"Wake Will Lead" Archive

A message from President Hatch

This message was emailed by President Hatch to students, faculty and staff on Jan. 14:

Dear Wake Forest community,

Welcome to 2019! I hope your time away from Wake Forest was refreshing and you return with a deep anticipation of what this year holds. As we start a new semester, I want to offer you a reflection and some encouragement.

Last year, we spent a lot of time talking about and discovering how our community could engage in greater understanding of one another. In the classroom, among colleagues and within our community, we joined in more frequent and deeper conversations with one another; we shared and chose to become vulnerable; and we learned that what we have in common is more important than what we hold in difference. We introduced Call to Conversation on our campus, and I am grateful to all who facilitated and participated in the effort. I look forward to more of these gatherings that blend hospitality and mutual sharing.

Beyond conversation, we carried out the practice of caring for one another. This fall, in the midst of two hurricanes and a historic snow, I watched as our community rallied together. Faculty worked with productivity and flexibility to reschedule exams and accommodate student needs when snow disrupted finals week. Facilities and maintenance personnel worked around the clock to clear snow and ice – some even spending one or two nights on campus to ensure the rest of us could go safely about our routines. And we reached out to our alumni, parents and friends affected by the storms to assist as we could.

At the end of last year, we also reached a milestone because of the contributions of many. To date, Wake Forest has raised more than $900 million in gifts and commitments to invest in students, faculty and facilities as part of the Wake Will Lead campaign. This achievement is possible only because of widespread support, including the gifts of more than 2,000 current and retired faculty and staff who have collectively committed nearly $20 million to the future of Wake Forest.

But our greatest strength as a community is often felt most in the quiet moments that are not widely known. Philosopher Simone Weil once noted that “attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” What I see every day is the critical work of faculty and staff extending themselves in such generosity. I note our Counseling Center staff and Campus Ministry colleagues who see to the many needs of our students, faculty and staff. It is evident in the ongoing efforts of Campus Kitchen and other service organizations that connect us to our local community. It is found in the listening ear and generosity of a professor, staff member, roommate or friend.

I am grateful for this community – one dedicated to understanding, supporting and caring for each other. Thank you for your efforts in making Wake Forest a place we can call home.

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Wake Will Lead reaches historic milestone

This announcement was emailed to faculty and staff on Feb. 1 on behalf of Mark Petersen, vice president for University Advancement:

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Since we launched the Wake Will campaign, nearly 74,000 alumni, parents and friends have rallied behind the movement to reduce Wake Forest’s dependence on tuition, and power our aspirations with philanthropy.

Your enthusiastic support from the start of the campaign propelled us to our initial goal of $600 million a full two years ahead of schedule, and prompted University leadership to extend the campaign to 2020 with a new goal of investing $1 billion in students, faculty, and campus enhancements. With gratitude, I bring you the news that Wake Will Lead has surpassed the $800 million milestone.

Your generous support has already made so much possible:

  • More than one third ($275 million) of the funds raised support student scholarships and financial aid. Thanks to you, Wake Forest is able to attract high-achieving students regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. Wake Will Lead by reducing the financial constraints for as many students as possible.
  • Close to another third ($232 million) of the funds raised support faculty and programming, including support for every Academic Department and the creation of 10 Presidential Endowed Chairs. Thanks to you, Wake Forest is able to facilitate real-world engagement by funding opportunity in the classroom, and beyond. Wake Will Lead by continuing to attract and retain a world-class faculty of teacher-scholars.
  • Wake Forest’s Reynolda Campus is undergoing a 10-year construction and renewal effort aimed at enhancing classroom and campus life for students, as well as investing to make all of our athletics teams competitive. Thanks to you, students and faculty are enjoying new and renovated academic, athletic, recreational, and residential facilities across campus. Wake Will Lead by complementing excellent academics with exceptional spaces for students to learn, grow, and live.
  • Wake Forest’s campus has grown in scope as well, with the creation of Wake Downtown, home of our new undergraduate engineering and biomedical sciences programs, and the recently-launched Wake Washington Center, where we host internship and study-away programs in D.C. for undergraduates. Thanks to you, students are able to explore new and exciting opportunities. Wake Will Lead by transcending the traditional boundaries of campus.

