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.

Wake Forest will appoint faculty to fill the following Presidential Chairs at a future date:

• The Donna A. Boswell Presidential Chair of Health Care Innovation – established by Boswell (’72, MA ’74), chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, to promote teaching and scholarship that fosters a more comprehensive understanding of the political and economic factors that promote innovation in health care and health care delivery.

• The David C. Darnell Presidential Chair in Principled Leadership – established by Bank of America as a retirement gift to Darnell following a 36-year career.

• The Katherine and Dickerson Wright Presidential Chair in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship – established by Wake Forest parents who were founding partners of the Office of Personal and Career Development. Kathy, a University Trustee, serves on the Wake Will Campaign CORE Committee and the Wake Will Campaign California Bay Area Regional Committee.

• The Larry J. and LeeAnn Merlo Presidential Chair for Communications and Entrepreneurship – established by the Merlos, Wake Forest parents. As president and CEO of CVS Health, Larry has taken strong steps in his organization’s commitment to public health.