Stories this week at WFU

MEDIA INVITED TO ANNA QUINDLEN TALK
Anna Quindlen, best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will give the Founders’ Day Convocation address at Wake Forest at 11 a.m. Feb. 19 in Wait Chapel. Media are invited to cover her talk. Broadcast media are encouraged to arrive by 10:45 a.m. to arrange for a direct audio feed. Television cameras may set up along the sides of the chapel, or on the balcony steps. During the ceremony, the university will recognize the field hockey team, which won its second consecutive NCAA Championship in 2003. In addition, the recipient of the Medallion of Merit, the university’s highest award for service to the university, will be announced.
Contact: Jacob McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu, 336-758-5237.

STUDENTS ASSIST LOCAL TAXPAYERS
Accounting students in Wake Forest’s Calloway School of Business and Accountancy are helping local taxpayers file their 2003 income tax forms through March. The students, with the help of their professor Yvonne Hinson, assisted around 1,700 local residents last year and returned between $30,000 and $40,000 in tax credits to local people. Hinson, PricewaterhouseCoopers Faculty Fellow and associate professor of accountancy, is leading Wake Forest’s effort to make sure local residents take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The Wake Forest assistance site will be open each Tuesday in February and March, except March 9, from 4-6 p.m. Media are invited to the site to talk with Hinson and student volunteers.
Contact: Sarah Mansell, manselss@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

PASSIONATE ABOUT ‘THE PASSION’
Mel Gibson’s controversial film “The Passion of The Christ” opens in about 2,000 theaters nationwide Feb. 25. Religious experts in Wake Forest’s Divinity School and religion department are available to discuss the film and its implications. The film, which covers the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ, has received both criticism and praise from Christian and Jewish religious leaders. A recent Washington Post story said the film has become the most talked about movie event in America, in large part because of a marketing strategy that targets Christian audiences.
Contact: Jacob McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

EDWARDS’ LAST CHANCE BEFORE ‘SUPER TUESDAY’
The Feb. 26 Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CNN and the Los Angeles Times will be the last confrontation before “Super Tuesday,” when nine states hold primaries or caucuses. Allan Louden, director of Wake Forest debate and associate professor of communication, is available to discuss the candidates’ strategies during the debate. Louden was Elizabeth Dole’s debate coach during the 2002 North Carolina senate race and continues to consult politicians across the country in campaign communication.
Contact: Sarah Mansell, manselss@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

HOW COULD A BLACK MAN INFILTRATE THE KKK?
By forming friendships with sworn enemies, author and race relations expert Daryl Davis has made supporters out of many of his Ku Klux Klan detractors. Davis will speak at Wake Forest in Pugh Auditorium Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. In his lecture, “A Black Man’s Odyssey into the Ku Klux Klan,” Davis will explain how Klan members have come to know him, respect him and then change their beliefs. Admission is free.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO WOW AUDIENCE AT WFU
The world-renowned National Symphony Orchestra will perform at Wake Forest Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. in Wait Chapel as part of the Secrest Artists Series. Musical Director Leonard Slatkin will conduct the orchestra and also comment on and illustrate excerpts of Gustav Mahler’s interpretation of Beethoven’s “Eroica.” Concert tickets are $25 for adults; $18 for non-university students, faculty and staff. Tickets are available through the Wake Forest Theatre Box Office at 336-758-5295. A free pre-concert talk with David Levy will be held in the Wait Chapel Balcony Room at 7:10 p.m. Slatkin will also give a lecture at Reynolda House at 12:30 p.m. on music education in public schools. Admission to the lecture is $5.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

DECORATED VIETNAM VET TO TALK ABOUT TEAMWORK AND HIS ROAD TO RECONCILIATION
Retired Col. Roger H.C. Donlon, U.S. Army Special Forces, and author of “Beyond Nam Dong” will speak at Wake Forest Feb. 20 at 9:15 a.m. in the Information Systems building, Room 162. Donlon was the first Medal of Honor recipient during the Vietnam War. Since the war, he has been dedicated to rebuilding understanding between the United States and Vietnam. A booksigning and informal discussion will also be held from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the College Book Store.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu, or 336-758-5237.

MERRILL LYNCH EXEC TO SPEAK AT DIVERSITY DAY
Westina Matthews-Shatteen, first vice president, community leadership, global human resources with Merrill Lynch, will speak at Wake Forest Babcock Graduate School of Management Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. The address, part of the Babcock School’s Diversity Weekend, is free and open to the public.
Contact: Dusty Donaldson, dusty.donaldson@mba.wfu.edu, or 336-758-4454.

Categories: Community, Events, Speakers