Stories this week at WFU

DEBATE THIS! NATION’S TOP DEBATORS AT WFU
Wake Forest will host the nation’s largest collegiate debate tournament of the year Nov. 15-17. More than 70 colleges and universities from across the country will debate “United States Relations with Europe” in the three-day Franklin R. Shirley Classic tournament. The tournament is named after Shirley, the former Winston-Salem mayor and longtime Wake Forest faculty member. The 47th annual debate is the largest regular season varsity debate tournament in the nation in more than 30 years, with 180 varsity teams competing. The competition will feature nearly 800 preliminary debates on Saturday and Sunday, narrowing the field to 32 teams that will duke it out at the Adam’s Mark hotel on Monday. Wake Forest’s team is coached by Ross Smith, former national coach of the year and current coach of the year in the Southeast, and directed by Allan Louden, associate professor of communication and former debate coach for Elizabeth Dole. The competition is open to the public.
Contact: Sarah Mansell, manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

“SHOOTING KENNEDY”: ART PROF’S NEW BOOK EXPLORES FAMOUS KENNEDY PHOTOS
Forty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a new book by a Wake Forest art professor explores famous images of Kennedy and his family and their connections to American culture. David Lubin, Charlotte C. Weber Professor of Art at Wake Forest, is the author of “Shooting Kennedy: JFK and the Culture of Images.” “The Kennedy images derive their power in good measure from their ability to activate latent memories of other powerful images in the histories of art and popular culture,” Lubin says. He draws from Hollywood films, TV sitcoms, neoclassical painting, modern art and designer fashion to show how the public came to identify personally with the Kennedys.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

THE “EYES” BEHIND LATE-NIGHT COMEDY HIT “SNL” AT WFU
Beth McCarthy Miller, four-time Emmy Award nominee and director of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) will speak at Wake Forest Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public. Beginning her career at MTV in 1985, McCarthy Miller will discuss the secrets behind her rise from intern to award-winning director. Currently in her ninth season at SNL, McCarthy Miller has staged hosts such as Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Nicholson and musical guests such as Garth Brooks, the Smashing Pumpkins and Luciano Pavoratti. She has also directed numerous specials including “SNL’s 25th Anniversary Show,” “NBC’s 75th Anniversary Special,” “America: A Tribute to Heroes” and the “Super Bowl 35 Half-Time Show.” McCarthy Miller is available for interviews prior to the event.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

STUDENTS RAISE MONEY, WRITE BOOKS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
Students in Assistant Professor of History James Wilson’s African history class are hosting a Nov. 20 talent show to raise money for rural libraries in Africa. Several student performing groups will compete in the show, which will be held on Magnolia Courtyard on campus. Admission is $5 and all proceeds will go to the World Library Partnership. Students are also writing their own 10-15 page books that will be sent to South African elementary school students. In May, many of the students will travel to South Africa to distribute the books and work with the World Library Partnerships to train local people how to run and use the library independently.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WFU RESEARCHERS ASSIST WITH ‘PARADIGM BREAKING’ NITRITE STUDY
Scientists in the Wake Forest physics department have collaborated with researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham on a new study that shows that nitrite, a common salt found in the body, can open blood vessels and improve blood flow in parts of the body. “This study is paradigm breaking regarding the role of nitrite in expanding blood vessels. At the very least it holds promise as a new therapeutic agent for sickle cell anemia and other diseases that include pathophysiological blood flow.” The study will be published in the December issue of Nature Medicine.
Contact: Jacob McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.