On our current trajectory, the possibilities for Wake Forest are unlimited. I am grateful to be part of a dedicated and enthusiastic community that shows pride in our present, and optimism for our future.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Petersen
Vice President, University Advancement

President Hatch: Wake Will Lead Passes $700 Million Mark

President Hatch emailed this announcement to students, faculty and staff on July 13:

Dear Wake Forest Students, Faculty and Staff,

Wake Forest University is moving steadily toward its $1 billion Wake Will Lead campaign goal, having raised more than $700 million to invest in students, faculty and capital projects.

The University received more than $112 million in gifts and commitments this year.

I invite you to learn more about how the campaign is creating opportunity for students and faculty and transforming campus spaces.

Everyone on this campus and everyone who will be on this campus for generations to come will benefit from those who have stepped forward this year to generously support Wake Forest. A culture of philanthropic leadership will support Wake Forest’s signature strengths as the means to prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders.

Sincerely,

Nathan O. Hatch
President

New Presidential Chairs named in College, School of Law

Wake Forest University has named its two newest Presidential Chairs: Alan Palmiter as the William T. Wilson, III, Presidential Chair for Business Law and Koleman Strumpf as the Burchfield Presidential Chair of Political Economy.

Alan Palmiter

Palmiter has an international reputation as a teacher and scholar in business law, including corporate law, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, sustainable corporations, energy law and legal valuation. Since joining the School of Law faculty in 1986, he has held dozens of leadership roles on campus, such as Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Howard L. Oleck Professor of Business Law; Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) advisory board member; and Wake Forest Law Review faculty advisor. Frequently cited in national media, Palmiter recently has been in the midst of the scholarly debate of the corporation from private entity to government substitute, with a current focus on the moral obligations of the shift in roles.

“How delighted we all are to recognize Alan’s singular contributions as participant in the debates on business and society, as devoted community, university and law school servant, and as teacher par excellence,” said Dean of Law Suzanne Reynolds.

Koleman Strumpf

Strumpf joined the Department of Economics earlier this month, having come to Wake Forest most recently from the University of Kansas School of Business. Strumpf’s most recent work focuses on file sharing (the economic impact on the entertainment industries), prediction markets (election futures, corporate applications), and industrial organization (formal evidence of first degree price discrimination in the real world). His research has received extensive media coverage in major news outlets such as CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and The Atlantic.

“I am pleased to welcome Koleman to Wake Forest because he embodies the teacher-scholar ideal we value so much. His outstanding scholarship in applied microeconomics is a terrific complement to the excellent body of work already underway in our Department of Economics,” said Dean of the College Michele Gillespie.

So far, the Wake Will Lead campaign has raised more than $70 million to recruit and retain best-in-class faculty, including the creation of 10 Presidential chairs for faculty who are exceptional researchers in their field as well as dedicated teachers.

Palmiter and Strumpf’s respective appointments to the Wilson and Burchfield Presidential Chairs mean six of the 10 have been named, including:

  • The Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History – established by Mike (MALS ’13) and Debbie (MAEd ’83, MALS ’05) Rubin of Winston-Salem. Debbie, a University Trustee, has worked as a counselor in the University Counseling Center for several years; held by Professor Barry Trachtenberg, Department of History.
  • The Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Presidential Chair in Conservation Biology – established through the family foundation of Wake Forest parent Andrew Sabin (P ‘17) to support environmental programs around the world; held by Professor Miles Silman, Department of Biology.
  • The Thomas W. Smith Foundation Presidential Chair in Business Ethics – supports a faculty member committed to the exploration of the relationship between business, government and society; held by Jim Otteson, Department of Economics.
  • The Inmar Presidential Chair of Analytics at the School of Business – established by the Winston-Salem-based company that is known for operating intelligent commerce networks; held by Jeffrey Camm, School of Business.

