WAKE FOREST IN THE NEWS Selected Media Highlights APRIL – JUNE 2021 news.wfu.edu Finding joy in the unexpected: Wake Forest sends off its class of 2021 with a unique all-day commencement MAY 16, 2021 In a normal year, Wake Forest would hold its commencement outdoors on a Monday morning, but 2021 was anything but normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That unprecedented year was reflected in an all-day indoor-outdoor commencement Sunday. “Today is a very special day for Wake Forest University and the class of 2021,” President Nathan Hatch told graduates. “It is worth a 21-gun salute, a fireworks extravaganza and, most importantly and now that it is permitted, the warmest embrace of family and friends.” Pete Buttigieg’s commencement speech was shared on CNBC and Kendall Hinton’s talk was covered in the Denver Post. Wake Forest to establish A second life for North Maya Angelou Artist-in- Carolina’s shuttered factories Residence Award JUNE 15, 2021 This story highlights “the shining success” of Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter. When R.J. Reynolds moved its manufacturing operations APRIL 14, 2021 To recognize the poet, actress, author, singer, teacher and civil out of town in 1986, officials from the city, Wake Forest University and Wake rights activist who has inspired people worldwide and taught generations of Forest Baptist Medical Center began making long-term plans and investments Wake Forest students, the University will establish the Maya Angelou Artist-in- in the site. The first building was redeveloped in 2012. Thousands of workers Residence Award. The new award will honor world-renowned artists who reflect and students now cross its 330 acres daily, and its administrators maintain a Maya Angelou’s passions for creating, performing and teaching. busy schedule of yoga classes, food trucks and lunchtime concerts in the park. news.wfu.edu | twitter.com/wakeforestnews | facebook.com/wfuniversity | instagram.com/wfuniversity APRIL – JUNE 2021 1 Chile’s constitution writers are very new to politics MAY 20, 2021 Peter Siavelis, director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, writes: “When widespread protests sparked a movement to rewrite Chile’s constitution, it was hard to deny that the country wanted some fresh faces. After elections on May 15 and 16, it’s clear Chileans will be getting just that. The overall newness of the delegates lends the constitutional process legitimacy in the eyes of those seeking a more inclusive Chile.” Students select works by Salman Toor and Zanele Muholi for school’s art collection MAY 13, 2021 In the early 1960s, Wake Forest embarked upon an experiment — a Student Union art collection purchased by students for the University. This year, students announced nine new acquisitions, including works by Zanele Muholi, Betty Tompkins, and Willie Cole. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the students from traveling to New York City to look at the works in person, so they instead paid virtual “Tapestry of My Soul” by Rashaun Rucker visits to 16 galleries spread across New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and Detroit. Reproduced with permission of the artist. Scientists’ research leads to flexible, low-cost technology APRIL 27, 2021 Flexible and low-cost electronics are now closer to becoming commonplace. Research from Oana Jurchescu, professor of physics at Wake Forest, and her graduate student Hamna Iqbal have led to a method to better pinpoint and eliminate sources of instability in the material and devices used to create flexible electronics. “Through the nature of their structure, these materials interact with the air, with the humidity from the air and with oxygen from the air, and they degrade very fast,” Jurchescu said. Here’s why science says you should book a vacation now MAY 24, 2021 According to a poll conducted in 2019, the typical American utters some variation of the phrase “I need a vacation” roughly three times per week. “Having things to look forward to is a major coping strategy,” said psychology professor Christian Waugh. “It helps us recover and adapt to stressors. When you have positive anticipatory things in your mind, there’s just less room for negative thoughts. There’s an overall better profile of positive to negative.” What you need to know about climate change JUNE 1, 2021 Climate change is already affecting your health, home, safety and finances. With rising temperatures and more violent weather come a host of issues. “If insurance companies fear that the worst- case scenarios on climate change might get even worse, they will have to prepare for that, requiring higher premiums,” said Robert Erhardt, an environmental and climate statistics expert. That means higher bills. 