Transdisciplinary projects sought to represent Wake Forest at festival
The following is a guest post from Tim Pyatt, dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library, and Assistant Vice President Andrea Ellis, Office of Personal and Career Development:
Wake Forest University will be participating in the third ACCelerate: ACC Smithsonian Creativity and Innovation Festival to be held in Washington, D.C. on April 9-11, 2021 during the cherry blossom festival. Attendance is expected to exceed 60,000.
We are seeking exciting transdisciplinary projects to represent the University at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Projects involving WFU/faculty/student/community teams are highly encouraged. Projects submitted will be evaluated based on completion/readiness and the potential to actively engage the festival audience.
The timeline is as follows:
- April 17, 2020: Application deadline for project consideration for the upcoming festival.
- May 12, 2020: Projects will be reviewed by the Festival Steering Committee.
- June 23, 2020: Representatives from all ACC schools meet to prioritize projects
- September 2020: Notifications of final acceptance for the festival will be sent.
Support from the Office of Provost will be available to help with the creation and transportation of the exhibits and exhibitors.
The first ACCelerate festival was on October 13-15, 2017 and second was held April 5-7, 2019. To learn more about the previous Festivals, please visit http://acceleratefestival.com/.
Please complete this form with as much detail as you can provide. We understand that you may not be able to answer all questions by the deadline. For more information, contact Tim Pyatt at tpyatt@nullwfu.edu or 758-5094, or Andrea Ellis at ace@nullwfu.edu or 758-4322.
Categories: Guest Post, Inside WFU
Lock appointed assistant dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library
This is a guest post from Tim Pyatt, Dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library:
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Beth Lock as Assistant Dean for the Z. Smith Reynolds Library. In this new role, she will coordinate promotions and contract renewals for library faculty, oversee library committees, and serve as part of the library renovations planning team. She will continue to manage access services for the library.
Ms. Lock earned her master’s degree in Library Science from North Carolina Central University and her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology at Wayne State University. Having taken a variety of interesting and thought provoking topics over the last two years while engaging deeply with Wake Forest faculty and other graduate students, she will be graduating with her Masters in Liberal Studies in Spring, 2019.
She has participated in the planning for the Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians since its inception in 2009, serving as co-chair for the 2013 conference. Resulting from her participation in the conference, she was also co-editor for the book, The Entrepreneurial Librarian: Essays on the Infusion of Private-Business Dynamism into Professional Service, published in 2011. She recently participated in the Leading Change Institute, which brings together librarians, information technologists, and others who seek to further develop their skills for the benefit of higher education.
Ms. Lock is committed to excellence in library services and has been part of the planning committees for events such as the Dean’s List Gala, Undergraduate Research Day, and Wake the Library. In her new role, she will help us promote excellence in librarianship and library services – we are delighted to have her accept this new role at ZSR.
Tim Pyatt
Dean, ZSR Library
Categories: Guest Post, Inside WFU
Projects sought for second ACCelerate festival
This is a guest post from the organizers of the ACCelerate: ACC Smithsonian Creativity and Innovation Festival:
Wake Forest is seeking projects for the second ACCelerate: ACC Smithsonian Creativity and Innovation Festival to be held in Washington, D.C. on April 5-7, 2019 (dates still tentative).
We are seeking exciting transdisciplinary projects to represent the University at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Projects involving WFU/faculty/student/community teams are highly encouraged. Projects can be submitted through an online survey. They will be evaluated based on completion/readiness and the potential to actively engage the festival audience.
The timeline is as follows:
- May 11, 2018: Application deadline for project consideration for the upcoming festival.
- August 2018: Projects will be reviewed by an internal Smithsonian Committee who will select the top five projects.
- September 2018: The top five projects will be sent to the ACC Review Committee, comprised of leaders from each of the ACC schools, who will then select the top three projects from each ACC school.
- September 2018: Notifications of final acceptance for the festival will be sent.
Support from the Office of Provost will be available to help with the creation and transportation of the exhibits and exhibitors.
The first ACCelerate festival on October 13-15, 2017 drew a crowd of 36,000 participants. We are anticipating and equally impressive turnout in 2019. To learn more about the 2017 Festival, please visit http://acceleratefestival.com/.
