WFU in the news: Nov. 6-12, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

These are the 10 Most Beautiful College Campuses in North Carolina
By Sunil Purushe | The Travel
Wake Forest University was designed to look especially impressive during the southern autumn. The University’s 340 acres, which include massive Reynolda Gardens, are alive with thousands of Maples, Magnolias, Oaks, Cedars, and other trees that alight in reds and yellows. Reynolda Gardens is also one of the popular things to do for anyone visiting the quaint town of Winston-Salem. Add to this natural beauty a series of Neo-Georgian buildings, such as Wait Chapel and ZSR Library, adorning the college campus. – 11/12/2023

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Q&A: ‘Hot hand’ in sports is real, but there’s a catch
By Kim McGrath | Phys.org
Fans and players both feel it in the gut when the “hot hand” shows up in sports. Wake Forest economist Erik Nesson investigated the hot hand phenomenon using statistics from NBA 3-point shooting contests from 1986 through 2019. He and co-researcher Robert Lantis of Indiana University found that hot hand exists, but only for shots taken from the same location. The paper, “The Hot Hand in the NBA 3-Point Contest: The Importance of Location, Location, Location,” will be published in the Journal of Sports Economics. – 11/06/2023

Ohio voters put abortion and marijuana on the ballot. Could that happen in North Carolina?
By Kyle Ingram | The Charlotte Observer
Could North Carolina legalize citizen initiatives? Yes, technically, but it seems very unlikely. Politics professor John Dinan said that in the last 30 years, no state has approved any new citizen initiative processes. – 11/08/2023

What do proposed constitutional amendments mean for Wisconsin voters?
By Andrew Bahl | The Cap Times
“It may seem unusual to see amendments being advanced for the purpose of bypassing gubernatorial opposition or insulating policies from state court reversal, because we don’t see similar amendments advanced at the federal level. But state constitutions and state constitutional amendments have their own distinctive purposes and dynamics, said politics professor John Dinan, an expert in state constitutional amendments. – 11/08/2023

Revisiting ‘natural law’ and gun rights
Baptist News Global
“We have to find a way to talk to one another, or the shouting is just going to get louder — and, I’m afraid, so will the gunfire,” writes John Carter, visiting assistant professor at Wake Forest University School of Law and in the Program for Leadership and Character and as visiting assistant professor of religion, law and public life at the School of Divinity. – 11/08/2023

3 questions to ask about MBA career services
By Cole Claybourn | U.S. News & World Report
At Wake Forest University’s School of Business, a part-time program, the career services center focuses less on job placement and more on helping students pivot within their current company, said Mark Noonan, the school’s associate director of market readiness and engagement. – 11/06/2023

What to expect if the Credit Card Competition Act passes
By Sara Rathner | The Cheyenne Post
The Credit Cards Competition Act of 2023 is pitting retailers against banks. The process of accommodating additional payment networks is more complex, compliance-wise, which also comes at a cost for banks, according to Brock Kannan, an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Law who teaches banking law and regulation. – 11/10/2023

Trading startup sues regulator in effort to launch election-betting market
By Paul Kiernan, Alexander Osipovich | The Wall Street Journal
Online-trading startup Kalshi sued the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, arguing the regulator wrongfully denied its application to launch a market for derivatives tied to results of congressional elections. Several states outlaw gambling on elections—a fact that was key to the CFTC’s rejection of Kalshi’s plan. But demand could be high. One overseas platform, Betfair.com, handled more than $2 billion of bets on the 2020 presidential election, according to data scraped by Wake Forest economist Koleman Strumpf. – 11/01/2023

REGIONAL & TRADE

To boost undergrad enrollment, physics departments turn to APS Innovation Fund Program
By Liz Boatman | American Physical Society
Nationwide, undergraduate physics enrollment has declined by more than 1 in 5 students since its peak in 2016, with smaller institutions bearing the brunt. That’s where the Departmental Action Leadership Institute comes in. DALI — a one-year, cohort-based bootcamp — trains departments to help respond to challenges like declining enrollment. Since completing the DALI curriculum last school year, physics professor Jed Macosko said, “the department realized “there needs to be constant transformational change.” – 11/09/2023

LOCAL

How North Carolina can transition from ‘dirty jobs’ to ‘clean jobs’
By Bob Buckley | WGHP-TV (High Point, NC)
Economics professor Mark Curtis talks about his research on the transition from “dirty” to “clean” jobs. “The research I’m doing is to try to think about what that transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables is going to mean for workers, specifically,” Curtis said. “What types of jobs are available? What types of jobs are going to be lost? What regions of the country are going to be hit hardest by this? Which regions of the country might be situated to grow from this?” In Curtis’ new academic paper,“Workers and the Green Energy Transition,” he explains that the transition has been driven by a combination of consumer demand and government policy. – 11/10/2023

What to expect with new voter ID requirement following 2023 election day
By Kara Peters | WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
“In some ways that’s concerning because some of the most important decisions are made in government not at the presidential level, not at the state level but at the town level and through mayors,” said politics professor John Dinan. “And yet those elections are not usually enough to motivate huge numbers to come out to the polls.” – 11/07/2023

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Researchers support Peruvian National Parks with help of $2.5M grant
By Cheryl V. Walker | Wake Forest News
Wake Forest University will partner with two other universities to support the work of the Peruvian National Park Service by connecting scientists with park managers and policy makers in new ways. The work is funded by a $2.5 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. – 11/12/2023

‘Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence’ Debbie Allen at Wake Forest
By Kim McGrath | Wake Forest News
Wake Forest University’s inaugural Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award winner Debbie Allen will participate in a conversation about her life and career. Professor of Dance Nina Lucas and Monet Beatty, owner of Monet Beatty Dance Company in Winston-Salem, will moderate the discussion. The award honors world-renowned artists who reflect Maya Angelou’s passions for creating, performing and teaching and celebrates exceptional artists for combining achievement in the arts and a commitment to improving the human condition. – 11/07/2023