Updates related to federal orders, policies and regulations
In January 2025, the new federal administration in Washington D.C., began issuing Executive Orders and memos, including some with the potential to impact our work and community at Wake Forest.
The impact of these changes remains unclear, given ongoing legal and administrative challenges to many of these actions. We expect to receive additional guidance from federal agencies in the weeks and months ahead.
We created this webpage to provide resources and points of contact for those with questions as we navigate these changes. We encourage you to check it frequently for updates.
To contact the Government Affairs team, please email govaffairs@wfu.edu.
Wake Forest updates
- Maryland district court temporarily halts enforcement of executive orders aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs (Feb. 25)
- Visits or requests for information by ICE, HSI, or other federal agents (Feb. 18)
- The dual commitments of a founder (Feb. 17)
- The steering committee charged with monitoring, analyzing, and communicating about federal policy changes is currently reviewing the Dear Colleague Letter that was issued by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on Friday. This letter provides the Department of Education’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions vs Harvard and guidance on how schools should comply. The good work we did as a campus both before and after the SFFA vs Harvard decision will be an important part of our ongoing compliance assessment. We will continue to keep the campus informed.
- A letter to faculty, February 2025 (Feb. 10)
- Update from WFU Office of Government Affairs (Jan. 30)
Additional information
Contacts
Government Affairs
- Julia Jackson-Newsom, newsomjj@wfu.edu
- Jimmy Broughton, broughjw@wfu.edu
Externally Funded Grants and Contracts
- Kimberley McAllister, mcallik@wfu.edu
Campus Climate and Belonging
- José Villalba, villalja@wfu.edu
Legal
- Dina Marty, dmarty@wfu.edu
Immigration
- Nathanial Lynch, lynchn@wfu.edu
Resources
- Research at Wake Forest — The Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry, and Creative Activity and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs are providing updates to the campus community.
Key source documents
- Dear Colleague Letter (PDF, Feb. 14)
- Executive Order: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
- Executive Order: Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing
Key source documents
- Executive Order: Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats
- Executive Order: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship
- Executive Order: America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State
Update from Wake Forest
Key source documents
- Executive Order: Protecting the American People Against Invasion
Update from Wake Forest
- Executive Order: Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism