Wake Forest University

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Wake Forest University
Motto: Pro humanitate (Latin)
Motto in English: For humanity
Established: February 3, 1834
Type: Private
Endowment: $1.15 billion[1]
President: Nathan Hatch
Faculty: 636, excluding medical school
Undergraduates: 4,321
Location: Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Campus: Suburban, 340 acres (1.4 km²) [2]
Colors: Old Gold and black
Nickname: Demon Deacons
Mascot: The Demon Deacon
Affiliations: ACC
Website: www.wfu.edu

Wake Forest University is a privates private, coeducational university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is located north of downtown Winston-Salem, and the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center campus is located near downtown Winston-Salem. The University also occupies lab space at the Bowman Gray Technical Center, at the downtown Piedmont Research Park, and at the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. The university is highly selective and is known for its rigorous workload.

Contents

[edit] History

What would become Wake Forest University was founded after the North Carolina Baptist State Convention purchased a 600-acre (2.4 km²) plantation from Dr. Calvin Jones in an area north of Raleigh (Wake County) called the "Forest of Wake." The new school, designed to teach both Baptist ministers and laymen, opened on 3 February 1834 as the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute, so called because students and staff were required to spend half of each day doing manual labor on the plantation. Dr. Samuel Wait, a Baptist minister, was selected as the "principal", later president, of the institute. [3]

Wait Chapel located on the Hearn Plaza (or the 'Upper Quad').
Wait Chapel located on the Hearn Plaza (or the 'Upper Quad').

In 1839, it was renamed Wake Forest College, and the manual labor system was abandoned. The town that grew up around the college came to be called the town of Wake Forest.

In 1862, during the American Civil War, the school closed due to the loss of most students and some faculty to service in the Confederate States Army.

The College re-opened in 1866 and prospered over the next four decades under the leadership of presidents Washington M. Wingate, Thomas H. Pritchard, and Charles Taylor.

In 1894, the School of Law was established, followed by the School of Medicine in 1902.

The university held its first summer session in 1921.

The leading college figure in the early 20th century was Dr. William L. Poteat, a gifted biologist and the first layman to be elected president in the College’s history. “Dr. Billy” continued to promote growth, hired many outstanding professors, and expanded the science curriculum. He also stirred upheaval among North Carolina Baptists with his strong support of teaching the theory of evolution but eventually won formal support from the Baptist State Convention for academic freedom at the College.

The Benson University Center
The Benson University Center

The School of Medicine moved to Winston-Salem (then North Carolina's second-largest city) in 1941 and became the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. The following year, 1942, Wake Forest admitted its first female undergraduate students, after World War II dramatically depleted the pool of male students.

In 1946, as a result of large gifts from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the entire college agreed to move to Winston-Salem, a move that was completed for the beginning of the fall 1956 term. Charles and Mary Babcock (daughter of R. J. Reynolds) donated the college about 350 acres (1.4 km²) of fields and woods at "Reynolda", their estate [1]. From 1952 to 1956, fourteen new buildings were constructed on the new campus[2]. These buildings were constructed in Georgian style [3].The old campus in Wake Forest was sold to the Baptist State Convention to establish the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

A graduate studies program was inaugurated in 1961, and in 1967 the school became the fully accredited Wake Forest University. The Babcock Graduate School of Management was established in 1969.

In 1986, Wake Forest gained autonomy from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and established a fraternal relationship with it.[4][5]

The James R. Scales Fine Arts Center opened in 1979. In 1995, the business school was renamed the Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accountancy, while in 1997 the medical school was renamed the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A divinity school was added in 1999. [4]

The thirteenth president of Wake Forest is Dr. Nathan O. Hatch, former provost at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Hatch was officially installed as president on 20 October 2005. He assumed office on 1 July 2005, succeeding Dr. Thomas K. Hearn, Jr., who had retired after twenty-two years in office.

[edit] Academics

In the past 20 years, the university has produced 11 Rhodes Scholars [5] and numerous Marshall and Fulbright recipients.

A formal lounge area used for studying inside Reynolda Hall overlooking the Magnolia Quad (Manchester Plaza).
A formal lounge area used for studying inside Reynolda Hall overlooking the Magnolia Quad (Manchester Plaza).

[edit] Undergraduate

Wake Forest's undergraduate component consists of Wake Forest College (school of arts and science) and the Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accountancy. The university offers 34 majors and many interdisciplinary minors across various fields of study. In order to attend the Wayne Calloway School, students must make a special application to its program. The Calloway School offers a 5 year accountancy program whereby a student earns a BS and an MS in Accountancy and qualifies to sit for the CPA exam after 5 years of combined undergraduate and graduate study.

