WFU in the news: Oct. 23-29, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

Being humble about what you know is just one part of what makes you a good thinker
By Eranda Jayawickreme | The Conversation
“Being intellectually humble – in a way that promotes good thinking – likely involves being both curious and open-minded about new information. Focusing on a single characteristic such as intellectual humility rather than the totality of intellectual character ends up promoting lopsided character development, similar to that of a bodybuilder focusing their efforts on one bicep rather than their whole body,” writes psychology professor Eranda Jayawickreme. – 10/25/2023

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Deception researchers investigate how the recipient and the medium affect telling the truth
By Christian Miller | Houston Chronicle
“An emerging body of empirical research is trying to answer these questions, and some of the findings are surprising. They hold lessons, too – for how to think about the areas of your life where you might be more prone to tell lies, and also about where to be most cautious in trusting what others are saying. As the recent director of The Honesty Project and author of “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue,” I am especially interested in whether most people tend to be honest or not,” writes philosophy professor Christian Miller in this piece for The Conversation. – 10/26/2023

The Lewiston shooting puts a spotlight on the US’s unique gun problem
By Gaspar Bazinet | News24 France
At least 16 people have been killed, and several dozen injured in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine — the northern state’s second-largest city. “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 David Yamane, who studies American gun culture. –10/25/2023

Eric G. Wilson, “Point Blank” (British Film Institute, 2023)
By Marshall Poe | player.fm
John Boorman’s Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson’s compelling study “Point Blank” (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. – 10/24/2023

Who pays to maintain old graves at a cemetery?
By Janet Nguyen, Maike Schulz | Marketplace
Depending on the state, there are statutes that require certain cemeteries to take a portion of the money that they generate from grave site sales and put them into what’s called a perpetual care fund or endowment, explained law professor Tanya Marsh. Cemeteries owned by religious organizations, individuals and families are generally exempt from having to establish an endowment. “In the state of North Carolina, we have about 30,000 cemeteries, and there are only about 100 that are actually regulated by the state and subject to those requirements.” – 10/27/2023

Will Chileans be able to agree on a new constitution?
Latin American Advisory
Politics professor and international affairs professor Peter Siavelis writes that “The release of Chile’s latest draft constitution came days before the fourth anniversary of the estallido, the massive social movement marking the beginning of the country’s experiment in constitutional design. The burden of addressing Chile’s deep-seated societal inequalities, which initially triggered the constitutional reform process, now falls upon future governments, and they must do so within a constitutional framework inimical to change and widely seen as illegitimate.” – 10/25/2023

Gun control in the spotlight
By Deborah Levine | Medium
Revenge-seeking males make up 98% of these shooters. Some shooters are White Supremacists, prompting the Justice Department to consider federal hate crime charges. A hate crimes expert at the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest University School of Law, said, “We’re seeing the confluence of violence, easy access to guns and political rhetoric that does not condemn and often supports violence against minorities.” – 10/28/2023

REGIONAL & TRADE

Susan Wente named Power Player 2023
By Daniel Finnegan | Triad Business Journal
President Susan R. Wente, who took over as the school’s 14th president and first female president in July 2021, has quickly made her mark on the university. She named a new law school dean (Andrew Klein) and a new CFO (Jacqueline Travisano) in 2024 after previously installing a new provost (Michele Gillespie) and new deans for the schools of medicine (Dr. Ebony Boulware) and business (Annette Ranft). Wake announced in August that it would offer early action specifically for first-generation students after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled is affirmative action unconstitutional. – 10/27/2023

Walker finds he already has a ‘real world’ GOP challenger in new Sixth District
By Richard Craver | Greensboro News & Record
A second Republican primary challenger for the Sixth Congressional District seat has emerged less than 24 hours after Mark Walker abandoned his bid for North Carolina governor to pursue a return to Congress. Politics professor John Dinan said that “there was little indication that Walker had a path to victory in the Republican nomination for governor, and so it makes sense that he would consider running instead for a seat in Congress.” – 10/27/2023

Research Roundup: October 2023
AACSB Insights
The Andrew Sabin Family Foundation has donated 5 million USD to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which the school will use to turn its Center for the Environment, Energy and Sustainability into the Andrew Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability. – 10/25/2023

LOCAL

Business Milestones
Winston-Salem Journal
Wake Forest is one of 12 institutions earning a 2023 Handshake Career Spark Award in the student engagement category. The award recognizes the University’s Office of Personal and Career Development (OPCD) for its innovation and dedication to engaging students in career development from Day One. – 10/29/2023

Día de los Muertos: Celebrating the holiday in the Triad
By Dalia Razo | Yes! Weekly
A regular collaborator and supporter of the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, Assistant Director of the Lam Museum Sara Cromwell has been curating the “Life after Death: Celebrating Day of the Dead” exhibit for many years. A staple of Winston-Salem, this exhibit has been around for more than 20 years and returns each time with something new to ponder. Consistently highlighting the diversity within the celebration itself, this year’s exhibit, which is on display through December 8, is split into three main sections. One focuses on public celebrations, another on the variety of ofrenda setups, and a third on cemetery celebrations. – 10/25/2023

Redistricting makes modest precinct shifts for legislators
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
The outlook appears promising for N.C. House and Senate incumbents serving Forsyth and Guilford counties following the passing of the latest Republican-drawn legislative redistricting maps. The adding of Black voters to Lowe’s Senate district in lieu of white voters “is the one complaint I have heard in debate” on the legislative redistricting maps, said John Dinan, a political science professor who is a national expert on state legislatures. – 10/29/2023

WFU Theatre presents civil rights drama
By Leslie Spencer | Yes! Weekly
The Wake Forest University Theatre in collaboration with the Loire Valley Theatre Festival will present “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom” starting this week in the Scales Fine Arts Center. The production is sponsored in part by a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America grant. “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom” is based on the award-winning memoir by Lynda Blackmon Lowery. – 10/25/2023

WAKE FOREST NEWS

WFU Face to Face will host star of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ Daymond John
By Kim McGrath | news.wfu.edu
Founder & CEO of FUBU, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” and CEO of The Shark Group Daymond John will join Wake Forest’s Face to Face Speaker Forum for an evening of conversation with Emmy Award-winning talk show host Mario Armstrong on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel. John is a pioneer in the fashion industry. – 10/23/2023