Stories this week at WFU
PROMINENT LOCAL PREACHER TO LEAD OPENING CHAPEL SERVICE — The Rev. Dr. Sir Walter Lee Mack Jr., pastor of the 3,000-member Union Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, will preach during Wake Forest University Divinity School’s opening chapel service at 11 a.m. Sept. 6 in Wait Chapel. The service is free and open to the public. Mack, author of the book “Passion for Your Kingdom Purpose,” will deliver the sermon “The Blessing of a Beginning.” A native of Winston-Salem, Mack has gained national recognition as a passionate preacher with a strong interest in community development. His church bought a 12-unit apartment complex, and he organized a drug-dealer conference that offered support and spiritual guidance to former drug dealers, drug users and their families. His efforts were recognized this year by the magazine The African American Pulpit, which named him one of the top 20 preachers in America under the age of 40.
Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
WFU PUTS POCKET PC TECHNOLOGY TO THE TEST — Pocket PC phones will be in the hands of about 100 Wake Forest University students this fall as the university begins what may be the nation’s first pilot program to explore potential campus uses for the latest in converged mobile technology. About 40 students will get the Pocket PC phones Sept. 6 from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Information Systems building, Room 224. The pilot program, called MobileU, will explore the ways students are already communicating and find out if one mobile device can meet their needs and enhance academic and student life. “What we’ve seen over the past two or three years is students moving away from more traditional messaging like e-mail to newer technologies such as instant messaging and text messaging,” said Jay Dominick, chief information officer at Wake Forest. “Student communication patterns are diverging. We want to find out if we can use mobile technology to close that gap, to deliver new things in ways students want to get them.” The Pocket PC phones in the pilot combine the functions of a cell phone and a mobile computer with wireless access and are equipped with instant messaging, text messaging and various customized software. Participants in the pilot will provide feedback on specific applications, but are also encouraged to come up with their own creative uses for the devices.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
9/11 HERO NARRATES MIRACLE OF SURVIVAL — Salvatore “Sal” D’Agostino, a member of Ladder Company 6, New York City Fire Department, will tell the harrowing story of what happened when he and six other members of his company rushed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The lecture, titled “The Miracle of Ladder Company 6,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7 in Wake Forest’s Pugh Auditorium in Benson University Center and is free and open to the public.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
SECREST SEASON OPENS WITH RENOWNED CELLO-PIANO DUO — Wake Forest University’s 2005-2006 Secrest Artist Series opens with a concert by renowned cello-piano duo David Finckel and Wu Han at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 in Brendle Recital Hall. The couple will also give a lecture with a question-and-answer session at 11 a.m. Sept. 8 in Scales Fine Arts Center, Music Wing, Room 103. Media are welcome to attend the lecture or either practice session from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. or 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
PSYCHOLOGIST FINDS SELF-COMPASSION HELPS PEOPLE COPE WITH FAILURE — High self-esteem may not be as important as high self-compassion in coping with negative life events, according to research by Wake Forest psychologist Mark Leary. “Although Western society has emphasized the importance of high self-esteem, the more important thing may be to have self-compassion, the ability to treat oneself kindly in the face of failure, rejection, defeat and other negative events,” Leary said. He conducted three studies that consistently showed self-compassion is beneficial in helping people cope with negative events in ways that are often different from and better than high self-esteem. He presented his findings at a meeting of the American Psychological Association Aug. 20.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
