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Cheryl Walker

Executive Director, News and Communications

Cheryl V. Walker has been a writer and public relations professional in higher education for more than three decades. On topics ranging from parent-teen relationships to voting behavior, she handles media relations for a range of academic and administrative departments, including the social sciences and admissions.

When Wake Forest was the first top-30 national university to drop the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions, she coordinated the university’s media outreach regarding the test-optional decision. She has been a CASE and PRSA presenter and has collaborated with colleagues to win CASE awards, including a 2014 Award of Excellence. In 2000, she gained experience handling the public relations challenges of hosting a Presidential Debate.

Cheryl graduated from Wake Forest with a B.A. in English.


Stories by Cheryl


Who’s remembering to buy the eggs?

The mental work of managing a family is hard, but research shows some upsides. Parents often feel overwhelmed by the mental and emotional work involved in running a household. This includes tasks like remembering appointments, meal-planning and worrying about their kids' well-being. Wake Forest University Professor of Management Julie Holliday Wayne studies the “invisible family load” and who carries it.

Categories: Experts


WFU names Nell Jessup Newton interim provost

Nell Jessup Newton, University of Notre Dame Professor Emerita, has been named interim provost of Wake Forest University beginning August 1, 2025. Newton is a distinguished lawyer, legal scholar and educator with more than 20 years of academic and administrative leadership experience. Newton served with distinction as Wake Forest’s interim dean of the School of…


What's fueling wildfires in the Southeast?

Earlier this year, wildfires in the Southeast U.S. followed months of weather whiplash - from drought to floods and back to drought. Lauren Lowman, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wake Forest University, explains the essential role fire plays in the region and how extreme weather affects wildfires. “We often think of wildfires…

Categories: Experts


Wake Forest’s Educating Character Initiative to expand its nationwide network promoting character education with $30M in new funding

Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative (ECI) will expand its support for character education at colleges and universities across the country with more than $30 million in new funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The ECI has built a community of educators from more than 400 higher education institutions engaged in developing and implementing ideas for integrating character education on their campuses.