Beginning July 1, Wake Forest  will offer a tax equality benefit for same-sex domestic partners of Reynolda Campus faculty and staff.

Wake Forest has offered same-sex domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff for more than 13 years; however, due to IRS regulations, individuals taking advantage of these benefits pay more than their heterosexual, married colleagues. With the introduction of this benefit, the University is striving to create parity for all faculty and staff by providing participants who have same-sex domestic partners with compensation to offset the additional amount they pay.

“The addition of the tax-equity benefit is a further demonstration of Wake Forest’s commitment to all members of our campus community,” said President Nathan Hatch. “It seems appropriate that this comes at a time when we have recognized so many examples of diversity and inclusion during our ‘Faces of Courage’ year-long celebration.”

The Wake Forest LGBTQ Center, which opened in August 2011, worked in partnership with Human Resources on this initiative.

“We’re thrilled to see Wake at the forefront, championing LGBTQ equity in higher education with the addition of this benefit,” said LGBTQ Center director Angela Mazaris. “This is a great example of Wake Forest’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in action.”

Wake Forest joins the ranks of prestigious universities such as Princeton, Yale, Syracuse, University of Pennsylvania, Barnard, and Bowdoin College in providing this benefit.

Perry Patterson, recently retired professor of economics and longtime LGBTQ advocate at Wake Forest, applauded the University’s decision, stating: “Many WFU faculty and staff will be most grateful for this policy move. It demonstrates clearly the University’s commitment that Pro Humanitate must fully apply to all members of the community.”

The following is a message from President Nathan Hatch: 

While commencement season always brings about a sense of new beginnings and opportunities, it’s also a time to say thank you and bid farewell to many of our friends, colleagues and mentors who have called Wake Forest University home.

Please join me in congratulating and commemorating a marvelous class of Reynolda Campus faculty and staff retiring from Wake Forest this year. We are grateful for the many contributions from this remarkable group of individuals, who together have more than 800 years of service to the University: Continue reading »

The following is a message from President Nathan Hatch:

At the start of the fall semester, I established four campus-wide committees to foster inclusive discussion around particular aspects of Wake Forest University. I am grateful to the members of these committees who devoted countless hours in pursuit of a better Wake Forest. Through these committees, dozens of faculty, staff and students contributed to the following results: Continue reading »

Voting runs through today (Monday, April 22) in Wake Forest’s annual Staff Advisory Council (SAC) election.

Candidates in the election are staff members in the following areas at the University: Finance/Administration, Provost, Student Life and University Advancement. Eligible voters will receive an email informing them that they may vote for candidates employed in the same University area as they are.

The candidates are seeking to fill SAC positions. The new terms will begin July 1. SAC members are elected to three-year terms.

Online voting is available here:
http://apps.sac.wfu.edu/secure/elections

Eligible voters also may go the OS1 Training Room at the Facilities and Campus Services building.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of the members of the SAC Elections Committee: Angela Hobbs (x4521), Travis Manning (x5478), Paul Sheff (x6071) or Ted Johnson (x4374).

The SAC is a University advisory group that strives to strengthen communication between the staff and the University administration. President Nathan Hatch formed the group in 2006. For additional SAC information, visit: http://sac.wfu.edu.

Dear Wake Forest Community,

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Boston yesterday, we are left with many questions and few answers. My heart goes out to all of the people injured in the blasts and all those who have loved ones affected by the bombings.

To the best of our knowledge, all of the current Reynolda Campus students, faculty and staff members participating in or attending the Boston Marathon are safe. For that, we are extremely grateful. Many in the Wake Forest community are from or have connections to the Boston area. We will continue to keep your friends and family in our hearts and prayers.

Events of this magnitude can affect people in several ways. Wake Forest offers support and counseling services for all students, faculty and staff. The Counseling Center may be reached at 758-5273, and Campus Ministry at 758-5210. For faculty and staff, there is also the Employee Assistance Program at 716-5493. Please do not hesitate to contact these offices.

In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, please continue to support one another in the coming days.

