Wake Forest takes next steps with Campus Memorial Project

September 7, 2023

A message from Provost and Presidential Endowed Chair of Southern History Michele Gillespie and Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Counseling José Villalba 

Dear Members of the Wake Forest Community: 

We write in our capacity as co-chairs of the Campus Memorialization Steering Committee to invite you to engage in an important set of upcoming conversations about what it means to honor and remember Wake Forest’s historical ties to slavery with a campus memorial. 

As announced last April, President Wente has launched an effort to create a campus memorial to remember and honor the humanity of the enslaved men, women and children who worked for or were sold to benefit the University. 

This work will be led by the Campus Memorialization Steering Committee, which includes faculty, staff, students, and alumni whose expertise and perspectives will help guide this important effort, on behalf of our memorial design partner, Baskervill. Baskervill was selected by the University to lead a community-engaged memorial design process with guidance and direction from our steering committee.   

In addition to planned intentional outreach to representative campus organizations, we have also organized the following opportunities for any member of our campus community to join the discussion. Please click here to register for one of the open forum sessions below.

• Faculty/Staff – *Virtual* Thursday, Sept. 28, from 3-4 p.m. via Zoom (Joining information will be sent to registrants prior to the session.)
• Faculty/Staff – Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 3-4 p.m. in Benson 401
• Faculty/Staff – Tuesday, Nov. 14, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Benson 401
• Students – Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in Benson 401
• Students – Thursday, Nov. 2, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in Benson 401

Thank you and we look forward to engaging with you.