Stories this week at Wake Forest University

HOW TERRORIST ATTACKS WILL AFFECT GAS PRICES

If an armed conflict breaks out in the Middle East, the United States could see an initial surge in oil and gas prices, says Wake Forest Associate Professor of Accounting Jon Duchac. “We can expect an immediate reaction at the pump,” he says. “But the extent, logistics and nature of a retaliation would determine the magnitude and duration of the reaction.” Duchac, an expert on the gas and oil industry, says expectations of decreased demand due to decreased air travel have pushed oil and gas prices down, but that probably will not last for long. To arrange an interview, contact the News Service.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION/INVESTIGATING TERRORISM

Randall Rogan, chair of the Wake Forest communication department, is an expert on crisis communication and terrorism. He is available for expert analysis of the Sept. 11 terrorist acts in New York and Washington, D.C. Rogan is a consultant to intelligence agencies, providing assistance and training in crisis communication and hostage negotiations. In 1995, Rogan was one of two communication experts that linked the Unabomber Manifesto to Ted Kaczynski by analyzing letters and other documents. He can comment on the how these agencies conduct investigations into terrorist acts, the purpose of and responses to terrorism, and handling crisis situations. To arrange an interview, contact the News Service.

SPEAKER TO ADDRESS GENDER ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE

Members of the media are invited to attend two talks on gender in the workplace on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. and Sept. 28 at noon at Wake Forest. Barbara Gutek, McClelland Professor of management and policy at the University of Arizona, will speak on “Gender and the Reasonable Woman Standard: Influences on Judgments of Sexual Harassment” and “The Work Environment: How it Helps or Hinders Women’s Advancement.” The talk on Sept. 27 will be in Pugh Auditorium on the Reynolda Campus; the other will be in Sticht Center Auditorium on the Bowman Gray Campus. Gutek will become director of the Institute of Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan in May. To arrange an interview or coverage of the talks, call Natalie Barrett at the Wake Forest School of Medicine at 713-4220.

MUSIC IN WORSHIP

Wake Forest Divinity School will hold a Sept. 24 conference, “When Bedrock Shifts: Tracing the Church’s Theology and Spirituality Through Congregational Song.” The conference will explore the role of music in worship and will feature a published composer and a hymn author. Clergy and lay ministers from across North Carolina will attend. To arrange coverage, contact the News Service.

LOCAL STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT PEOPLE OF PANAMA

The Wake Forest Museum of Anthropology will offer the after-school program “Magnificent Molas” for elementary school children on Sept. 24 at 4:15 p.m. Students will look at the museum’s Mola exhibit and learn about the Kuna people of Panama. They will also make a paper mola design. The program is in conjunction with the museum’s exhibit, “Kuna Mola: Maintaining Tradition and Change.” To arrange coverage of the program, contact the News Service.

WINSTON-SALEM DOCUMENTARY FEATURED ON UNC-TV

As part of its “North Carolina Visions” series, UNC-TV will air “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper: Leadership and Civil Rights in Winston-Salem, North Carolina” on Sept. 29. Written by Mary Dalton, assistant professor of communication, and co-produced by Susan Faust, adjunct instructor in communication, the documentary relives through interviews and narration the Winston-Salem Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, where black students from Winston-Salem State University and white students from Wake Forest joined together to protest segregated lunch counters. Dalton and Faust are available for interviews about the documentary. To arrange an interview or see the documentary, contact the News Service.

PUBLIC RECEPTION FOR WFU ART COLLECTION

Wake Forest will hold a public reception for “Jewels in Our Crown: Treasures from the WFU Art Collections,” on Sept. 21 from 7-9 p.m. in the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Arts Gallery of Scales Fine Arts Center. The collection showcases about 50 of the more than 1,300 works of art owned by the university. For more information, contact the News Service or call 336-758-5585.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Events, School of Divinity, Speakers, Student