In order to graduate, a Wake Forest student must finish a basic set of classes and a set of divisional classes. The basic set of classes includes a first year seminar, a writing seminar, health and PE classes, and foreign language literature. The latter usually requires students to take additional languages classes first. Languages available include Spanish, French, German, Latin, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and others.

About 89 percent of Wake Forest professors hold the terminal degree in their field. Wake Forest professors are expected to excel in both teaching and scholarship.

Wake Forest offers a number of study abroad programs for its undergraduates and, in the summers, for its law school students. About half of Wake Forest undergraduates spend at least one semester abroad.

Wait Chapel at night.
Wait Chapel at night.

[edit] Graduate

Wake Forest University offers a wide-variety of graduate programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Wake Forest also has professional schools:

[edit] Rankings

In the 2007 U.S. News America's Best Colleges report, Wake Forest was ranked 30th in terms of quality of undergraduate education. In the 2007 BusinessWeek Undergraduate Business Schools Rankings, the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy was ranked 17th. According to the Institute of International Education 2006 Report on International Educational Exchange, Wake Forest was ranked 4th in undergraduate participation in study-abroad programs among doctoral/research universities. In 2003, The Princeton Review listed Wake Forest as one of the "Most Connected Campuses" in the United States.

[edit] Presidential debates

Twice the school has hosted presidential debates. The first, between then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Governor Michael Dukakis, took place in Wait Chapel on 25 September 1988. The second matched then-Governor George W. Bush against Vice President Al Gore on 11 October 2000.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Fraternities and sororities

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can (April 2008).

Wake Forest has a very strong Greek presence. Roughly 60% of the female population and 30% of the male population are members of sororities and fraternities, respectively. There are 19 social fraternities and sororities hosted by Wake Forest; including Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Sigma Phi, Chi Omega, Chi Psi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Zeta, Kappa Alpha, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi, and Theta Chi.

There are 9 chartered sororities and 14 chartered fraternities at Wake Forest University.

Sororities:

Fraternities:

Service Fraternity

Wake Forest's undergraduate social scene is heavily influenced by Greek life. However, fraternities and sororities are highly integrated to both each other and independents, socially speaking. Greek social events are generally open to all students, Greek and non-Greek. Wake Forest's Greek life is unusual in that the Greeks don't have houses concentrated in a "Greek Row". Instead Greeks occupy lounges and their adjoining halls of a greater building. These areas are spread out evenly across campus, with the exception of Delta Kappa Epsilon, which has its residence off campus. Wake Forest has a deferred rush process, whereby freshman rush their second semester, giving them a semester's time to become acquainted to new friends and the school. Upperclassmen are permitted to rush both in the fall and the spring. Though most Greeks pledged their freshman year, it is not uncommon for students to pledge during an upperclassmen year (predominantly sophomore year).

[edit] Physical activity options

Wake Forest offers a vast array of possibilities for physical activity be it for recreation or health. The University offers classes in Yoga, Dance, Boot Camp, etc. In addition, some classes are offered for credit on sports theory and practice, as well as several dance courses. Intramural Sports are also extremely popular and take place for a variety of sports, depending on the season.

[edit] Dining facilities

Every Wake Forest undergraduate student is required to sign up for a meal plan in coordination with Aramark. The meals can be used in the main dining facility known as "The Pit" or the Magnolia Room, both of which are located at Reynolda Hall, in the center of the campus. At the neighboring Benson Center students can buy food and snacks independent of their meal plan from Aramark or from Chick-fil-a. A Subway is also located on campus, off Hearn Plaza.

Recently, in the fall of 2005, Aramark, through its Fresh Foods Company, renovated "The Pit" in an attempt to improve the quality of the dining experience. The newly renovated area contains a variety a food stations with a "cooked upon order" service.

[edit] Student media

  • WAKE Radio is a student run internet radio station. Students regularly broadcast shows ranging from political talk to underground indie music hours.
  • The Student is a student run website created and run by students to help integrate the student body to academic activities and social events around campus and the Winston-Salem area.
  • Wake Forest University's school newspaper is the Old Gold & Black (OGB), named for the school's colors. Published weekly from an office in Benson University Center, the Old Gold & Black is produced by a group of student editors, reporters and photographers.
  • The school television channel is Wake-TV. Its feature television show is the weekly edition Wake-TV News. Sportsline is another popular show among students, where callers can ask the hosts questions about sports.
  • The Howler is the annual yearbook.
  • Three to Four Ounces is the only official literary magazine on campus, publishing a collection of original student poetry, prose, and art each semester. It is also the longest-running media outlet on campus, as it began in 1882 as The Student when the school was still known as Wake Forest College [6].
  • Notice is a student-made magazine funded by Three to Four Ounces and designed to enlighten the students of Wake Forest about the creative people surrounding them. The project's intent is to celebrate and encourage creativity on campus in visual arts, music, writing, or any provocative form of expression.

