The History of Wake Forest University (1983–2005)
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The History of Wake Forest University (1983–2005) Volume 6 | The Hearn Years The History of Wake Forest University (1983–2005) Volume 6 | The Hearn Years Samuel Templeman Gladding wake forest university winston-salem, north carolina Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data Names: Gladding, Samuel T., author. Title: History of Wake Forest University Volume 6 / Samuel Templeman Gladding. Description: First hardcover original edition. | Winston-Salem [North Carolina]: Library Partners Press, 2016. | Includes index. Identifiers: ISBN 978-1-61846-013-4. | LCCN 201591616. Subjects: LCSH: Wake Forest University–History–United States. | Hearn, Thomas K. | Wake Forest University–Presidents–Biography. | Education, Higher–North Carolina–Winston-Salem. |. Classification: LCCLD5721.W523. | First Edition Copyright © 2016 by Samuel Templeman Gladding Book jacket photography courtesy of Ken Bennett, Wake Forest University Photographer ISBN 978-1-61846-013-4 | LCCN 201591616 All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part, in any form. Produced and Distributed By: Library Partners Press ZSR Library Wake Forest University 1834 Wake Forest Road Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 www.librarypartnerspress.org Manufactured in the United States of America To the thousands of Wake Foresters who, through being “constant and true” to the University’s motto, Pro Humanitate, have made the world better, To Claire, my wife, whose patience, support, kindness, humor, and goodwill encouraged me to persevere and bring this book into being, and To Tom Hearn, whose spirit and impact still lives at Wake Forest in ways that influence the University every day and whose invitation to me to come back to my alma mater positively changed the course of my life. I will always be grateful! CONTENTS Prologue xi 1 The Selection, Reactions, a Settling In, and Graylyn, 1983–1984 1 2 Celebration and Reorganization, 1984–1985 21 3 A Bold Move, a Rhodes, and the Comeback, 1985–1986 39 4 The Baptists and the Building, 1986–1987 53 5 A Farewell to Elms and Other Transitions, 1987–1988 71 6 The Presidential Debate, 1988–1989 89 7 Upgrading, Expanding, and Renewing, 1989–1990 107 8 A National Campaign, a New Provost, the Beck Report, and Cable, 1990–1991 123 9 Starting Over, 1991–1992 139 10 Fifty Years of Women, 1992–1993 157 11 To Dream with One Eye Open, 1993–1994 175 12 A National Nod, Heart Trouble, Basketball, Plan Approval, and Campaign Success, 1994–1995 191 13 A Pivotal Year of Change, 1995–1996 209 14 The Plan, the Year of the Arts, Prestige, Tragedy, and the Gates, 1996–1997 229 15 The Year of Religion, Transitions, Construction, and a New Name, 1997–1998 249 vii viii The History of Wake Forest 16 Speaking with a Southern Accent: Culture and Unity, 1998–1999 267 17 A Divinity School, Vienna, Anticipation and Controversy, 1999–2000 281 18 A Presidential Debate, the Beginning of a Campaign, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Gift, 2000–2001 305 19 September 11, Reynolda House, and Health Sciences, 2001–2002 327 20 Transitions, Field Hockey, a Centennial, and Remembrance, 2002–2003 347 21 Brain Cancer, a Sixth Theme Year, and Another Field Hockey Title, 2003–2004 367 22 The End and Start of an Era, 2004–2005 387 Epilogue 407 Appendix A Faculty and Departments, 1983–2005 413 Appendix B Death of Faculty, Staff, and Trustees, 1984–2005 565 Appendix C Retirees from the Reynolda and Medical School Campuses, 1984–2005 573 Appendix D Board of Trustees, 1983–2005 583 Appendix E Medallion of Merit, 1984–2005 588 Appendix F Distinguished Alumni Awards, 1983–2005 590 Appendix G Sports Hall of Fame, 1983–1984 to 2004–2005 593 Appendix H Commencement Speakers, 1994–2005 596 Appendix I Baccalaureate Speakers, 1984–2005 597 Appendix J Residential Professors for Overseas Houses 599 Appendix K Reynolds Research Leaves, 1983–2005 605 Appendix L Average Full-Time Faculty Salaries during Hearn Years 615 Appendix M Award for Excellence in Advising, 1988–2004 616 Contents ix Appendix N The Alumni Association/Schoonmaker Faculty Prize for Community Service 617 Appendix O Award for Excellence in Research 618 Appendix P Founders’ Day Speakers, 1984–2005 619 Appendix Q Honorary Degrees, 1984–2005 620 Appendix R Jon Reinhardt Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1985–2005 625 Appendix S Reid-Doyle Excellence in Teaching Award, 1983–2005 626 Appendix T The Kulynych Family Omicron Delta Kappa Award Recipients, 1987–2005 627 Appendix U Wake Forest University Graduation and Student Percentages, 1983 and 2005 628 Appendix V Alumni Council Presidents, 1983–2005 629 Appendix W College Board of Visitors Chairs, 1983–2005 630 Appendix X Administrative Personnel, Schools on the