Co-chairs named for Dean of the College search

April 7, 2022

In a message to the campus community this week, President Susan R. Wente announced a national search for Wake Forest’s next Dean of the College. The search begins as current Dean Michele Gillespie transitions to the role of Provost on July 1. Gillespie and Professor Dean Franco will co-chair the search.

“I have great confidence Dr. Gillespie and Dr. Franco will lead an effective and inclusive search process for the next Dean of the College,” Wente said. “The role of Dean is absolutely critical to our academic leadership team and our co-chairs recognize that.”

“The College is a vibrant, outstanding, diverse community of teacher-scholars that I am proud to be part of. I am committed to ensuring we find the right leader to steward the College into the future,” said Gillespie, who in addition to her leadership of the College, has been a faculty scholar at Wake Forest for more than 20 years — experiences that will serve the campus well as she co-leads the search process.

Franco, the Winifred W. Palmer Professor of English, joined the College faculty in the English department in 2001 and leads the University’s Humanities Institute. He also co-chairs the Slavery, Race and Memory Project at Wake Forest.

“Dean is an exceptional teacher-scholar, and his institutional leadership has well-acquainted him with faculty and departments across the College,” Gillespie said. “He understands both our strengths and our challenges and will be an insightful partner in the work of this search.”

The full composition of the search committee will be announced during the week of April 11.