WFU in the news: Aug. 7-13, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

Inspiring the next generation of STEM scientists
By Keri Brown | Wake Forest News
LEAP is a summer, paid, lab-based internship program for rising high school juniors and seniors who attend one of six Title I Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. “We try to expose our interns to a number of different STEM disciplines, including areas they may not initially consider outside of traditional bench science,” said Alana James, director of Wake Downtown. “The program also includes professional development workshops related to career exploration, resume development, networking, public speaking and research.” – 8/09/2023

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

The Epicurean search for happiness and serenity
By Alex Morgan | The Times Literary Supplement
“Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life” by philosophy professor Emily Austin is featured in this Times Literary Supplement book review. Austin’s contribution, which focuses on the ancient philosopher Epicurus and his school of Epicureanism, “cannot be praised too highly,” writes Morgan. – 8/08/2023

How to embrace anticipation and enjoy life
By Holly Burns | Reader’s Digest (UK)
It’s easy to slip into anxiety about the future, but how can we embrace anticipation and get more enjoyment out of life? The flip side of positive anticipation is anticipatory anxiety—and the fascinating thing, said psychology professor Christian Waugh, is that they often happen together. But it is detrimental only “when you just focus on the anxiety part and neglect the excitement part.” He adds that research suggests “when you reappraise anxious things as exciting, it actually makes you feel better about them.” – 8/07/2023

On Howard J. Curzer’s “Virtue Ethics for the Real World”
By Christian Miller | Los Angeles Review of Books
In this book review, philosophy professor Christian Miller writes that “Howard Curzer is to be commended for putting together the virtue-ethical pieces in a way that is novel and more plausible than most of the options currently out there in philosophy. And that makes his book required reading for anyone interested in the subject.” – 8/13/2023

Wake Forest launches first-gen early-action option
By Liam Knox | Inside Higher Ed
Wake Forest University is introducing an early-action option specifically for applicants who would be the first in their families to attend college. The private college in Winston-Salem, N.C., announced the new program as a way to give first-generation students the same admissions opportunities as those from college-educated families. – 8/07/2023

When facing difficult life experiences, study shows coping strategies matter
By Keri Brown | Medical Xpress
As more research becomes available about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives, a new study shows the well-being benefits for older adults who approach challenging experiences positively. The findings are part of a study co-authored by Wake Forest University undergraduate students and psychology professor Eranda Jayawickreme. Their work takes a deeper look at how younger and older adults processed difficult life experiences and stress during the pandemic. – 8/08/2023

How to become a college mascot
By Sarah Wood | U.S. News & World Report
“A lot of people want to feel really involved in something and maybe they haven’t found the right club or the right thing,” said Christy Creson, director of spirit programs and events at Wake Forest. “But they love coming to games and have huge school spirit. They really just want to be more involved but don’t know quite where they fit yet. And I feel like being a mascot sometimes is a great fit for that because one, no one is going to know who you are, so you get to go and be your best silly self.” – 8/08/2023

The complex legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
By Tess Bonn | Katie Couric Media
While her impact on women’s rights looms large, Ginsburg did not. At 5-foot-1, the Brooklyn native was known to be both soft-spoken and shy. But those who knew her personally saw a different side. “She had a very quick wit and she was funny,” said law professor Shannon Gilreath at Wake Forest, where Ginsburg was a frequent guest lecturer. “She was also a very feminine woman. I think people don’t think that feminists and femininity can coexist, but they did in her.” – 8/09/2023

Wake Forest announces Early Action for first-generation applicants
BestColleges
Wake Forest University announced an early action for admissions option specifically for first-generation students. That option will let students know of their admission decision by Jan. 15. First-generation students face barriers to applying for college and sometimes miss out on early action deadlines. First-generation students face unique barriers to applying for college and often miss out on early decision deadlines for admission. – 8/08/2023

Protein bars proliferate, yet they confuse consumers
By Christine Zulkosky, Tess Owings | The Food Institute
It’s debatable how healthy many protein snacks actually are. A healthy protein bar is one that a person eats while drinking plenty of fluids, said physics professor Jed Macosko. “That’s why I tend to recommend powders instead of bars – even though I love the convenience of a protein bar. People who use powders will automatically take in the required fluids they need when boosting their protein intake.” – 8/07/2023

Persuasive bullshitters and the insidious bullshit hypothesis
By John V. Petrocelli | skepticalinquirer.org
Why are many beliefs based on bullshit rather than facts, data, evidence or established knowledge? With a particular focus on memory, psychology professor John Petrocelli guides us through his research to understand how and why bullshit can be more persuasive than lies.
8/07/2023

REGIONAL & TRADE

Wake Forest University Health Sciences buys Innovation Quarter building for $38 million
Triad Business Journal
After leasing it for seven years, Wake Forest University Health Sciences has purchased an Innovation Quarter building for $38 million. A filing with the Forsyth County Register of Deeds shows that WFUHS purchased Building 60 in Innovation Quarter. Located at 409 Vine Street, the 0.76-acre building contains a 194,370-square-foot building. – 8/09/2023

Metal-organic framework encourages iron centre in ferrocene to oxidise
By George Barsted | Chemistry World
Physics professor Timo Thonhauser and colleagues devised a cobalt-based MOF to overcome ferrocene’s unreactive iron centre. The cobalt atoms form chains that can either be ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic in nature. – 8/11/2023

Dr. David Zaas to succeed Dr. Kevin High as president of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Triad Business Journal
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist has hired interim medical specialist Dr. David Zaas as its next system president, effective Sept. 1. It is the No. 2 executive post for the Winston-Salem system. Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag is the system’s chief executive. Zaas also will be a professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “He is an accomplished leader in academic medicine as a physician, scientist and educator, and he will help guide us…as we work together to improve the lives of those in our communities, our nation and the world,” Freischlag said. – 8/08/2023

LOCAL

Could North Carolina voters change the process for adopting constitutional amendments?
By Steve Doyle | WGHP-TV (High Point, NC)
“A number of other states in the last several years have been trying to make their constitutions harder to change, generally with an eye to limiting access to voter-initiated amendments that are currently an option in 17 states,” John Dinan wrote in an emailed response to questions. “These efforts have occasionally been successful…and various states have raised the threshold of signatures needed to be collected to place voter-initiated amendments on the ballot.” – 8/09/2023

The Bookhouse hopes to be a gathering spot for coffee, wine, books and more
By Michael Hastings | Winston-Salem Journal
In an era when bookstores are more often closing than opening, Winston-Salem got a new one. The Bookhouse opened last month at 120 Reynolda Village off Reynolda Road in the former location of Jukebox Oldies, on the northern end of the village. The Bookhouse sells air-roasted local coffee from Magic Beans. It offers the usual espresso drinks, including lattes and Americanos, and a modest selection of flavorings. They also have hot tea, chocolate milk and apple juice. Beer in cans is all from local craft brewers. – 8/08/2023

Making a will can cost several hundred dollars
By Bill O’Neil | WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
August is “Make a Will” month. Adjunct professor of law Don Vaughan talks with Bill O’Neill about free online wills vs having an attorney help write and execute a will properly. – 8/08/23