John H. Litcher (P ’83, ’85), who taught a generation of education students how to become great teachers, died Feb. 22 after a lengthy illness. He was 75.

Litcher was also regarded for his community service and was a support team member and a past president of the Lewisville (NC) Fire Department.

A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. on March 8 at Lewisville Fire Department Station 13, 9420 Shallowford Road, Lewisville, N.C.

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In the event of severe weather that prompts a delay or closing, Wake Forest will use several methods to alert students, faculty and staff to schedule changes.

On occasion, because of snowy or icy weather conditions, Wake Forest officials have announced a decision to close the campus for the day or delay the start of classes and the opening of offices. In such cases, the University will use the following communication channels:

• The Wake Alert website at wakealert.wfu.edu.
• A headline across the top of the University home page at wfu.edu. It will link to the Wake Alert website.
• An email message to faculty, staff and students.
• A voice mail message to faculty and staff.
• A message on the University’s weather/emergency phone line (336-758-5935).
• Announcements on radio stations WFDD (88.5 FM) and WSJS (600 AM).
• Announcements on TV stations WXII, WGHP, WFMY and News 14 Carolina.

Justin Catanoso’s reporting has established him as an expert in fraud in the tobacco industry, the business economy in North Carolina, and the process of becoming a saint. Now Catanoso, a veteran journalist and director of the journalism program, is shifting his focus to raising awareness about global climate change.

Catanoso traveled with a team of climate researchers from the biology department to the remote Peruvian cloud forest this summer to witness firsthand the impacts of 21st century warming on this vital ecosystem.

He said that the experience working with Miles Silman, biology professor and director of the Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, and many of the world’s leading tropical biologists, who like Silman are part of the Andes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, helped him recognize the monumental importance of inspiring the current generation of world leaders to act on this issue now.

“The next generation could look back and say, ‘What did you do?’” Catanoso said on WFDD. “And if you didn’t do enough, was it just because you were so focused on short-term gains and your own wealth that you didn’t see that this planet was baking and baking too fast to be healthy for us in the future?”

Catanoso’s subsequent climate change coverage, supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, has appeared in prominent news outlets like National Geographic, Business Insider, WUNC, and in a five-part series on WFDD.

Congratulations to Stephen Bruce King, professor of chemistry, whose proposal entitled “New Reagents for Tracking Protein Oxidation in Cells by MS and Imaging Methods” has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number 1R33CA177461-01 and the WFU Health Sciences (WFU funding agency).

Congratulations to David Carroll, professor of physics, whose proposal entitled “Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advance Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies” has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the North Carolina State University (WFU funding agency).

Congratulations to Freddie Salsbury, associate professor physics, whose proposal entitled “Targeted Approach to overcoming treatment resistance in advance prostate cancer” has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Georgia Southern University (WFU funding agency).

The following letter is adapted from director of Research and Sponsored Programs Lori Messer’s introduction to the October issue of Research News:

Reynolda Campus research had an excellent year. For fiscal year 2013, total external support for projects exceeded $9.8 million, the second-highest amount in campus history, and that was not including five fellowships for scholarship in the arts, humanities and social sciences. The total is even more remarkable when you consider that $8.4 million, about 86 percent, comes from federal sources limited by sequestration budget cuts.

FY13 saw 22 departments and centers receive sponsored research funding, and nearly all increased its total over FY12. Health and exercise science received the most, with physics running a close second.

Faculty and staff in 32 departments and centers submitted 152 external proposals, requesting more than $38 million. Chemistry submitted the most proposals and requested the most funding.

We would like to recognize two of our former CRADLE program participants, Oana Jurchescu and Timo Thonhauser, both in physics, who received prestigious CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation. WFU has received five such awards, with Patricia Dos Santos and Rebecca Alexander in chemistry and Dave Anderson in biology already gaining that distinction.

CRADLE (Creative Research Activities Development and Enrichment) is a two-year program that helps Wake Foresters develop competitive external funding proposals.

The NSF CAREER Award is a $400,000 award given to the nation’s top junior faculty members and is meant to support their research, encourage excellent teaching, mentorship and community outreach.

Another graduate of the CRADLE program, assistant professor of chemistry Lindsay Comstock-Ferguson, received her first independent federal funding. The following faculty and staff also received their first individual external grants at WFU:

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Congratulations to William K. Smith, professor of biology and Charles H. Babcock chair of botany, whose proposal entitled “The Impact of Saltwater Incursion on Bold Cypress (Taxodium distichum) in a Coastal Freshwater Wetland” has been funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and North Carolina State University (WFU funding agency).

Rejeski

Marsh

Congratulations to Walter J. Rejeski, professor of health and exercise science, and Anthony P. Marsh, professor of health and exercise science, whose proposal entitled “Pepper Center Clinical Research Core” has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and WFU Health Sciences (WFU funding agency).

The following faculty members have been selected to serve as resident professors at the Wake Forest overseas houses in 2015-2016:

Worrell House (London)

• Fall 2015: Page West (Business)
• Spring 2016: Mary Wayne-Thomas (Theatre)

Flow House (Vienna)

• Fall 2015: Robert Hellyer (History)
• Spring 2016: Lisa Kiang (Psychology)

Casa Artom (Venice) 

• Fall 2015: Jacqui Carrasco (Music)
• Spring 2016: Wanda Balzano (Women’s and Gender Studies)

ZSR eLearning Librarian Kyle Denlinger has been named to the American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders Class of 2014.

The Emerging Leaders program is designed to enable library staff and information workers to participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers.

Read more on the ALA website »

The following faculty had books published:

Antliff, Mark, & Scott W. Klein, Eds. (English). Vorticism: New Perspectives. Oxford University Press. November 2013.

Leonard, Bill J. (Divinity). Can I Get a Witness?: Essays, Sermons, and Reflections. Mercer University Press. November 2013.

Sehnbruch, Kirsten, & Peter M. Siavelis, Eds. (Politics & International Affairs). Democratic Chile: The Politics and Policies of a Historic Coalition, 1990-2010. Lynne Rienner. November 2013.

Tupper, E. Frank. (Divinity). Scandalous Providence: The Jesus Story of the Compassion of God, 2^nd ed. Mercer University Press. May 2013.

This message is from Gale Sigal, vice president of the Faculty Senate:

The Faculty Senate has invited President Nathan Hatch to address us at 4 p.m. on Dec. 11 (Wednesday) in DeTamble Auditorium. This will be an open meeting and all are invited. President Hatch has offered to answer questions, so do prepare any that you’d like to ask. Questions may also be sent to me (sigal@wfu.edu) for anyone who would like to do that or for anyone who cannot make the meeting.

Please make every effort to join us for this important event and invite your colleagues to come along!