Sincerely,

Nathan O. Hatch
President

A message from President Nathan Hatch:

Soon, we will have an opportunity to honor longtime Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Ken Zick.  I invite the campus community to gather on Monday, April 29, in Reynolda Hall’s Green Room for a reception recognizing Ken, who will step down from his administrative responsibilities this summer.

The reception is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m., with remarks and a short program at 4 p.m. Please join us as we express our appreciation to Ken for more than 30 years of service to the University.

I am pleased to add that Ken will remain an active member of the University community. After a much-deserved one-year leave of absence, Ken will be teaching and participating in other administrative assignments at Wake Forest.

I encourage you to place this special event on your calendars.  I look forward to seeing you at the reception.

The following is a message from President Nathan Hatch and Provost Rogan Kersh:

We are pleased to announce that the search for a Vice President for Campus Life has been successfully concluded and we will be able to introduce to you this individual on Monday, Feb. 18, at 9 a.m. at a welcome event to take place in the Green Room, Reynolda Hall. We hope you will be able to stop by and be part of this announcement and welcome.

As co-chairs of the Vice President for Campus Life Search Advisory Committee, we know we speak for all of the members of the committee in saying how excited we are about this important appointment. The advice and input from the committee members were critical throughout the process. Members of the search advisory committee were:  Wake Forest Student Affairs Fellow Kristen Bryant, Vice President for Career Development Andy Chan, Associate Provost Jennifer Collins, Dean Jacque Fetrow, Professor and Faculty Senate Representative Sam Gladding, Special Projects Administrator Meghan Haenn, Professor Katy Harriger, Professor Jed Macosko, Director of Multi-Cultural Affairs Alta Mauro, Student Trustee Jim O’Connell, and Professor David Yamane.

We hope you can join us on Monday morning to meet and welcome our new Vice President for Campus Life.

President Nathan Hatch

Wake Forest University has been recognized for conducting an outstanding United Way campaign.

The University received the Spirit of North Carolina Award for Campaign Excellence, given annually by the United Way of North Carolina. The award is based on employee participation and giving levels, leadership giving, volunteerism, incentive programs and campaign rallies.

The University is on track to meet its campaign goal of $350,000 for the year, say campus campaign leaders John Dinan, professor of politics and international affairs, and Lynn Sutton, dean of the ZSR Library. “This award is welcome recognition of the generosity of the Wake Forest community and the dedication of the departmental campaign coordinators, auction planning team, and others on campus who contributed to the success of this year’s campaign,” Dinan says.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Wake Forest has won the Spirit of North Carolina award.

“Wake Forest faculty and staff have again risen to the occasion and generously supported the work of the United Way,” said President Nathan Hatch. “It is an honor to be recognized with the Spirit of North Carolina Award as it indicates that the people of Wake Forest make it a priority to serve others in our community and are wholly committed to the spirit of Pro Humanitate.”

The Forsyth County United Way raises more than $17 million through its annual campaign.

The following is a message from President Nathan Hatch:

Dear Faculty and Staff:

As incidents of security breaches and thefts of sensitive information are on the rise at college campuses and businesses across the country, Wake Forest must take precautions to prevent similar incidents from occurring on our campus. Sensitive information includes, but is not limited to, credit card information, social security numbers, and student records. Nearly all Wake Forest faculty and staff come in contact with or handle some form of information that is sensitive or confidential in the course of their day to day responsibilities, and it is imperative that this information be protected.

As part of its continuing information security campaign to protect sensitive personal information, Wake Forest has developed information security standards. These standards identify information such as Social Security Numbers that are required to be protected from unauthorized access by law, regulation or good business practices. The standards also provide a minimum baseline of security requirements to protect this sensitive information. The initial security standards are:  Continue reading »

As part of the week of celebrating Wake Forest’s 179th birthday, come to a Birthday Social with President Nathan Hatch and Provost Emeritus Ed Wilson on Friday, Feb. 8, from 3-4 p.m. in the Green Room of Reynolda Hall. Light refreshments will be served.

Also, check the alumni blog and its Storify to relive moments from this week.