WFU in the news: Aug. 22-28

FEATURED NEWS

Forbes magazine ranks Wake Forest University as state’s best employer
Forbes
Wake Forest University has been ranked the top employer in North Carolina out of the 100 ranked for 2022 by Forbes magazine. According to the list, employers in the higher education, health care and information technology sectors ranked highest on the North Carolina list.8/24/2022

This story was covered in the Winston-Salem Journal and the Triad Business Journal.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

How we can help children grow in the wake of a crisis
By Anya Kamenetz | The New York Times
Openness, however, doesn’t mean parents should push. Psychology professor Eranda Jayawickreme, who studies post-traumatic growth, warned against pressuring children in a Pollyannaish way, making them think, “not only am I coping with this terrible thing, you’re telling me now that I’m supposed to grow?” – 8/22/2022

Do fame seekers need to be on Twitter?
By Peter Suciu | Forbes
“Early interventions toward destigmatizing mental health led to public figures realizing they have a unique opportunity to bring mental health awareness to the mainstream,” said counseling professor Allison Forti. “Now people readily acknowledge taking a mental health day from work, discussing depression and anxiety is getting easier, and mental health counseling is increasing.” – 8/24/2022

Employees want their leaders to fight for equality
Forbes
Black Lives Matter protests and the #MeToo movement changed how Americans think and discuss racial and gender inequality. This article references a recent study by professors at Penn State, Oregon State and Wake Forest that analyzed the performance standards for Black and white service worker employees, like hotel workers and grocery clerks. – 8/28/2022

The cloudy future of political futures
By Harry Crane, Koleman Strumpf | National Review
With the government’s decision to shut down PredictIt, Americans will lose a useful and accurate information source. Prediction markets provide forecasts of winners of future elections, working a bit like the more familiar stock market except participants buy shares of candidates rather than companies. Koleman Strumpf is Wake Forest’s Burchfield Presidential Chair of Political Economy. Crane is a professor of statistics at Rutgers University. – 8/22/2022

Weight loss helps knee arthritis
The Epoch Times
Recent research shows that people who are overweight can reduce their symptoms of knee arthritis by losing at least 20% of their weight. “The importance of our study is that a weight loss of 20% or greater—double the previous standard—results in better clinical outcomes and is achievable without surgical or pharmacologic intervention,” said Stephen Messier, lead researcher, and health and exercise science professor. – 8/24/2022

REGIONAL & TRADE

Wake Forest University renames street to honor trailblazers
By Wes Young, Winston Salem-Journal | The Charlotte Observer
Wake Forest University has renamed four existing roads on the campus after “trailblazing professors,” in a move that has removed a road name associated with a former school president with ties to the institution of slavery. The new names will honor two Black professors who were the first male and female tenure-track faculty members, along with a woman who was the first full-time female faculty member, and another woman who became the first female chair of the English Department. – 8/28/2022

The Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record, and other local, regional and national news outlets ran the story.

NC abortion law exceptions too vague, critics say
By Laura Leslie | WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)
Law professor Meghan Boone, who teaches reproductive and family law at Wake Forest said, “There’s a real risk of inconsistent and discriminatory enforcement if the people charged with enforcing the laws. The police and the prosecutors also have their own views about what counts and doesn’t for medical emergencies.” – 8/22/2022

Lose fat, preserve muscle-weight training beats cardio for older people
Knowridge Science Report
Scientists from Wake Forest University found for older adults trying to slim down, pumping iron might be the way to go. They suggest combining weight training with a low-calorie diet preserves much-needed lean muscle mass that can be lost through aerobic workouts. In the study, researchers examined 249 adults in their 60s who were overweight or obese. – 8/23/2022

LOCAL

As Forsyth mulls 500-home development, experts rip outdated NC flood assumptions
By John Deem | Winston-Salem Journal
Unlike climate change models, which predict temperature increases and related weather events based on varying levels of future greenhouse gas emissions, NOAA’s process for projecting rainfall extremes is one-dimensional, said engineering professor Courtney Di Vittorio. “It’s really, really misleading,” she said of the implication that anything outside a floodplain is relatively safe from rising water. “There are so many uncertainties stacked on top of each other when you reach that line.” – 8/22/2022

BAT, Reynolds accelerate pace of price hikes for traditional, electronic cigarettes
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
That tobacco manufacturers are able to consistently raise prices on traditional and electronic cigarettes is not surprising to Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation at Wake Forest. “There’s the willingness on the part of smokers to continue to pay an ever-increasing out-of-pocket price given the benefit of enjoyment they obtain from using the products.” – 8/23/2022

Students, graduates say White House student loan forgiveness will help them, their family who are struggling
By Louie Tran | WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
Wake Forest junior Hasan Pyarali said, “I felt a little bit of relief, and I felt like it was a good step forward. $10,000 is a big deal. It’s a good step, but a very small step.” – 8/24/2022