WFU in the news: April 24-30, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

Applied mathematics major Shelby Horth named Goldwater Scholar
By Kim McGrath | Wake Forest News
Junior and Mullen/Carswell Scholar Shelby Horth has been named a 2023 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. She is one of 413 college students from across the U.S. to receive the award for the 2023-24 academic year. A native of Kohler, Wisconsin, Horth is one of only 48 students selected whose research focuses on mathematics and computer science. “I know how supported I am by the math community at Wake Forest and being named a Goldwater Scholar means expanding this encouraging community,” said Horth. – 4/27/2023

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Thrifts vs. banks: What’s the difference?
By René Bennett | MSN
The biggest difference between a thrift and a conventional bank is that thrifts are designed to serve U.S. consumers rather than businesses. By law, thrifts must have 65 percent of their lending portfolio tied up in consumer loans, said law professor Tanya Marsh. – 4/30/2023

The latest mass shooting in Texas puts focus on America’s unique, enduring gun problem
By Li Zhou, Ian Millhiser, Nicole Narea | Vox
“America is unique in that guns have always been present, there is wide civilian ownership, and the government hasn’t claimed more of a monopoly on them,” said sociology professor and American gun culture expert David Yamane. – 4/29/2023

NC State Supreme Court throws out previous rulings for redistricting maps, voter ID
By Aaron Baker | WYFF-TV (Greenville, SC)
“Each of the decisions that were issued today were issued along partisan lines. It made a difference if there’s five Republican judges on the Supreme Court and only two Democratic judges. Just last November, that was different. There were four Democratic judges and three Republican judges, and the voter ID decision and redistricting decision came out differently,” said politics professor John Dinan. – 4/28/2023

Inside North Carolina’s wood pellet industry
By Wendy Herkey | WFAE-FM (Charlotte, NC)
Paper, lumber and wood products have always been a part of North Carolina’s economy. In the past decade or so, another industry has joined them: wood pellets. Four plants in eastern North Carolina convert wood harvested from North Carolina forests into pellets. Journalism professor Justin Catanoso, who writes for the environmental news website Mongabay, is a guest on this Charlotte Talks episode. – 4/26/2023

Challenging the FDA’s authority isn’t new
By Christine N. Coughlin | Houston Chronicle
Political pressure is nothing new for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency has frequently come under fire for its drug approval decisions, but attacks on its decision-making process and science itself have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal scholar Christine Coughlin writes about the recent challenges to the FDA’s authority in the context of reproductive rights. – 4/26/2023

REGIONAL & TRADE

NC Senate bill would clarify warnings on NIL contract negotiations
By Richard Craver | Greensboro News & Record
Sports economicst Todd McFall said the bill “looks like it is designed to scare away commercial entities and athletes who are considering entering into NIL agreements.” “Universities have made it clear that they view NIL agreements as being substitutes to the traditional support athletic departments received from businesses, which is to say that revenues collected by schools are flagging since NIL deals became allowed.” – 4/24/2023

LOCAL

WFU Face to Face Speaker Forum Announces 2023-24 Lineup
Yes! Weekly
Wake Forest University’s community-facing Face to Face Speaker Forum’s 2023-24 season will begin with Presidential historian, political commentator, and Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author Doris Kearns Goodwin and Presidential historian, NBC News and PBS NewsHour, New York Times columnist and best-selling author Micahel Beschloss in conversation. – 4/25/2023

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Local elementary students battle for culinary perfection
By Keri Brown | Wake Forest News
The event is a culmination of a six-week program administered by Wake Forest University for third through fifth graders in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. As part of the Kids Cooking Coalition, Wake Forest students volunteer at local schools and community centers during the spring to teach kids about cooking and how they can prepare easy, healthy recipes at home. Fox 8 WGHP and Spectrum News covered the competition. – 4/24/2023