[edit] Wake Forest undergraduate student housing

Wake Forest undergraduate students are guaranteed on-campus housing for four years. For their freshman and sophomore years, students are required to live on campus. There are five areas within the Reynolda campus where all the undergraduate dormitories are located: South Campus, North Campus, Palmer/Piccolo, Polo Townhouse/Student Apartments/Martin, and the Polo Road Houses. All student housing has air-conditioning, closets, wired/wireless internet access, and unlimited washer/dryer usage. Every residence hall is equipped with at least one communal lounge area (with a big-screen television, sometimes a ping-pong table) and kitchen area. Student housing in Polo offers two-bedroom apartment-style living and four bedroom, two bathroom townhouse-style living, complete with furnished bedrooms, living room, and dining room furniture.

Freshman housing includes dorms Collins, Babcock, Luter, Bostwick, Johnson, Palmer and Piccolo. Johnson Hall is the "substance free" dorm where most residents must sign an agreement to not use alcohol, tobacco or any other mind altering substance. Recently, Johnson hall has been used for housing overflow, and students who sign no agreement have been placed there.

[edit] Student union

The event-planning arm of Wake Forest is undergraduate student led and run organization known as Student Union. Student union projects include such events as Homecoming, Family Weekend, Special Lectures, and Events at the Coffeehouse.

Their most celebrated and well attended event is the annual "Shag on the Mag" that occurs on the Manchester Quad. A big tent that covers the entire quad is laid out and students shag dance together.

[edit] Student government

Wake Forest Student Government (known as SG) works under a semi-Presidential system.

The core component is the General Assembly, which acts as a student legislature. The General Assembly is made up of legislators, represented and voted by each residence hall. The legislators are assigned within one of six committees to specialize in a particular area of student needs.

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

"Rolling the Quad" is a WFU tradition that is done after major victories in athletic competition.
"Rolling the Quad" is a WFU tradition that is done after major victories in athletic competition.

Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention (from which it later separated itself). However, in 1923, after a particularly impressive win against the Duke Blue Devils, a newspaper reporter wrote that the Deacons "fought like Demons", giving rise to the current team name, the "Demon Deacons".

Wake Forest has won a total of eight national championships in four different sports; four of these championships have come in the past six years. Wake Forest is sometimes referred to as being a part of "Tobacco Road" or the "The Big Four", terms that refer to the four North Carolina schools that compete heatedly against each other within the ACC; these include Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State, as well as Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons participate in the NCAA's Division I (in the Bowl Subdivision for football) and in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Athletics Director is Ron Wellman.

[edit] Football

Main article: Wake Forest Demon Deacons football

2006 Season

Wake Forest's football team was ranked in the Top 25 in the nation by the AP Poll during most of the 2006 season. They won the 2006 ACC Atlantic Division Title and the 2006 ACC Conference Championship by defeating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 9-6 on December 2 in the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville, FL. The win sent Wake Forest to the Orange Bowl to play Big East champion Louisville, where they lost to the Cardinals. This made Wake Forest the smallest school to ever compete in the Bowl Championship Series. Of all schools that play Division I FBS football, only Rice and Tulsa have smaller undergraduate enrollments, and Wake has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of any school in the BCS conferences.

For his part in the record-setting season, coach Jim Grobe was unanimously selected ACC Coach of the Year, and handily won the AP Coach of the Year award several weeks later. Coach Grobe signed a ten-year contract in 2003.

2007 Season

Wake Forest followed its success in 2006 with another excellent year and finished the regular season with a record of 8 wins and 4 losses. During the season, the Demon Deacons were briefly ranked in the Top 25. Their success throughout the year earned Wake Forest an invitation to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. Played on December 29 in the Bank of America stadium (home of the Carolina Panthers) the Demon Deacons defeated the Connecticut Huskies 24-10.

Wake Forest's head coach, Jim Grobe, continues to garner national attention as an outstanding college football coach. Though he was offered coaching positions at other schools, Grobe chose to remain with the Deacons much to the relief of Wake fans.

Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field (formerly Groves Stadium).

