Inauguration of Wake Forest University President Peter Rodriguez to be held on October 30, 2026
Peter Rodriguez will be inaugurated as Wake Forest University’s 15th president on Friday, October 30, at 3 p.m. The inauguration ceremony will be held in Wait Chapel on the Wake Forest campus.
The formal installation ceremony will include University trustees, delegates from higher education institutions, government officials, faculty, staff, students and other guests. One alumni representative from each year from 1960 to 2026 will be present at the event.
Media are welcome to attend the inauguration ceremony. Please email media@wfu.edu for additional information on parking, credentials and seating.
Wake Forest faculty and invited delegates will process into the chapel wearing academic regalia. Rodriguez will deliver an inaugural address following formal greetings from speakers, including Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines and Winston-Salem State University Chancellor Bonita J. Brown.
In celebration of President Rodriguez’s inauguration, a symposium on “The Questions We Haven’t Asked Yet” will be held in Brendle Recital Hall, Scales Fine Arts Center at 10 a.m. on Friday. Wake Forest faculty from across academic disciplines will consider the questions their work is generating now and in the future. Media are welcome. More information can be found on the inauguration website here.
President Rodriguez took office as Wake Forest’s president on July 1, 2026. He came to Wake Forest from Rice University, where he has served as dean of Rice Business, which includes the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, since 2016. Rodriguez brings decades of expertise in international trade, economic history and public finance to Wake Forest. His career is defined by a commitment to academic excellence, diversity and global engagement. He succeeds Susan R. Wente, who served as the University’s president from 2021 to 2026.
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