See a list of staff milestones for June 2017:

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This is a guest post from the Office of the Provost:

Christina Soriano

Christina Soriano, director of dance and associate professor of dance, has been appointed as the inaugural Administrative Fellow in the Office of the Provost.

As Administrative Fellow, Soriano will work with colleagues across the university to enhance visibility of the arts at and beyond Wake Forest, and help forge interdisciplinary connections across the arts and other Wake Forest schools and departments.  “Professor Soriano is an ideal choice as our first Administrative Fellow,” said Provost Rogan Kersh, “given her laudable work with faculty and staff across Wake Forest, as well as her extensive following among students.  She has also originated pathbreaking programs integrating dance and health in the Winston-Salem community, epitomizing our expanding engagement with our surrounding communities.”

“I am looking forward to working with the Provost’s team to help boost the profile of the arts at Wake Forest,” Soriano notes, “as well as on projects to enhance intellectual culture at the university more generally.  I am also eager to serve as a liaison for faculty colleagues with the Provost’s Office.”

Soriano’s interdisciplinary work includes collaborations with faculty across arts departments, biochemistry, and the School of Medicine. She is co-organizing a third university-wide conference on “Aging Re-Imagined,” and last month was awarded a substantial NIH grant for research carried out jointly with Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt of the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Additional Administrative Fellows, drawn from across Wake Forest’s faculty, are expected to be appointed in future years, both in the Provost’s Office and those of other administrative leaders.  Much as our decade-old Wake Forest Fellows program brings the perspective and dedication of outstanding recent graduates to university administration, the Administrative Fellows program will engage faculty members for a year in leadership councils, new and existing academic initiatives, and other core aspects of advancing our mission and priorities.

This is a message emailed to students, faculty and staff June 27 by Mur Muchane, associate vice president for information technology and chief information officer:

A malicious software program named “Petya” has recently made European news through large-scale infections in more than 150 different countries. “Petya” is a type of malicious software known as ransomware; it is similar to the May 2017 global ransomware known as “WannaCry”. It is most often downloaded as an attachment as part of a phishing email scam, and then gains access to the computer and locks the user out of their hard drive.

Here’s how you can protect yourself:

• If your computer requests a reboot, please allow the reboot to happen. Microsoft continues to release security patches for affected versions of Windows – Information Systems will continue to push the patches to University owned computers as they become available.
• Set up Google 2-Step Verification to protect your email, WIN, and other WFU accounts.
• Ensure that your data is backed up.
• Be aware of phishing emails that ask you to click on a link or open an attachment, especially when you do not know the sender. Be even more cautious when that link or attachment asks you for your password. If a website does ask for your credentials, feel free to contact the Information Systems Service Desk to determine if the request is valid.
• Keep all of your personal devices such as iPads, laptops, and smartphones current on software updates.
• Be aware that some mobile applications may be susceptible to hackers and marketers so be selective when downloading apps.

Specific details on how to implement these security measures can be found here.

If you have questions concerning this message or need assistance, please contact the Information Systems Service Desk at help@nullwfu.edu or 336-758-4357 (HELP).

See a list of faculty milestones for June 2017:

1 Year

Alice Eng; Electronic Resources Librarian; Library – ZSR

10 Years

Benjamin Terry King; Professor of the Practice; WFUSB-Instruction

25 Years

Richard Schneider; Professor; Law: Instruction

This is a guest post from the Health and Exercise Science Department:

Do you need a little TLC?

The Wake Forest University Healthy Exercise & Lifestyle Programs can help! Starting in August we will start our next Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) program for University employees. This program is designed to develop a healthy and active lifestyle utilizing exercise and education programs. The program teaches behavioral strategies for the management of physical activity and eating. Cognitive teaching is combined with psychological approaches to take the participant beyond the limits of “will power.” Personal journals are used as a basis for program development, strategy monitoring and evaluation.

The program includes individual initial and follow-up assessments, dietary and physical activity intake analysis, supervised exercise sessions and weekly small group sessions. Weekly meetings are held in the Worrell Professional Center in Room 1162 on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. starting on Thursday, Aug. 24.

The cost of the program is covered by Wake Forest University. Space is limited and applications are now being accepted!

If you are interested in participating or have questions, please contact Andrea Cox at shuttar@nullwfu.edu or 336-758-5853 for more information.

