May 7 Announcement from President Hatch and the Board of Trustees
On May 7, 2021, Wake Forest announced action it is taking to come to terms with its antebellum heritage. Visit the May 7 announcement page on the Expanding the Narrative site to read President Hatch’s message, watch a video of the announcement, and hear from the co-chairs of the Advisory Committee on Naming.
Update from the President’s Commission
on Race, Equity and Community
President Hatch announced on June 9 that the Commission had shared its findings and recommendations. The message shared the report with the community and announced the hiring of Dr. Corey D. B. Walker as the inaugural chair of the African American Studies program and the creation of a new Center for Research, Engagement and Collaboration in African American Life (RECAAL), led by Dr. Derek S. Hicks.
Update from the Slavery, Race
and Memory Project
Essays edited by:
Corey D.B. Walker
Fall 2020 Update on Diversity and Inclusion
“We cannot ignore injustice or wish away racism and bigotry. Now more than ever, we must confront hatred and uphold one another in times of great division and inequity.”
President Hatch addressed the Wake Forest community in a message on May 30, and he joined Student Body President Miles Middleton (’21) for a message on June 19.
What is “Community in Progress?”
“Community in Progress” reflects our belief that while we work to improve Wake Forest’s campus climate, we are actively practicing what it means to be in community together. Wake Forest faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni, parents and our Winston-Salem neighbors all have a deep interest in the state of our community.
Wake Forest’s “Community in Progress” site holds us accountable to each other. We are optimistic about our progress because our desire to improve as a community extends campus-wide. We hope you will visit this site not only for committee updates but also to learn about the important work faculty, staff and students are doing as they seek to cultivate and build an inclusive campus climate.
- Guiding our campus climate work is the President’s Commission on Race, Equity and Community, which is charged with assessing our current climate and institutional policies and developing actionable recommendations to create a more diverse and inclusive learning community.
- In related work, the Committee on Slavery, Race and Memory was formed to recover, understand and more fully reckon with the role enslaved peoples had in building and growing Wake Forest University. This committee is charged with continuing work begun in 2017, when Wake Forest joined the Universities Studying Slavery consortium.
- The Committee on the Intersection of Bias, Expression and Conduct was created to assess and improve policies that affect campus climate. This committee helps determine how our University should respond when our commitment to free expression and open inquiry conflicts with our expectation for a community free of bias and conduct that diminishes the rights of others.
Campus-Wide Updates for Inclusion and Belonging
At the academic, campus life, and institutional level we are actively engaged in elevating our practices, policies, and programs towards a more inclusive and equitable community. The links below provide mid-term and end-term updates, starting with fall 2019, of formative and summative efforts across the university.
These efforts are comprehensive and “big picture” initiatives and do not include the dozens of opportunities each semester to make Wake Forest a more belonging community. The information contained in these updates includes point-persons for related efforts. For more information about this resource please contact diversity@nullwfu.edu.
Upcoming Events
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May 7, 2021 | 5:00 pmMembers of the greater university community will read the names of the enslaved individuals who worked for or were sold to benefit the ...
Community News
Webinar to highlight student-curated exhibition on Black portraiture
September 25, 2020
“Representation Matters: Art, Space and Racial Restitution,” a webinar co-sponsored by Hanes... Read More »
“We Cannot Forget”
February 25, 2020
At 3 p.m. on Feb. 23, about 225 people gathered at the Millennium Center in downtown... Read More »
Wake Forest apologizes for benefitting from enslaved people
February 20, 2020
Each February, the Wake Forest University community gathers for Founders’ Day Convocation to... Read More »
Building momentum, sustaining commitment: Checking in with the Slavery, Race and Memory Project
February 13, 2020
What can we learn from the past? Wake Forest University legal scholar and Associate Provost Kami... Read More »