations for all community members, regardless of gender.

Others share Meltzer’s philosophy. The Wake Forest Women’s Forum, a grassroots organization of faculty and staff, has worked to promote women’s issues within the University since 2004. Theatre professor J.K. Curry, co-director of the Forum, says the success of the work-life balance taskforce in securing an improved parental leave policy at Wake Forest is an example of how what is often perceived as a women’s issue affects men as well.

“For many years, maternity leave was not available to all women. Today, at Wake Forest, parental leave applies to adoptions, as well as to births, and it’s available to both men and women,” Curry says. “For faculty, it includes a semester of leave from teaching. The policy gives academic departments the resources to cover leaves with minimal disruption and without burdening other faculty members.”

Wanda Balzano, assistant professor and director of the women’s and gender studies program at Wake Forest, looks forward to the Center raising visibility for women’s issues through events such as the Human Rights Clothesline, which for several years has been spearheaded by faculty member Patricia Willis. The Center will provide a home for students with the desire to advocate for gender equity in the community — a role the academic department has been challenged to fill up until now.

“The Women’s Center is a clear commitment by the University to create a campus climate for women and men that is mutually beneficial. Its resources will complement what happens in the classroom, ” says Balzano.

Connecting the curricular and the co-curricular is high on Meltzer’s agenda. “I’m excited about bridging the classroom and the real world,” she says. “Developing supportive relationships between women and among members of the campus will help us learn to pause and reflect on how gender informs the way we think about ourselves and how we behave towards each other.”

The Women’s Center follows the establishment of the LGBTQ Center in September 2011.

During the past year, Wake Forest welcomed a new provost, launched a new home for its business school in Charlotte and began construction on two new residence halls. Find out what other milestones marked this year at the University.

With great sadness and appreciation, Wake Forest acknowledges the passing of two giants in the University’s history: Weston Hatfield (’41) and Michael Farrell (P ’10). While these extraordinary leaders from different backgrounds and different eras may not have met, they shared a love for Wake Forest. Through their gifts and talents, each leaves an important and long-lasting legacy.

Read President Hatch’s essay on the lives of Hatfield and Farrell »

Weston P. Hatfield

Weston Hatfield (’41), who served three terms on the University’s Board of Trustees, was a longtime Winston-Salem attorney and one of Wake Forest’s most influential leaders. His guidance came during some of the University’s significant milestones, including the break with the Baptist State Convention, the largest capital campaign of its time and a major campus building program. Hatfield served on the selection committee that tapped Thomas K. Hearn Jr. as Wake Forest’s 12th president in 1983, and later as board chair, twice.

President Nathan O. Hatch said, “His keen intellect, progressive spirit and eloquence will be missed.”

“He was one of the most important men of his generation for Wake Forest,” added Provost Emeritus Edwin G. Wilson (’43).

Read more from the Winston-Salem Journal »

Michael A.J. Farrell

Mike Farrell came to love Wake Forest when his son, Michael (’10), studied finance and economics here. Despite not having finished college, the co-founder, chairman and co-CEO of Annaly Capital Management served on the University’s Board of Trustees and the Board of Visitors for the Schools of Business and the Calloway School.

Just a few months after his son graduated, he and his wife, Mary, gave the largest gift the Schools of Business has ever received. Today, the campus community sees the walls of Farrell Hall rise as a tribute to the family’s past and a gateway to Wake Forest students’ future.

“The dream is where in a world where we’re moving towards electronic interaction and online educational kinds of opportunities, this addition to campus is a place where people will gather and will gather long after graduation,” Farrell said of the 110,000-square-foot center. “There’s nothing like the personal interaction. I think we will need it to get through some of the challenges going forward.”

President Hatch said, “It has been a rare privilege to know a man so gifted and so good, and we mourn his loss.”

The newly renamed Alumni Hall was dedicated Thursday with a hope that it will become as hallowed as its namesake on the Old Campus. “Rather than put a single person’s name on the building, we are naming it for all alumni who love and support this University,” President Nathan O. Hatch said at the dedication.

