Stories this week at WFU

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

ACCLAIMED MIDDLE EAST JOURNALIST SPEAKS AT WFU TONIGHT — Rami Khouri, editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, a publication distributed throughout the Middle East, will speak and take questions at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 in Wake Forest’s Pugh Auditorium in the Benson University Center. Khouri, an internationally-syndicated political columnist and author, has had a lot to say in the wake of last week’s Hamas victory as evidenced by two recent op-eds, including one published Feb. 1 titled “We Are Bewildered by America’s Bewilderment.” Khouri’s Wake Forest talk will focus on “The Middle East Today: What in the World is Going On … and Why?” A Palestinian-Jordanian and a U.S. citizen with family living in Beirut, Amman and Nazareth, Khouri was editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times for seven years. He has written for the Financial Times, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. He often provides commentary on Middle East issues for international media outlets like CNN, BBC and National Public Radio. A Fellow of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, Khouri is also a member of the Brookings Institution Task Force on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World. Khouri’s lecture is sponsored by Wake Forest’s religion and political science departments.

Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WHAT WE WANT FROM SUPER BOWL ADVERTISEMENTS — “We’re looking for something that gets us talking around the water cooler on Monday morning,” says Wake Forest Associate Professor of Business Sheri Bridges of this Sunday’s Super Bowl advertisements. “Budweiser and Bud Light have achieved this consistently over the years.” Bridges, an expert on branding and advertising, is available for comment on Sunday’s commercial contest.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

LILLY ENDOWMENT AWARDS GRANT FOR PRO HUMANITATE CENTER — In a show of continued support for the vocational exploration programs it helped to create at Wake Forest, Lilly Endowment Inc. of Indianapolis has awarded a $498,491 grant to the university. The grant will help continue work at Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate Center, which opened in 2002 with support from an initial grant of $1.9 million from the endowment. The center offers vocational exploration for undergraduate students and is named after the university’s motto “Pro Humanitate,” which means, “for the good of humanity.” The initial grant provided funding for the center for five years. The new grant, which requires Wake Forest to provide matching funds, will extend the work of the center for at least three years. Betsy Taylor, director of the Pro Humanitate Center, said the award of additional funds from the endowment demonstrates a belief that the center’s work is important to the undergraduate experience. The initial grant, announced in December 2001, was part of a major initiative by Lilly Endowment. It awarded $56.8 million to 28 American colleges and universities at that time to support programs that help students explore the concept of vocation from both theological and ethical perspectives. Bill Leonard, dean of the Divinity School, and Paul Escott, Reynolds Professor of History and former dean of the undergraduate College, have directed use of the endowment grant at Wake Forest. Taylor, Leonard and Escott are available to talk about the grant and the work of the Pro Humanitate Center. For more information about Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate Center, visit the Web at http://www.wfu.edu/undergraduate_college/phcenter/pathways/.

Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WAKE FOREST, OTHER BIG FOUR SCHOOLS WORK TO CAN HUNGER — From Feb. 1 to March 1, Wake Forest will participate with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University to collect canned food and money in an effort to eliminate hunger. Money and food collected by Wake Forest will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. Donations of food or cash will be collected at Wake Forest basketball games on Feb. 8, 11, 19 and 22. In addition, monetary donations can be made online at http://www.hungernwnc.org/donate-funds/donate-online.html. Each canned item or $1 donated earns the donor 1 point. For every 25 points accumulated, the donor’s name will be entered in a drawing for two season tickets to the 2006 Wake Forest Football season. The drawing will take place March 4. Entrants do not need to be present to win. The university with the highest amount of donations will be announced March 4 at the Wake Forest vs. N.C. State and the Carolina vs. Duke men’s basketball games. The student organizer for the event at Wake Forest is Richard L. Cox Jr., chief of staff for Wake Forest Student Government and chairman of the Screamin’ Demons student fan club. He is available for interviews.

Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

ANTHONY ASTON PLAYERS PRESENT ‘PROOF’ — Wake Forest’s student theatre group, the Anthony Aston Players, will present the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play “Proof” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2-4 in the Ring Theatre of Scales Fine Arts Center. The productions is designed and staged entirely by Wake Forest students. Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for adults (cash only) and are available at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

HOW MUCH IS AMERICA SPENDING ON THE WAR? — Perhaps not as much as one might expect, despite the $251 billion price tag to date. Robert Whaples, professor of economics at Wake Forest, has examined the cost of each major American war through the first Gulf War. He says that so far, in comparing the percentages of the Gross Domestic Product spent on each war, Operation Iraqi Freedom is second only to the first Gulf War in terms of being the least expensive in U.S. history. Whaples’ expertise includes the economic history of the United States and the economics of war. He has taught a class titled “Economics of War in America” at Wake Forest, and is director of EH.NET, the Web site that provides electronic services to economic historians.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

ARTWORK EXPLORES RESPONSES TO SOCIO-POLITICAL WORLD — The work of artists Edith Isaac-Rose, Elyse Defoor and DUZA (the artist’s working name) is as varied as the mediums they employ, but their messages are similar: how do we respond to the socio-political pressures the world imposes on us? The exhibit, which will be featured in Wake Forest’s Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery, will run from Feb. 8 to March 19. An opening reception will be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 8. Guest artist discussions will also be held in conjunction with the exhibit. Isaac-Rose and Defoor will discuss their works at 4 p.m. Feb. 8, and DUZA will discuss her work at 3 p.m. Feb. 28. The exhibit, reception and discussions are free and open to the public.

Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WFU THEATRE RETELLS IBSEN CLASSIC, APPALACHIAN STYLE — The Wake Forest University Theatre will present Romulus Linney’s “Gint,” a retelling of Ibsen’s classic “Peer Gynt.” Performances will be held at the MainStage Theatre in Scales Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10-11 and 15-18 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 19. Unfolding like a strange dream, the play follows the life journey of Pete Gint, a young man living in the Appalachian Mountains in 1917. Tickets are $12, $5 for students, and may be purchased at the Theatre Box Office or by calling (336) 758-5295.

Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WFU WOMEN TO RAISE FUNDS FOR BATTERED WOMEN SHELTERS — As part of the V-Day global movement to stop violence against women and girls, the women of Wake Forest and Salem College have partnered to present “The Vagina Monologues.” All proceeds from the performances will be donated to local battered women shelters. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20-22 at the Ring Theatre in Scales Fine Arts Center on the campus of Wake Forest and at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27-March 1 in Bryant Hall at Salem College. Tickets are $14; $12 for students. To order tickets, call Nadja Mummery at (336) 917-5110. Sponsorships are also available; contact Kelly Chauvin at (336) 473-1200 or chauk4@wfu.edu.

Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

STUDENTS REALIZE DREAMS BY COMBINING THEATRE AND MAGIC — Wake Forest senior Ben Whiting became enthralled with magic at age five. Senior Matt Gutschick always wanted to be in theatre. Both had a dream, but it wasn’t until Gutschick saw Whiting perform street magic in Europe that the two ever imagined how combining their dreams could blend both their art forms into a new social entrepreneurial theater concept that could make a profound impact on young people. Whiting and Gutschick, the creators of MagicMouth Productions, an educational, non-profit theatre company, will debut “Awakening,” the first drama production to ever incorporate magic and illusion, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Wake Forest University’s MainStage Theatre in Scales Fine Arts Center. Performances will also be held at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26. Suitable for families, the semi-autobiographical show depicts Whiting’s life and uses magic tricks and David Copperfield-style grand illusions to convey the message that one should never let go of his dreams. Tickets are $20; $10 for students and children 12 and under and are available at www.magicmouthproductions.com. Group discounts are also available. Interviews and morning show segments can be arranged. Television crews can tape the first five minutes of the production.

Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.