WFU in the news: Aug. 14-20, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

WFU enlists Front Street Capital, Carter to help redevelop area near Allegacy Stadium, LJVM Coliseum
By Lillian Johnson | Triad Business Journal
Wake Forest University has announced that it will redevelop the property it owns in the area east of its main campus, near the newly named Allegacy Stadium, Couch Ballpark and Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in a mixed-use project aimed at benefiting the local community and visitors. The University has enlisted a familiar local firm and an Atlanta group to overhaul an area near campus that holds huge potential for residential, retail and entertainment opportunities. – 8/17/2023

Less than 1% of Americans in dirty-energy jobs have transitioned to green jobs
By Michelle Cheng | Quartz
Transitioning the US to a low-carbon economy is a great undertaking, and jobs related to electric vehicles are driving the transition. “The oncoming manufacturing of the battery plants and EV plants, I think it’s going to be really, really important for green workers in the future,” said economics professor Mark Curtis. He is a co-author of the new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research showing the vast majority of workers in dirty jobs switch to another dirty job in the wake of a rapidly warming world. – 8/15/2023

The findings were covered in outlets nationwide including Bloomberg and MSN.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Are first-generation students the answer to college diversity?
By Genevieve Carlton | BestColleges
Encouraging colleges to recruit and support first-generation students can improve campus diversity. And many colleges are taking steps to enroll first-generation students. At Wake Forest, for example, first-generation students qualify for targeted scholarships, counseling and academic support. The University is also implementing an early action program for first-generation students in the fall of 2023. – 8/17/2023

Wake Forest launches a new digital guide to art collections, exhibitions
Researchbuzz.me
“In addition to the University’s permanent collection of contemporary art, the Bloomberg Connects app showcases the University’s recent donations and new acquisitions and provides a self-guided tour of Wake Forest’s public art collection. Current student-curated exhibitions are also available. A section on integrating art into curricular and co-curricular activities to enhance teaching and learning is also included on the site,” said Jennifer Finkel, Acquavella Curator of Collections. The free app is available for download from Google Play or the App Store. – 8/20/2023

This announcement was also shared on Mirage News.

College football: Hard hat area
By Michael Smith | Sports Business Journal
Wake Forest is included in a roundup of Universities planning mixed-use development projects around their football stadiums. Wake Forest is working with a third-party development team to explore options for the university-owned property around those venues. The goals include economic development, new visitor attractions and enhanced event and entertainment activities along University Parkway and Deacon Boulevard. – 8/21/2023

How we talk with kids about prejudice matters
Greater Good: The Science of The Meaningful Life
Co-author and psychology professor Lisa Kiang comments on holding brave, intentional, caring, children-led conversations. “Recent years have seen more and more researchers hard at work trying to figure out how we can best support communities in having courageous conversations.…Warmth and support are the backbone of any effective conversation about race.” – 8/16/2023

A blessing of unicorns: a weekly roundup
By Nadya Williams | Currentpub
Philosophy professor Christian Miller announced this week the conclusion of (the grant period of) his Honesty Project. You can read more about this important project here. And here is a bibliography of the work that has emerged from it. – 8/19/2023

Quebec cemetery turns former golf course into forest for the deceased
By Thomas Edward MacDonald, Thomas Macdonald | Global News
The customizable tributes at Forêt de la Seconde Vie are part of a “major cultural shift” in attitudes about funerals in North America, explained law professor Tanya Marsh, who studies the treatment of human remains. Two trends are driving that shift, she said. The first is “a greater interest in memorialization options and personalization. The second is an “increased interest in greening the funeral.” – 8/20/2023

With the fate of their sacred space in limbo, they took over the cemetery
By Andrew J. Campa | Los Angeles Times
Law professor Tanya Marsh, an expert on funeral and cemetery law, said that cemetery abandonment is more common than some realize. “Especially in the case of religious organizations, there are tons of abandoned cemeteries in the United States because a church dissolves or a congregation moves and the cemetery stays behind.” – 8/18/2023

Study gives new insight into antibiotic resistance in bacteria
atlantanews.net
Meisam Nosrati, a former postdoctoral fellow in the Conn lab and a co-author of the PNAS paper, tapped the expertise of co-author Lindsay Comstock, a chemist and professor at Wake Forest who developed a technique to trap and stabilize the enzyme in the needed position. – 8/18/2023

How do Americans lose their homes?
By Jacob Kepes | New America
Wake Forest University’s Law Clinic’s estimates that 4% of all property in North Carolina, valued at $2 billion, is held as heirs’ property. However, efforts to document and reform this problem largely remain elusive to study. – 8/15/2023

Jacqueline Travisano
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education
Jacqueline Travisano has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Travisano holds an MBA from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Nova Southeastern University. – 8/14/2023

LOCAL

Wake Forest revives plans to redevelop area around Joel Coliseum, Allegacy Stadium
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
Wake Forest University is reviving a mixed-use development proposal around its athletic facilities on Deacon Boulevard. Under consideration are retail stores, restaurants, other services and residential uses. “Adjacent to several residential communities, including the historic Boston-Thurmond neighborhood, our exploration of development opportunities with Carter/Front Street will be guided by a strong commitment to our community’s collective wellbeing,” said Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente. – 8/19/2023

City of Winston partners with Wake Forest University on new development
By Holly Hodges | WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
Wake Forest University has big plans for a part of a Winston-Salem neighborhood. The University wants to redevelop areas around the Joel and Legacy stadiums and is working with the City of Winston-Salem to create a mixed-use development with new housing, retail and restaurants. – 8/18/2023

WAKE FOREST NEWS

WFU to welcome Class of 2027
By Kim McGrath, Cheryl V. Walker
Wake Forest University will welcome nearly 1,400 first-year students on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The Class of 2027 includes students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Thirty-two countries are represented, including Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 28. – 8/18/2023