Ben C. Sutton Jr. has long been a champion for Wake Forest. As the head cheerleader in his student days in the late 1970s, he led the cheers at home football games.

Now a new generation of Wake Foresters is cheering for Sutton in gratitude of a leadership gift to renovate and expand Reynolds Gym, creating a facility with more than 250,000 square feet of space dedicated to fitness and well-being. The facility will bring the elements of campus life, student health, academics, student recreation and NCAA Division I athletics under one roof.

“The Sutton family’s gift will empower students, faculty and staff to pursue a healthy and balanced lifestyle,” said President Nathan Hatch following a public announcement about the gift during the Wake Forest-Army football game. “This center is the first and most visible sign of our University’s renewed commitment to a culture of health and wellness.”

A rendering of the weight room in the health and wellness center.

It is also fitting that Sutton’s gift will provide for a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility for student-athletes, as well as expanded space for sports medicine, nutrition and fitness. It was as an employee of the athletics department at Wake Forest that the idea to launch a sports marketing company came to him.

“We were working creatively and diligently to find a way to bring additional resources to our athletic program when I realized there could be a real business here,” Sutton said.

With the blessing of then-President Thomas K. Hearn Jr. and former athletic director Gene Hooks, Sutton launched ISP and he and his team grew it into a national sports marketing company, which was acquired by IMG Worldwide, Inc., in 2011.

Sutton, who had befriended now-AD Ron Wellman when the latter was athletics director at Illinois State, soon had the opportunity to work directly with Wellman when he replaced the retiring Hooks in late 1992.

“Ben was always a visionary, and was tireless in pursuit of his dreams,” Wellman said. “I don’t know anyone who has his passion or energy, and few have made a bigger impact on this University and community than Ben. We are so grateful for his leadership.”

As the President of IMG College, Sutton has turned a commitment to his clients, colleagues and community into the largest collegiate sports marketing company in the nation. This commitment to relationships has kept him close to his alma mater, where he has deep Wake Forest roots.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Sutton with his family at the awards ceremony.

Sutton was named a Distinguished Alumni Award winner in 2012.

• Watch a tribute video »
• See video of his acceptance remarks »

His grandfather and both parents attended Wake Forest. Sutton is a “Double Deac” with undergraduate (’80) and law (’83) degrees. As a student, he worked part-time at the University in both the alumni and athletics offices, and upon graduation, moved into the athletic department full-time. He has served on the University Board of Trustees and is a 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. Now his daughter, Addison, carries on the family legacy as an undergraduate student at Wake Forest, the fourth generation of his family to carry the flag of the Old Gold and Black.

Students across campus say that the new health and wellness center will enhance the variety of exercise options currently available and provide additional ways to reduce stress and connect with friends.

Tanner Price (’14), quarterback of the Demon Deacons, has known of the great need for an enhanced strength and conditioning facility for student-athletes and is excited to learn of the total vision for the new center.

“This is the perfect situation for us,” Price said. “A great alumnus, whose family is really part of our family at Wake Forest, and especially in the football program, offering the lead gift that will help us competitively by providing a fabulous strength-and-conditioning center. It will be a state-of-the-art facility that will be as nice as any in the country. I think I can speak for all students in thanking Mr. Sutton and his family for his visionary commitment.”

Philip Rohrer Jr. (’14) is a frequent visitor to campus fitness facilities and president of the club basketball program.

“There is absolutely an incredible variety of wellness options,” he said. “The ability to run on the treadmill, life weights or attend a Zumba class in the Miller center, as well as climb at The Crux or get in a quick game of squash in ‘the Six’ is a wonderful testimony to Wake Forest’s strong belief in developing the person as a whole.

“I think that the facilities we have, although numerous, do need to be updated.”

When Brian Craig (’13) needs some time away from his studies, he also heads to The Crux, an indoor bouldering room in Reynolds Gym.

“It’s a great social atmosphere where I can get an alternative workout,” Craig said. “I’ve also been active in Outdoor Pursuits, which offers day hikes, white water kayaking or skydiving. I’ve tried a lot of new activities and met people who encouraged my outdoor life at Wake.”

