“Campus Dialogues: Who and Where Do We Honor?” on Nov. 1

This message is shared on behalf of Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer José Villalba.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is leading University efforts to advance our institutional commitment to promoting and sustaining a sense of belonging and inclusivity among our community. Toward that end, the ODI has established the Honorifics Planning Group (HPG) – composed of faculty, staff students and alumni – to engage with Wake Forest constituents and provide opportunities for feedback as the group carries on the next phase of work concerning the guiding principles for naming adopted in April 2021 by the Board of Trustees.

The ODI and HPG have been organizing structured, open dialogues throughout the semester and working with the Wake Forest community to collect names, themes and concepts which are not currently honored or remembered as fully as possible on campus.

The next campus dialogue – “What’s in a Name: Who and Where Do We Honor?” – will be held on Monday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library Auditorium. We invite you to join a conversation on the topic of naming, who we honor and where.

Participants include:

• Corey D.B. Walker, professor of the humanities and director of the Wake Forest University Program in African American Studies;
• Sherri Lawson Clark, associate professor of anthropology at Wake Forest;
• Jon Bohland, associate professor and director of the International Studies Program at Hollins University; and
• José Villalba, vice president for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer.

The event will take place in person, but participants may register to join virtually via Zoom webinar.

Honoring and remembering our values should be central to our mission as a University. These initiatives will ensure that all in our community have an opportunity to share their perspectives and insights.