Reynolda Campus, 1983–2005 631 Appendix Y Personal Interviews Conducted for the Book 638 References 639 Index 659 PROLOGUE ome eras in the life of an institution begin dramatically. Change occurs rapidly and suddenly. Historically stable systems and settings are abruptly uprooted, Sand disturbance is felt immediately and from then on. At other times, modifica- tions transpire quietly, almost unnoticed, at least initially. They are seen as benign; a few notable personalities come or go, and ways of working shift slightly. The beginning of what would become the twenty-two-year Hearn administra- tion has been described both ways. Wake Forest University’s twelfth president was an unknown outsider to most people in North Carolina, especially to those associated with the institution. Hearn was a forty-five-year-old Vice President at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He was swept into the Wake Forest presidency in a flawed search process with a leak to the press. From the beginning, he had to prove himself a man of all seasons, not just some. The task was challenging. The institution was on the rise. Hearn’s predecessors had been visionaries and excellent stewards of the college and the university into which it grew. Faculty and staff were dedicated and caring. Students were smart and engaged. The atmosphere of Pro Humanitate was supported by traditions and gener- ations of graduates who literally invested their lives for the good of society. Modesty and friendliness were part of the fabric of the University. This book does not focus on the man, Thomas K. Hearn Jr., but on Wake For- est University, its people, and its place in the world. As in any story, some characters play a more prominent role than others, and certain events are more notable. Overall, however, the reported challenges, struggles, triumphs, and changes and the people who acted in them affect us now and will influence generations to come. As Gavin Stevens says in William Faulkner’s novel Requiem for a Nun (1951), “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” The present and future of Wake Forest University will continue to be shaped by what took place from 1983–2005. xi xii The History of Wake Forest A Brief History of the Writing of this Book: A Saga I Could Never Make Up I never intended to write a history book, let alone a history of my alma mater. I was a history major at Wake Forest and fortunate enough to have classes with Ed Wilson and Bynum Shaw, who wrote the previous two University histories of the Tribble years and the Scales years. However, even though I loved and still love history, most of my professional life has been spent clinically and academically as a mental health counselor. I say “most” because, for a few years, I was more an administrator than a counselor or an academic. I served Wake Forest as Assistant to the President for special projects from 1990–1997 and as Associate Provost from 1998–2007. I thought of myself as merely taking a sabbatical from my chosen full-time profession, and, like Ed Wilson, I continued to teach one class a semester and to write. Thus I was a bit stunned when Tom Hearn asked me in 2006 to write the book about his years as Wake Forest’s President. I had written a couple dozen books by that time, mainly counseling texts and a semi-autobiography. I was not a stranger to writing or to putting together original materials in a coherent and readable way. How hard could such a project be? I had been in the Hearn administration for fifteen of its twenty-two years. Now, nine years later, I know the magnitude of Tom’s request. The project was more than I envisioned and maybe even more than any of my pre- decessors—Paschal, Shaw, and Wilson—thought when they started their journeys to capture an era. I began by examining President Hearn’s papers, specifically his correspondence. He began his presidency at a time when letters were still the most popular means of personal expression, but little did I suspect that he had written or received 3,690 of them. Over a two-year period, I read every one and became new best friends with the archives room staff on the sixth floor in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library. I also began a series of interviews with people who were prominent in the administration and in the Winston-Salem community at the time. The President Emeritus was my first target, and I was able to have three sit-down conversations with Tom before he died in 2008. Carolyn Dow, his assistant, was very helpful in this process, as was Sandra Boyette. I followed up with twenty-one other interviews, some as recent as 2015. I wanted to get as clear a picture as possible of the times and the people. My next task was to read all of the issues of Wake Forest Magazine published during this period, with four to six issues each year.