Craig said that having these outlets leads to lower stress and total improvement of campus life for students at Wake Forest. It’s a culture Provost Rogan Kersh wants to nurture for the entire campus community.

“Well-being means attending to one’s physical and emotional health, emphasizing the importance of character, improving the built environment and much more,” Kersh said. “A comprehensive culture won’t be something we accomplish with one building, but something we strive to create together as a campus community and then initiate over months and years. If we do it right, our ultimate hope is to enhance Wake Foresters’ well-being across their lifetimes.”

Julia Magee (’14), an education major, said that finding outlets for her energy is an important part of her student life. She laughed when she quoted her mother, “She says I was born running and never stopped.”

For Magee, a campus where students often wear workout clothes is a place where she feels welcome. “It’s fun to knock on a neighbor’s door and invite them to play soccer or volleyball,” she said. “People here are very interested in eating healthy and exercising. It’s a good place for healthy competition.”

Kersh said that while this new center will be the heart of the wellness culture, the input from students, faculty, staff, and other groups extending beyond campus borders will be vital to its success.

“We need those voices to help us examine what works well and what to avoid,” he said. “You can’t create a culture of well-being with a top-down edict. It’s going to take us working together on campus and even into the Winston-Salem community to find the necessary ingredients to help balance education, social relaxation and exercise.”

That balanced relationship between work, leisure and relationships speaks to Ben Sutton’s history of seeking and finding balance in his own life. By keeping his company’s headquarters in Winston-Salem, close to the community that helped him build his successful business, he has remained connected with his Wake Forest roots.

“Wake Forest is central to our family’s history,” Sutton said. “It gives all of us great pleasure to develop a facility that will serve future generations of Demon Deacons. Supporting this University is part of our family tradition, and we are honored as a family to provide new opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff to focus on wellness.”

The following Wake Forest University students have been named to the university’s Dean’s List for the 2012 spring semester. Students who achieve a 3.4 and no grade below a C were named to the list.

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Press Contacts:

Eaton, Brett
Executive Director, News and Communications
eatonbd@wfu.edu
336.758.5237

Wake Forest’s emergency website, Wake Alert, has a new look as the University takes steps intended to bolster the site’s ability to withstand heavy traffic in the event of an emergency.

The centerpiece of the University’s multi-faceted emergency alert system, http://wakealert.wfu.edu launched in March 2011 as a website designed to provide Reynolda Campus emergency alerts and updates. It is also used for weather-related campus schedule changes and closings.

In the past, Wake Alert also served as a constant resource for detailed information relating to emergency preparedness and proper responses, key university contacts in emergencies, crime prevention and safety tips, and news releases related to campus security matters. To streamline information in the event of an emergency, these resources are now found on a new website, Wake Ready (http://wakeready.wfu.edu).

The most critical, but less obvious, is an increase in Wake Alert’s expected ability to handle a sharp traffic spike during an emergency. If an incident occurred that posed a substantial risk to campus safety, the University expects that visits to the University’s website, including Wake Alert, will quickly far exceed usual traffic. Such spikes, as other universities have learned, can disrupt access to important information during an emergency.

“Since its launch last year, the Wake Alert site has been a major addition to the extensive system the University has built to alert students, staff and faculty to incidents posing substantial risks to safety,” said Kenneth A. Zick, vice president and dean, student affairs, at Wake Forest.  “We’ve taken another important step now as we present a redesigned Wake Alert and put it in a position to better withstand heavy usage.”

The Wake Alert site is a critical piece of an extensive array of emergency alert methods known broadly as Wake Alert.  The site complements existing emergency text messaging, outdoor sirens across campus, and emergency alerts on the university’s cable TV system. During emergencies, Wake Forest also can send e-mails to faculty, staff and students, as well as voice mail messages to faculty and staff. In addition, voice mail messages can be posted on a phone line reserved for announcements about emergencies and weather-related closings and delays.

The university also incorporates social media into its emergency communications plan. Follow @WakeAlert on Twitter to receive timely updates.

The University invites comments and suggestions regarding the Wake Alert and Wake Ready websites. They should be directed to Kevin Cox at coxkp@wfu.edu.