WFU in the news: June 3-9, 2024

FEATURED NEWS

Judge Aileen Cannon tosses another curveball in the Trump cases
By Aaron Blake | The Washington Post
As politics professor Katy Harriger, an expert on special counsels, points out, “As has been made clear in other areas, commitment to earlier precedent for precedent’s sake is not an animating value of this Court. The current majority on the Roberts Court is generally hostile to appointment arrangements widely used in the modern administrative state that limit presidential control over executive actors. So even though the law appears to be well settled in this area, there is uncertainty as to whether this Court will think a special counsel meets the requirements for an ‘inferior officer.’” – 6/08/2024

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Are Gen Z ‘sellouts’ if they take corporate jobs?
By Christina Elson | Fast Company
Business professor Christina Elson writes: “At Wake Forest, my colleague Steve Nedvidek and I teach a course called Finding Your Personal Value Proposition, and I know other faculty in other colleges have similar courses. Ours encourages undergraduates to reflect on their strengths, interests and what they want to contribute to the world. We guide them in critically thinking about how to apply their talents and help them identify tools to track and reflect on their journey. ” – 6/04/2024

Colorado to tighten regulations on funeral homes after multiple scandals
By Tanya D. Marsh | The Conversation
Finding a reputable funeral home can be challenging for consumers, since people need their services only infrequently. That challenge is more difficult when you are making decisions only at the time of loss, when you are grieving and under stress. The best strategy is to research options and funeral providers in advance and plan as much as possible. Cultural unwillingness to talk about death and death care makes it more difficult to spot and avoid the bad actors. – 6/05/2024

6 books that explain the history and meaning of Juneteenth
By Corey D. B. Walker | Yahoo Life
Dean of the School of Divinity, Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Program in African American Studies Corey D. B. Walker shares six books that can help people better understand the history and meaning of the observance. – 6/09/2024

REGIONAL & TRADE

Wake Forest rises to top for employee pay among NC universities
By Joanne Drilling, Lillian Johnson | Triad Business Journal
Wake Forest University leads the way for non-instructional staff pay among colleges and universities in North Carolina and also rises close to the top in both instructional staff and overall staff salaries, according to a Business Journals analysis of fiscal year 2023 data for public and private universities. – 6/06/2024

LOCAL

Hayward offers cold plunge experience to backyard pools
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
Hayward Holdings Inc. is bringing the cold plunge challenge to the backyard pool with the debut of a new heat pump device that can chill water as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Marketing professor Roger Beahm said Hayward’s new pump could benefit from a growing target audience. “Market demand for cold plunge is expected to grow substantially over the next few years with interest from athletes and fitness enthusiasts — as well as non-athletes — due to its perceived health-and-wellness benefits.” – 6/03/2024

Bill would change how people are appointed to board that oversees public defender offices in North Carolina
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
The proposed revamping of HB250 “would continue a recent pattern of the General Assembly increasing its role in appointing members of various commissions and reducing the role of other officials and entities in selecting commission members,” said politics professor John Dinan. “In a number of other cases, the main point has been for legislators to increase their role and reduce the role of the governor. – 6/06/2024

Proposed NC campaign funding law changes draw Democrats’ ire
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
“Under the provision in the law being considered, these 527 groups could make donations to the North Carolina Republican party or North Carolina Democratic Party, which can in turn use these funds to benefit Republican and Democratic candidates for governor or other state offices,” said politics professor John Dinan. “There is a lot of benefit in allowing legislators and the public to have adequate time to study and understand the changes.” – 6/09/2024

New name, new logo, one marvtastic event
By Tevin Stinson | WS Chronicle
“This festival is really focused on community,” said Jackie Alexander, artistic director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NCBRC) and producer of the International Black Theatre Festival. He went on to discuss NCBRC’s partnership with Wake Forest University on a new initiative during the festival called “Finding Holy Ground.” According to Alexander, events associated with the new initiative will be free to the public. – 6/06/2024

What happened when a Wake Forest professor bought a gun?
By Scott Sexton | Winston-Salem Journal
Curiosity as much as anything caused David Yamane to buy his first gun — a .22-caliber Ruger — at the ripe old age of 42 to join millions of other Americans who own firearms. The decision had an unintended consequence for Yamane, a sociology professor at Wake Forest, that changed the course of his academic career. “I lived most of my life in places where guns were not prevalent,” he said. “Coming to North Carolina, it seemed like everyone had guns except me.” – 6/04/2024

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Shelby Horth awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship
By Kim McGrath | Wake Forest News
Applied mathematics researcher and private pilot Shelby Horth has earned a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award to study aeronautics. Horth, a May 2024 Wake Forest graduate, will pursue a doctorate in applied mathematics at the University of Arizona. – 6/06/2024