Update on the Campus Memorialization Project

May 9, 2024

A message shared on behalf of Michele Gillespie and José Villalba

Dear Members of the Wake Forest Community: 

Last September, we shared an update on the Campus Memorialization Project, in our capacity as co-chairs of the Campus Memorialization Steering Committee. Since that update, over 100 Wake Forest University students, faculty, staff, as well as residents of Wake Forest, North Carolina, have participated in discussion forums or completed online feedback forms to inform the process of designing, locating, and constructing a memorial to the enslaved individuals who helped found our institution, as well as build and maintain the original campus.

Now that the discussion forums have concluded, our memorial design partner, Baskervill, has synthesized hundreds of inputs, comments, and considerations. Baskervill will use this information to help them craft general concepts for what this memorial might look like and where it might be located.  They will assist Wake Forest University in embedding the message and meaning of the memorial into the fabric of our institution and our academic pursuits based on our community’s feedback.

Though we are still a few months away from sharing potential designs with the community, we continue to work with Baskervill and the Campus Memorialization Committee to bring to bear a memorial that takes into consideration the experiences, hardships, and contributions of enslaved individuals connected to the founding of Wake Forest, as well as the contributions of current Wake Foresters in all their diversity. 

We will update the community towards the beginning of the fall 2024 term. In the meantime, please visit the Campus Memorialization Website for more timely information. Furthermore, if you have additional comments or suggestions on the memorial project, please use the linked form at the Campus Memorialization website. 

Thank you and we look forward to updating you in the new term.