2 APRIL – JUNE 2021 news.wfu.edu | twitter.com/wakeforestnews | facebook.com/wfuniversity | instagram.com/wfuniversity WFU NEWS University’s first class of 43 Elite universities welcome engineers graduate more diverse freshman classes MAY 6, 2021 Gabrielle Prichard will begin work as a cloud solution engineer APRIL 17, 2021 Wake Forest is mentioned in this story about how the with Oracle. Lucy Vaughn will start her career as a research and development aftermath of the George Floyd protests and a decreased reliance on standardized engineer with AstraZeneca. John Hobson will become a U.S. Army engineer tests have led to more diverse admissions. Whether college admissions have when he is commissioned as a second lieutenant. “This is a really proud changed for the long haul remains unclear. But early data suggests that moment for not only our students, but also the faculty, the staff and everyone many elite universities have admitted a higher proportion of traditionally at the University who has helped us reach this milestone,” said Olga Pierrakos, underrepresented students this year than ever before. founding chair and professor of the engineering department. International The jobs outlook for Learning to live enrollments could the class of 2021 a good life after rebound MAY 21, 2021 Mercy Eyadiel, associate vice profound loss president of career development and corporate APRIL 27, 2021 Not every college has overseas engagement, said job offers to Wake Forest’s MAY 11, 2021 After the deaths of her son and campuses that can host stranded students. Wake class of 2021 are up a third from a year ago when husband, Rhian Mannings emerged slowly from Forest University worked with a study-abroad COVID-19 interrupted school and job recruitment. grief to start a charity and find love again. What provider to set up two remote sites in Beijing and “I think we’re trying to catch up to 2019 ... when we does her experience tell us about how suffering Shanghai this year for about 100 students. The were graduating students into one of our strongest can change us? Eranda Jayawickreme, associate college was also able to host activities such as economies ever. We’re making a comeback, and professor of psychology and director of the Growth Lovefeast, one of the University’s oldest traditions. students are coming back into a much stronger Initiative Lab at Wake Forest is featured in this “We wanted to infuse as much of the Wake Forest jobs market.” article on post-traumatic stress and the possibility experience as we could,” said Kline Harrison, vice that people can grow following the experience of provost for global affairs. adversity. news.wfu.edu | twitter.com/wakeforestnews | facebook.com/wfuniversity | instagram.com/wfuniversity APRIL – JUNE 2021 3 GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS The pandemic upended A healthy environment as a the relationship between human right consumer and gas prices APRIL 21, 2021 In this Q&A, environmental law expert John Knox talks about why a healthy environment is as important to human life as freedom of JUNE 2, 2021 “Most people now are just glad to be driving,” said Mark expression, health, work, education and other rights generally accepted under Johnson, an associate dean of MBA programs at Wake Forest, who wrote a international human rights law. paper in 2012 on the relationship between consumer confidence and gas prices. “They’re looking the other way when it costs around $40 to fill up.” Legal dispute over N.C. prosecutor says Experts weigh in old cemetery raises shooting of Brown on shutdown of questions about was ‘justified’ Colonial Pipeline who owns the past MAY 18, 2021 Body camera footage released for MAY 10, 2021 As the Colonial Pipeline Company the first time by the prosecutor, Andrew Womble, is begins the process of bringing it’s systems back MAY 25, 2021 Tanya Marsh, an expert in property unlikely to quell the intense debate about whether online, Professor of Operations, Supply Chain and cemetery law, said using and restoring old the deputies should be held criminally responsible Management Haresh Gurnani said it will take some cemeteries for natural burials makes sense. for the death of Brown, a Black man. Ronald time. “It’s not as simple as switching this pipeline Centuries ago, bodies weren’t embalmed, graves Wright, a professor of criminal law and criminal back on in one go. You have to be mindful of what were dug by hand. Those and other past practices procedure at Wake Forest said Womble’s decision are the implications and whether the threat is still are now hallmarks of today’s natural burials. “I most likely ended the possibility of any state-level persisting or not.” think that there’s a lot of really good reasons to criminal prosecution of the officers. take old, historic cemeteries that have some excess capacity and utilize these for burials.” 4 APRIL – JUNE 2021 news.wfu.edu | twitter.com/wakeforestnews | facebook.com/wfuniversity | instagram.com/wfuniversity GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS They say it can’t be done: 2022 Best Online Master’s in Examining the need for School Counseling Education regulatory reform Programs JUNE 6, 2021 Eat Just has developed a revolutionary way to grow chicken from MAY 27, 2021 Wake Forest was named to this list of best programs.