WFU in the news: Oct. 4-10

FEATURED NEWS

Grant provides hands-on STEM experience for high schoolers
By Kim McGrath | news.wfu.edu

With a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Wake Forest will be able to provide hands-on opportunities for high school students in Forsyth County to explore STEM studies and related careers. The Wake Forest LEAP (Lab Experiences: Academics and Professions) program will target students from local Title 1 schools.10/07/2021

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Did dictatorships outperform democracies against COVID-19?
By Justin Esarey | The Atlantic
The argument that authoritarian governments outperform democracies in a crisis has found new life during the coronavirus pandemic. The data tell a different story. When it comes to developing and administering the life-saving vaccines that can stop the virus, politics professor Justin Esarey, who specializes in political methodology, says democratic governance is working. – 10/04/2021

Economist ranks WFU MSM program top 5 in U.S and among top 25 globally
The Economist
The Wake Forest School of Business Master of Science in Management program ranked No. 5 in the U.S. and No. 24 in the world, according to The Economist’s 2021 global ranking. The School of Business earned the No. 2 spot in the U.S. for career opportunities and also earned the No. 2 spot in the nation among alumni ratings of career services. – 10/06/2021

China declares cryptocurrencies illegal
Ave Maria Radio
Wake Forest economics professor Robert Whaples talks about the supply and demand sides of cryptocurrencies including how cryptocurrencies are mined. “The market value of cryptocurrencies is 2 trillion dollars and Bitcoin is 45% of this. The difficulty of creating it is what makes it scarce,” he said. – 10/04/2021

REGIONAL & TRADE

Maya Angelou, other women will be celebrated on new U.S. coins
WFDD-FM (Winston-Salem, NC)
The United States Mint is honoring the achievements of women who have had an impact on the nation’s history. Angelou lived in Winston-Salem and taught students at Wake Forest for more than 30 years. In April, Wake Forest announced the establishment of the Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award. Nominations are being accepted through Oct. 15. – 10/08/2021

LOCAL

Little Theatre preparing classic trapped-train murder mystery, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’
Winston-Salem Journal
A dialect coach, Leah Roy from Wake Forest, is guiding the cast through the French, British, Hungarian, Russian and the distinct Minnesota sound from America. –10/10/2021

Our view: Burr’s new student-athlete tax
Winston-Salem Journal
“Given the political makeup in both his chamber and the U.S. House, it’s unlikely this measure will go anywhere without substantial support from Democrats across the aisle,” Todd McFall, a sports economist at Wake Forest, told the Journal. But Burr’s isn’t the only proposal for dealing with NILs. Other proposals will attempt to codify and limit student-athletes’ earnings even more. – 10/04/2021

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Learning the truth about honesty
By Cheryl V. Walker | news.wfu.edu
The Honesty Project, which launched at Wake Forest in 2020 with a $4.4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, has awarded grants to 16 projects exploring the science of honesty and philosophical questions related to the virtue. The Project’s funding competitions drew hundreds of proposals from researchers worldwide. – 10/05/2021

Research Day celebrates scholars and mentors
By Cheryl V. Walker | news.wfu.edu
During Family Weekend, 135 students presented the findings of their mentored scholarship at Undergraduate Research Day. Hundreds of faculty, staff, students and family members visited the Oct. 1 event showcasing original scholarship by students working with faculty mentors. – 10/05/2021