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Message from President Hatch: Wake Will Lead

This message was emailed by President Hatch on Oct. 27:

Dear Wake Forest alumni, parents, and friends / students, faculty, and staff,

During Homecoming Weekend in 2013, we celebrated the launch of Wake Will: The Campaign for Wake Forest with the belief that alumni, parents, and friends would rally behind our vision of preparing students to lead lives that matter. We planned to invest a total of $600 million in the Reynolda Campus by 2018.

More than 50,000 of us have made a financial gift to Wake Will. We funded 300 new scholarships, 327 new student aid funds, endowed ten new faculty chairs, created 30 new funds supporting academic departments, and enabled the renovation of the core of the Wake Forest campus and given rise to vital new facilities.

Wake Will has fueled impressive momentum for our University:

  • The current U.S. News rankings mark 21 consecutive years among the top-30 national universities, a top-5 ranking for our commitment to undergraduate teaching, and we are first among national universities in the proportion of students who earn academic credit while studying abroad.
  • This fall, we welcomed the Class of 2020 to campus – joining the most competitive and diverse student body in Wake Forest history. These students will benefit from new international, joint-degree, and cross-school programs that create opportunities to transcend the boundaries of campus, culture and academic discipline.
  • We have enhanced our ability to produce champions on and off the field with new athletic facilities and support for our student-athletes.
  • Our schools of business, divinity, and law are realizing the benefits of new and renovated physical spaces, support for faculty, and new sources of student aid.
  • Wake Forest is the only top-30 institution to offer for-credit career development courses to all students, resulting in 98.5% of graduates employed or accepted into graduate school within six months of graduation – and prepared for a lifetime of career changes.

I share the following news with great gratitude for what we have accomplished together: our Wake Forest community has donated more than $625 million, exceeding our original Wake Will campaign goal two years ahead of schedule.

The future for Wake Forest is bright, the possibility of what we can achieve is unbounded, and the responsibility we owe to future generations of Wake Foresters weighs heavy. Over the past three years, I have been asked on numerous occasions to answer the question inspired by our campaign, “What, exactly, will Wake do?”

Our current trajectory allows me to answer with great confidence, Wake Will Lead.

Wake Will Lead by investing in our signature strengths and emerging opportunities that prepare students to thrive in an unpredictable and dynamic world. When applied to our personal model of education, these signatures reflect closely held Wake Forest traditions, yet evoke questions only answered by innovation and an investment of philanthropic resources. How can Wake Forest enhance our ability to:

  • Ensure every student has a meaningful, mentored educational experience?
  • Prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist?
  • Educate students in important new fields of study, offered in dynamic new locations?
  • Help students transcend the boundaries of geography, culture, and personal circumstances?
  • Prepare students for the inevitable and everyday tests of leadership and character?
  • Prepare worthy professionals with a commitment to serve their congregations, customers and clients, as well as their industries and communities?

 Wake Will Lead provides answers to these questions and promises Wake Forest will claim a leadership position in signature strengths and emerging opportunities.

Each dean and campus leader – to include those leading the undergraduate college, the graduate school, professional schools, campus life, Reynolda House and athletics department – has accepted the challenge to identify how they will lead in their respective fields as we seek to invest $400 million beyond our original goal in the Reynolda Campus by 2020. By raising a total of $1 billion in a decade, Wake Will Lead us into a new era where philanthropy can fuel Wake Forest’s aspirations and reduce our dependence on student tuition.

I am enthusiastic about what a commitment to lead makes possible for our community of learning and grateful for your continuous support. Please join me in celebrating our promising future.

Sincerely,

Nathan O. Hatch
President

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