Stories this week at Wake Forest

Religion in America

Bill Moyers, the Emmy award-winning journalist, author and commentator on American life, will give a special Fall Convocation lecture, “Religion in America: Reflections of a Long-time Observer and Participant,” at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in Wait Chapel. The event is part of Wake Forest University’s Year of Religion in American Life. In addition to his work as an analyst for CBS News and contributor to the CBS Evening News, Moyers was also the director of the Peace Corps for President John F. Kennedy and a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson. As head of his own production company, Public Affairs Television, Moyers is known for such books and programs as “Healing and the Mind,” and “Genesis.”

Wicker to Explain Drunk Driving Laws

Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker will hold a press conference on the state’s new drunk driving laws at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in the first floor lounge of Reynolda Hall. Wicker will highlight changes in the state’s DWI laws, which go into effect Dec. 1, and show a public service announcement designed to educate the public on the new laws. Wake Forest president Thomas K. Hearn Jr. and Catherine Mitchell, a Wake Forest senior involved in a student effort to toughen DWI laws, will make brief remarks during the event. Local police officials and members of M.A.D.D. will also attend.

Thanksgiving: History of a Holiday

Ed Hendricks, chair of Wake Forest’s history department, can trace the development of the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 into an important national holiday. In 1789, George Washington proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving, says Hendricks. But, it didn’t become an official annual holiday until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared that the nation “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise.”

Barbados Business Leader to Speak

C. David Bynoe, chairman of the Barbados Shipping & Trading Company Ltd., will deliver the third lecture in the Babcock Leadership Series at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in Room 1312 of Wake Forest’s Worrell Professional Center.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Events, Speakers