[edit] Men's basketball

Main article: Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball

Wake Forest is generally regarded as a competitive program in men's basketball, frequently qualifying for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (20 times in the school's history). The men's basketball team has made 16 straight postseason appearances (through their NIT appearance in 2006), the longest such streak in the ACC. They reached the Final Four once, in 1962. The school's famous basketball alumni include Billy Packer, a guard on the 1962 Final Four team who became far more famous as a basketball broadcaster; Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues, the shortest player ever to play in the NBA; Randolph Childress, for his MVP performance in the 1995 ACC Tournament; Dallas Mavericks star Josh Howard; Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and the 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year Award; and two-time league MVP and three-time NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan. Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is the home venue for the Demon Deacons basketball team. Skip Prosser, Wake Forest University's men's basketball coach since 2001, died in Winston-Salem on July 26, 2007. One of Prosser's assistant coaches, Dino Gaudio, was named to replace him.

[edit] Women's field hockey

Recent athletic honors include three consecutive NCAA Field Hockey national championships in 2002, 2003, and 2004 under Head Coach Jennifer Averill. In 2005, the Deacs were defeated in the semifinal round by Duke University, and in the 2006 championship game by the University of Maryland.

[edit] Golf

Wake Forest has had several successful golf teams, winning national championships in 1974, 1975, and 1986. Several well-known players include Arnold Palmer, Lanny Wadkins, Jay Haas, Curtis Strange,Robert Wrenn and Scott Hoch.

[edit] Soccer

Wake Forest is a consistent national title contender in men's soccer. In recent years several players from the program have played professionally in Major League Soccer, including Brian Carroll, Will Hesmer, Justin Moose, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Scott Sealy, Matt Taylor, and Wells Thompson. In 2006 the team advanced to the final four of the NCAA tournament where they were defeated in a penalty kick shootout by the University of California, Santa Barbara. They captured the 2007 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship defeating Ohio State 2-1.

[edit] Baseball

Main article: Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball

Wake Forest won the 1955 College World Series in baseball.

Starting in 2009, they will be playing on Ernie Shore Field, in Winston-Salem, NC.

[edit] Screamin' Demons

Student attendance of Wake Forest Football and Basketball games is high, in part due to the program known as "Screamin' Demons". At the beginning of each respective athletic season students on the Reynolda Campus can sign up for the program whereby they pay $15 for each season; in addition to the best seats at the games, this gets students a football shirt in the fall and a tie-dye t-shirt in the spring along with a card that serves as an automatic pass to the sporting events. They lose this privilege if they miss two of the games. Through the planning of Sports Marketing and the Screamin' Demons program, basketball game seats in the students section are difficult to attain without participating in the Screamin' Demons program. The arena can only sit 2,250 of the 5,500 undergraduate students at Wake Forest. At least 150 seats are always set aside for non-Screamin Demons, who sit behind the 2,100 member group. Students often camp out through the night (against rain and freezing temperature) to get the best seats in the house (which are assigned in order of those showing up at the ticket gate).

[edit] Student organizations

There are over 160 chartered student organizations of all sorts. Student sports organizations are highly visible on campus. Special interest organizations range from the academic, such the Model United Nations team, to the artistic, such as the handbell choir. In spring of 2006, the Mock Trial team was notable in qualifying for the national tournament while only in its 2nd year in operation. Religious organizations are also numerous. Both the College Republicans and College Democrats have active chapters at the University. Historic student organizations such as the Philomathesians, an artistic literary magazine, are also present. Students are entertained by numerous performing groups, including The Lilting Banshee Comedy Troupe.

The Office of Student Development, led by Michael Gerald Ford, son of Gerald R. Ford, oversees all student organizations. Student Development also organizes leadership oriented student activities such as LEAD, a semester long course in campus leadership.

[edit] Volunteer Service Corps

The Volunteer Service Corps (VSC) is one of the most popular student organizations. It coordinates volunteering in both the local and international/national setting via service projects and trips. The organization has annual service trips to Russia, Vietnam, and Latin America. In light of the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina, VSC sent 30 Wake Students on a Wake Alternative Spring Break in the Spring of 2006.

[edit] A cappella groups

Wake Forest has a number of vibrant a cappella groups that produce annual records and have popular performances on and off campus. They include:

  • Chi Rho - award winning all male Christian group
  • Innuendo - mixed gender group intent on bringing "hotness" to music
  • Plead the Fifth - all male group
  • Minor Variation - all female Christian group
  • Demon Divas - all female group

[edit] Army ROTC

Wake Forest University offers only Army ROTC. In 2006 the Army ROTC program was awarded the MacArthur Award by the United States Army for having the best medium sized ROTC battalion in the nation. There are about sixty cadets in the program, and about half of each military science class finishes Leadership Development Advanced Camp (LDAC) as a "Distinguished Military Graduate", the top 20% of ROTC graduates.

