A message from President Hatch
President Nathan Hatch emailed this message to students, faculty and staff on July 31:
Dear Wake Forest University Community,
Wake Forest University is wrestling with its own complex history, and as an educational institution is committed to: seeking and understanding the truth; acknowledging the full complexity of our history; and taking action to address past and present inequities in our community.
We have heard the concerns of members of our community regarding race, inequity and the lived experiences of some of our students, staff and faculty. While there is no easy solution or quick fix to address those concerns, there must be constant and intentional movement toward improving the Wake Forest experience for all – especially those who contend with bias and prejudice all too frequently. Toward that end, I am establishing the President’s Commission on Race, Equity and Community, one part of a larger institutional effort to illuminate our history, address our present and reaffirm our commitments for the future. Even as the Commission is assembling, other campus-wide committees are delving into the topics of slavery, race and memory, as well as bias, conduct and free expression. Additional training and educational opportunities have also been designed and implemented across campus, including unconscious bias training for student leaders and enhanced programming for incoming students during Orientation Week.
Categories: University Announcement
Newly reconstituted review committee formed for Code of Conduct for students
On Feb. 6, the Division of Campus Life announced a new development in its revision process for the Code of Conduct for students. Matt Clifford, associate dean of students, emailed this announcement to undergraduate students:
As a reminder, this year, the Wake Forest community has an important opportunity to contribute to and shape the Code of Conduct. In the fall, our office engaged the community in a period of public review and comment on suggested revisions to the Code. During the period, we received 42 comments, held six public listening sessions, and attended numerous other meetings with students, faculty, and staff.
This spring, a newly reconstituted review committee will consider comments that have been submitted and make recommendations for a final document. During the comment process, I heard the desire to have more faculty and student voices on the group. Our new group is composed of five students, five faculty, and four staff. I am pleased to share that the following individuals have agreed to serve on the Code of Conduct Review Committee:
- Virginia Hamilton, student
- Lizzy Woods, student
- Isabella Ryan, student
- Phillip Yurchenko, student
- Maria Cortez-Perez, student
- John Dinan, faculty
- Erica Still, faculty
- Rian Bowie, faculty
- Michael Pisapia, faculty
- Pat Lord, faculty
- José Villalba, staff
- Tanya Jachimiak, staff
- Matt Clifford, staff, chair, ex-officio
- Adam Goldstein, staff, ex-officio
The committee’s work will focus on the primary areas where feedback was offered. Our goal will be to understand the principles that have been shared in comments and find a balance that supports our community’s values and ideals.
As always, our website is the primary source of information about the revision. If you have any questions about this process, please contact me at cliffomw@nullwfu.edu.
Matt Clifford,
Associate Dean of Students, Student Conduct
Categories: Inside WFU
Dean Goldstein: Revisions to the Student Code of Conduct
The Office of the Dean of Students is seeking comment from students, faculty and staff about suggested revisions to the University’s Student Conduct of Code. Information about how to participate is provided in the following recent message sent to Campus Life staff and the Campus Life Partners Committee by Adam Goldstein, dean of students and associate vice president of Campus Life:
Dear CL Staff and Partners,
You may have started your day with a cup of coffee, a bowl of fruit, and a copy of today’s Winston-Salem Journal. If you did, you would see a beautiful article about our new Campus Recreation facility, student excitement about the environment that’s been created, and our own excitement about what the facility represents in our larger vision for Wellbeing at Wake.
You will also see an article about concerns students/faculty are expressing about the suggested revisions to our Student Conduct Code. This article centers on concern about the minimum behavior we expect of students with regard to disruption.
The main message I hope you will take away and share with others is this: We really do want student, faculty and staff feedback. We hope everyone will feel comfortable sharing it with us as part of our planned public review process, which Associate Dean Matt Clifford proactively outlined in an email to the campus community last week. Here’s how people can make their voices heard:
- Feedback is encouraged on our Conduct Code Revision website where specific wording can be engaged and/or principled disagreement can be voiced.
- We are holding a series of Open Forums about different sections within the proposed Conduct Code revision, during which the revision process is outlined, and specific changes are identified and explained.
- We are also going to specific groups/areas to listen to concerns and engage in discussion about the complexity of the issues within each behavioral expectation.
We are intentionally operating with transparency and are seeking thoughtful feedback from community members. We anticipate robust discussion about what we should minimally expect of all undergraduates at the University. In fact, that’s what this process has been designed to facilitate.
This process has been ably designed and led by Matt, and he has done an excellent job involving students, faculty, and staff to get us to where we are today. As we enter this phase of the public review process, which runs through Dec. 1, Matt will continue to guide our community discussion about these issues. Please let Matt or I know if you have any ideas or concerns, and please do encourage students, faculty, and staff to review and comment on the student Conduct Code by following the link below.
Sincerely,
Adam Goldstein, PhD
Dean of Students and Associate Vice President
Campus Life
Categories: University Announcement
Clifford named associate dean of students for student conduct
Matt Clifford
Matt Clifford has been named Wake Forest’s associate dean of students for student conduct.
Clifford, who joined Wake Forest’s staff in 2010, previously was director of Residence Life and Housing and director of Campus Life Projects.
As associate dean, Clifford will be responsible for the administrative management of the student code of conduct and serve as the primary hearing officer for non-academic reports received by the Office of the Dean of Students.
“He will partner with students, faculty and staff to fulfill this responsibility and to design educational resources and programs that advance the standards of our community,” said Dean of Students Adam Goldstein.
Goldstein said he is “very excited” about Clifford joining his senior leadership team.
“He has the skills and experiences we need to strengthen our student conduct system in ways that support student learning and respect for our Honor Code,” Goldstein added.
Since joining Wake Forest, Goldstein said, Clifford has been a key figure in developing the Faculty Fellows program in Residence Life and Housing, the University’s Biased Incident Reporting System and the Division of Campus Life’s learning outcomes and assessment initiatives.
“He has a strong reputation among students as someone that cares about their experience, and among faculty and staff as a skilled professional and reliable partner,” Goldstein said.
Clifford received a doctorate in education from the University of North Florida, a master of education degree from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor of arts degree at Davidson College.
Previously, Clifford held a number of positions at Jacksonville University, including director of residential life, and worked at MIT.
Categories: University Announcement
Matt Clifford elected as National President of Omicron Delta Kappa
Matt Clifford, director of residence life in Residence Life and Housing, was elected national president of Omicron Delta Kappa at the organization’s national convention in Grand Rapids, Mich., July 16-18. The national president is the chair of the Society Board of Directors. Clifford will serve as national president from 2016-2018.
Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society for college students, recognizes and encourages superior scholarship, leadership, and exemplary character.
Clifford joined the Wake Forest staff in 2010. He earned his bachelor of arts in English from Davidson College, a master of education in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of North Florida.
Categories: Staff News
