Wake Forest University welcomed the community to its new, permanent home in The Pearl innovation district in Charlotte on Monday, the culmination of a multi-year quest to deepen its connections to one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.

University leaders cut a Deacon gold ribbon draped across the entrance to the new Charlotte Campus suite on the 10th floor of The Pearl to celebrate the grand opening. 

Wake Forest has had a Charlotte presence for decades, first through programs offered by the School of Business and more recently through the School of Professional Studies and the School of Law.

But the move to The Pearl shows the university’s commitment to delivering world-class learning in a city ranked as one of the top five places to live in the nation, said Charles Iacovou, founding dean of the School of Professional Studies and vice provost for Wake Forest’s Charlotte programs.

The new campus suite occupies about 6,700 square feet of work spaces and meeting rooms on the 10th floor of The Pearl, with views of the growing Uptown Charlotte skyline. Lower floors house classrooms and other gathering spaces for students.

Within the next year, the long-standing, Charlotte-based offerings from the School of Law, as well as the new study away semester, will join the School of Business and School of Professional Studies in The Pearl. 

The School of Professional Studies has offered online master’s degree programs, graduate certificates, bootcamps and executive education from its Charlotte base of operations since 2021. The School of Business has offered an MBA program tailored to busy working professionals in Charlotte for decades. And the School of Law has long provided Charlotte externships to its students. 

“Wake Forest has been part of Charlotte for several decades — students, faculty, staff and alumni building their careers here and helping shape this city,” Iacovou said in his grand opening remarks. “We are an integral part of Charlotte’s history and helped shape its dynamic trajectory.”

In 2025, Wake Forest launched the city’s first four-year medical school at The Pearl, an innovation district created through a partnership led by Atrium Health and Wexford Science & Technology. The Wake Forest University School of Medicine serves as the academic core of Advocate Health, Atrium’s parent company. The School of Medicine anchors The Pearl, along with IRCAD North America, an advanced surgical training and research center.

Dr. L. Ebony Boulware, dean of the School of Medicine and chief academic officer for Advocate Health, said Wake Forest’s growing presence in The Pearl will only strengthen academic excellence and advance the University’s motto, Pro Humanitate, “For Humanity.”

The School of Medicine, which welcomed 49 students in its first cohort in summer 2025, is based on the 12th floor of The Pearl.

“This is a place where possibility really comes together,” Boulware said. “When we bring together education, research, innovation, industry and our community, the closeness of these spaces really allows our ideas to move more quickly and partnerships to take place in real time. The best work happens when we’re connected by our shared purpose.” 

When Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente started her tenure in 2021, the School of Professional Studies was preparing to launch, and the momentum for a Charlotte medical school campus was just beginning. The School of Business and School of Law were contemplating ways to increase their presence in the city.

“I remember thinking that this was a place where Wake Forest could do something even more meaningful, not simply by continuing or extending our presence, but by extending our purpose in terms of education and research missions,” Wente said. “This space represents how we think about education as something connected and integrated into the larger ecosystem that our students are actually needing to navigate in the world today as they prepare for careers and lives of meaning and purpose.”

She said the people and the partnerships taking shape in The Pearl, across Charlotte and throughout the region have built a community of learning and inquiry committed to innovation, discovery and educating the next generation of leaders needed by our society.

Since the School of Business launched its professional MBA program in Charlotte in 1995 with 30 students, more than 2,000 business professionals have received a degree through Charlotte campus programs. The School of Professional Studies has bestowed 412 degrees or certificates since its launch. And more than 8,600 Wake Forest alumni call Charlotte home.

With Wake Forest’s focus on experiential learning, the campus at The Pearl also offers students the chance to work not only with local businesses and non-profits, but also across disciplines and industries. The Pearl exists at the intersection of healthcare, technology, policy and community. 

That environment is especially attractive to School of Business students, because business does not operate in isolation, said Stacie Petter, acting dean of the School of Business.

“At Wake Forest, education is not just about knowledge,” Petter said. “It’s about relationships. It’s about character. It’s about a shared commitment to something larger than ourselves. In Charlotte, we are a city defined by growth, energy, and possibility. With the new Charlotte campus, Wake Forest has an extraordinary opportunity to live that mission in even more visible and impactful ways.”