Stories this week at Wake Forest University
FIRST LADY OF N.C. TO SPEAK AT WFU CONVOCATION
Mary Easley, first lady of North Carolina, will speak at Wake Forest’s Opening Convocation on Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. in Wait Chapel. Easley’s speech is titled “Competence, Confidence and the Comfort Zone: How to Color Your Life Outside the Lines.” The event is free and open to the public. A professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, Easley earned two degrees at Wake Forest- a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972 and a law degree in 1975. As an undergraduate, she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. At Wake Forest School of Law, she was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. Married to North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, she has established three main initiatives as First Lady: teacher recruitment, reduction of underage drinking and infant immunization. To arrange media coverage of the event and an interview with Easley, contact the News Service.
LOCAL CHILDREN EXPLORE WORLD CULTURES AT WAKE FOREST
An after-school program that teaches children about different world cultures begins Sept. 10 at Wake Forest’s Museum of Anthropology. The series of programs, called “Exploring World Cultures,” is for children in grades 1-5. Each session runs from 4:15 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. The four-part series will begin with “Growing Up Masai.” Students will learn about becoming an adult in traditional Masai culture and play a game using Masai shields that they create. The media is invited to attend the program. To arrange coverage, contact the News Service.
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL SICKLE CELL AWARENESS MONTH
A Wake Forest physics professor is using a $460,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore a new approach in treating sickle cell disease. Assistant Professor of Physics Daniel Kim-Shapiro is available for interviews during September, designated National Sickle Cell Awareness Month in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. In his lab in Olin Physical Laboratory, Kim-Shapiro explores a novel approach to the treatment of sickle-cell disease: most sickle-cell research focuses on preventing the “sickling” of cells; he is investigating how quickly “sickled” cells can be returned to normal. “If we could speed up how fast the cell ‘unsickles,’ that would be a new pathway for treatment,” he said. To arrange an interview and a visit to Kim-Shapiro’s lab, contact the News Service. For more information on the disease, visit www.sicklecelldisease.org
A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPETITION: WFU HOSTS WAR OF WORDS
One of the nation’s top 10 high school debate competitions will come to Wake Forest Sept. 14-16. More than 160 high school debate teams and speech squads from 35 states will meet at Wake Forest for the National Earlybird Forensics Tournament. During the three-day tournament, about 1,200 students will give more than 2,000 individual speeches and compete in about 800 rounds of debate on the topic “weapons of mass destruction.” Competition will be held at Wake Forest and at Mt. Tabor High School in Winston-Salem. The public is invited to attend. To arrange coverage of the tournament, contact the News Service.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Community Impact, Happening at Wake
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