The minimum service commitment of a contracted cadet who graduates from ROTC is 4 years active duty and 4 years reserve duty after that. The alternative service plans are available for those who intend to be an Army doctor, lawyer, or chaplain with source of commissioning via ROTC.

At Wake Forest contracted ROTC cadets are given full scholarship, a monthly stipend, and book money by the US Army. The university extends the scholarship with free room and board.

The program also serves students from Winston-Salem State University and Salem College.

[edit] Technology

Wake Forest has received praise for its efforts in the field of technology. In 2003, The Princeton Review listed it as the number two "Most Connected Campus" in the United States. The University's Information Systems (IS) department has a program that issues new Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computers to all undergraduate and graduate students and faculty as well as Hewlett-Packard color printers to undergraduate students. High speed wireless and wired Internet access is now provided across campus. For undergraduate students living on campus, the university provides Resident Technology Advisors (RTAs), undergraduate students who also live on campus, trained to aid students with technical help for their laptops.

Information Systems, in cooperations with high technology firms like IBM, Cingular, and HP, also actively engage in technology testing with members of the student body. These selected students participate through either co-payment or leasing plans in experimental uses of technology in education and college life through IS Research and Development. The most recent program of this type is called MobileU and provides students involved in the program with PDA/phone combos and software to support educational and personal activities.

The University is a founding member of WinstonNet, a non-profit organization of educational and municipal institutions in Winston-Salem, NC that among other things provides a gigabit ethernet based regional point of presence (or, rPOP) for the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN).

Wake Forest University provides faculty with access to high performance computing efforts locally with the WFU DEAC cluster and statewide with its participation in the NC Grid Computing Initiative. The statewide efforts are coordinated through the non-profit organization. MCNC

[edit] University campuses

[edit] Reynolda Campus

Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Z. Smith Reynolds Library

The Reynolda Campus is the main campus for Wake Forest University, housing the undergraduate colleges, three of the four graduate schools, and about half the Graduate school of Arts & Sciences. The core of Reynolda campus are the two interlinked quads, separated by the main administrative building/main dining faciilty, Reynolda Hall, into North and South Campus.

North Campus consists of the T.K. Hearn Plaza, better known as "the quad" which holds the six upperclassmen residential buildings, the UPS Store, Subway store, book/office supply store, clothing/athletic store, and Wait Chapel. Wait Chapel serves multiple functions. Its auditorium serves as an area for prayer, ceremonies, concerts, and certain guest speakers. The classrooms at Wait Chapel house the offices and classrooms for the Divinity School and the Religion Department.

South Campus is the home of Manchester Quad (formerly known as the Magnolia Quad or Mag quad). It holds freshman housing, most of the classroom buildings, the Benson Center, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

[edit] Bowman Gray Campus

Known as the Bowman Gray Campus, a large hospital and medical center are located away from the Reynolda Campus in the Ardmore neighborhood near downtown Winston-Salem. This combined facility is now known as the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and is currently the largest employer in Forsyth County. The facility comprises the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, formerly known as the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, and Wake Forest University Physicians.

[edit] Bowman Gray Technical Center

In 2003, the Bowman Gray Technical Center (BGTC), a third, smaller, campus opened near the main campus. This campus is the administrative base for the Wake Forest University Center for Structural Biology, and the physical location for seven of the sixteen faculty members comprising the Center.

[edit] Presidents

[edit] Notable faculty

[edit] Notable alumni or attendees

[edit] Arts and letters

[edit] Politics, law, and government

[edit] Sports and entertainment

[edit] Other

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] Movies or documentaries filmed at the University

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite
  2. ^ The Undergraduate Schools: Bulletin of Wake Forest University 2007-2008
  3. ^ The Undergraduate Schools: Bulletin of Wake Forest University 2007-2008
  4. ^ address given by Bill Leonard, dean of the Divinity School, at the spring 2007 convocation
  5. ^ Hearn says Wake Forest remains committed to its Baptist heritage


v • d • e
Wake Forest University
Academics
Athletics
Campus
Student Life
v • d • e
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Atlantic Division

Boston College Eagles · Clemson Tigers · Florida State Seminoles · Maryland Terrapins · North Carolina State Wolfpack · Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Coastal Division

Duke Blue Devils · Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets · Miami Hurricanes · North Carolina Tar Heels · Virginia Cavaliers · Virginia Tech Hokies
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