Robin Simon

An article written by Professor of Sociology Robin Simon and two other researchers has been selected for the 2017 Award for Best Article, Family Section of the American Sociological Association. The award will be presented to them in August at the 2017 annual meetings of the American Sociological Association in Montreal.

The title of the article is “Parenthood and Happiness: Effects of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies in 22 OECD Countries.” It was published in the American Journal of Sociology.  Her fellow researchers included lead author Jennifer Glass of the University of Texas at Austin and Matthew Andersson of Baylor University.  The collaborative project received a National Science Foundation grant.

Last year, the Communications and External Relations Office published a story about the project.  CER staff member Cheryl Walker wrote that the researchers looked at adults with and without children in the United States and other countries to better understand why American parents report lower levels of happiness than non-parents.

“The researchers found that the ‘happiness penalty’ for parents varies substantially from country to country and is not found in places with parent-friendly policies,” Walker wrote.

In a briefing summarizing the findings last year, Simon and her colleagues wrote that “The negative effects of parenthood on happiness were entirely explained by the presence or absence of social policies allowing parents to better combine paid work with family obligations.”

The research attracted substantial attention from national news media last year, including the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and the Huffington Post.  North Carolina coverage included a story by UNC-TV.  It is also included in research snapshots on the newly designed wfu.edu homepage.

2017 Staff Appreciation Picnic

The Staff Advisory Council is encouraging staff to take a survey that provides an opportunity to comment on the Staff Appreciation Picnic held June 6.

The survey asks for comments about various aspects of the event, including the food, shuttles, location, music and more.  The survey is brief and quick to take online.

Hundreds of staff turned out for the “Tailgate at McCreary Tower” event held at BB&T Field.

In recent years, the Staff Advisory Council has held picnics for staff at campus area locations, including Reynolda House, a field next to Reynolda Village, and BB&T Field.  The stadium has been the location the past two years.

The Staff Advisory Council and the Office of Wellbeing invite all staff members to attend the 2017 Staff Appreciation Picnic June 6 at BB&T Field.

Called “Tailgate at McCreary Tower,” the event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

On the menu will be: burgers, hot dogs, wings, pulled pork, veggie burgers, salads, desserts and more.

A number of games, including lawn games, are planned.

In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, the Staff Advisory Council is also sponsoring a book drive on behalf of Mineral Springs Elementary School.  New or gently used children’s books are requested.

Shuttles will run from Reynolda Campus, Graylyn and the University Corporate Center to BB&T Field for those wanting to catch a ride.  Shuttle stops include the following:

–In front of Benson University Center
–Bus shelter at Lot W1 (at corner of Wake Forest Road and Carroll Weathers Drive)
–Behind Graylyn Center
–In front of University Corporate Center.

Parking will be available in the Gold Lot at BB&T Field.

This is a guest post from Reynolda House Museum of American Art:

Tickets for Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern, coming later this summer to Reynolda House Museum of American Art, went on sale to the public May 30. The exhibition will be presented Aug. 18 through Nov. 19 at the museum, which is the exhibition’s sole venue in the South.

Faculty and staff of Wake Forest University and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center may reserve up to two free tickets (one for the employee and one guest) for any one day. University employees may purchase additional tickets for the same day. You will be asked to show your Wake Forest University identification card when you arrive.

As spring advances closer to summer, it is the time of year when weather forecasters tell us to be prepared for showers, thunderstorms and, occasionally, storms that threaten to cause significant damage.

If you are wondering what kind of weather to expect, you can get your answer in detail thanks to WeatherSTEM stations on top of the Miller Center and the scoreboard at BB&T Field.

The WeatherSTEM stations use a combination of weather instruments and sensors to take environmental measurements and offer frequently updated details on temperature, humidity, the heat index, barometric pressure and more.

Each station includes a sky camera, with one directed toward Kentner Stadium, Farrell Hall and Wait Chapel, while the other camera is directed across BB&T Field.

The stations also offer information through Facebook and Twitter accounts, which are updated through automation.  On Facebook, the accounts are identified as Wake Forest Weatherstem and Wake Forest Football Weatherstem.  On Twitter, the stations can be followed @WakeForestWxSTEM and @WFUFootballWxSTEM.

WeatherSTEM also offers apps for ios and Android.