For more information, contact:
Tim Pyatt (typatt@nullwfu.edu) or at (336) 758-5090
Andrea Ellis (ace@nullwfu.edu) or at (336) 758-4322
Categories: Guest Post, Inside WFU
Much preparation leads to Wake Forest participation in ACCelerate
After a year of much planning, Tim Pyatt and Andrea Ellis are looking forward to a special Atlantic Coast Conference event in mid-October that showcases Wake Forest in a setting other than on a playing field or a court.
Pyatt, dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library, and Ellis, assistant vice president of innovation, served on the ACC steering committee that helped organize the first “ACCelerate: ACC Smithsonian Creativity and Innovation Festival.” Presented by Virginia Tech and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the ACCelerate Festival is a three-day celebration of creative exploration and research at the nexus of science, engineering and design.
It will be held at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 13-15 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 pm. each day.
The event is free and showcases the 15 universities of the ACC. It gives all of the universities an opportunity to display their work to each other and to the public. In addition to the 47 featured interactive installations, the festival will include panel discussions and performances through the three days.
Representing Wake Forest, Pyatt and Ellis began last October serving on the steering committee comprised of members from all ACC universities. By November, they had proposed the Wake Forest projects for the festival. And, after considerable deliberation, the final decisions were made later on which projects would be selected for showcasing at the festival. Throughout the summer, they have worked to settle the numerous details and logistics required to make it a successful event.
Asked how the public will respond to the Wake Forest exhibits and presentations, Pyatt replied, “All are amazing in their own way.”
The Wake Forest exhibits and presentations include:
- IMPROVment: Improvisational Movement for Brain and Body Health
- Wake the Vote
- The Story of My Life
- What is Language? Challenging our Intuitions and Assumptions
“Wake the Vote is so relevant and timely while IMPROVment epitomizes the Wake Forest ethos — bringing liberal arts and medicine together for the good of society. The Story of My Life celebrates six disabled adults and their personal stories. And What is Language combines humanistic research with data analysis. I think the public will be impressed by the impact of research at Wake Forest on society,” Pyatt said.
For more about ACCelerate, read here.
Categories: Faculty News, Inside WFU, Staff News
WakeUnited Campaign raises $350,000 to benefit United Way
The Wake Forest community successfully concluded the 2015 WakeUnited Campaign in December, raising $350,000 to benefit the United Way of Forsyth County. WakeUnited is the University’s annual campus campaign, which runs during the month of October each year.
The United Way brings together local organizations, agencies, and individuals to work together for the benefit of all in Forsyth County. Donations to the annual campaign support the United Way’s community-wide efforts to:
- Raise the local high school graduation rate
- Decrease chronic homelessness
- Increase financial stability
- Increase access to health care and quality of life
Individuals can also give to the non-profit, human service agency of their choice through United Way of Forsyth County. As well, this year the United Way unveiled its new “Place Matters” initiative, a resident-led initiative to target investments where they are most needed in our community.
This year’s WakeUnited Campaign featured a collaboration with the Pro Humanitate Institute and the Office of Wellbeing; together these offices helped to sponsor the 2016 Champion Challenge to encourage participation in the campaign. “Team Taylor,” comprised of staff from Facilities and Campus Services, blew the competition out of the water with over 90 percent participation in the campaign. Additionally, this year’s campaign featured weekly drawings for raffle prizes through the “16 in ’16” challenge; prizes were awarded to Emily Neese, Jessica Sheedy, Tim Pyatt, and the grand prize went to Patrick Sullivan. Congrats to all!
Allison McWilliams, director of mentoring and alumni personal and career development, and the chair of this year’s campaign, notes that the investment that Wake Forest staff and faculty make each year in the WakeUnited campaign extends beyond the actual dollars raised: “By supporting the United Way’s work in Forsyth County, we are acknowledging that Wake Forest does not just exist in this community, we are part of it. Its successes and challenges are ours, as well. I could not be more humbled by and grateful for the generosity of our colleagues at Wake Forest.”
The 2016 WakeUnited Campaign chair is Roger Beahm, professor of the practice in marketing and WestRock Executive Director, Center for Retail Innovation. For more information about the WakeUnited campaign, visit http://unitedway.wfu.edu.
Categories: University Announcement
