From Wente's Desk Archive

Seasons of Change

There is something magical about springtime on a University campus. After the sometimes dark and cold of January and February, the days start to get longer, flowers and trees begin to bloom, and our community takes the rhythms of campus life outdoors. On an unseasonably […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Strategically addressing space needs for our third century

Anyone who has lived or worked in a college or university community knows how precious a campus can be. The academic buildings, classrooms, and library; residence halls and dining spaces; beautifully landscaped quads and towering spires. Campus places and spaces become dear to us as […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Identifying the ‘Why, What and How’ of Wake Forest together

Universities are inquisitive communities, always asking questions and seeking answers. We also acknowledge that definitive answers are not based on one dialogue, or one experiment, or one creative work. Consensus comes from rigorous debate by a community of experts, a consensus that is informed by […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


How we frame the framework

The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, once said, “great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds.”  As a scientist, I’ve seen this assertion play out many times — and in real time — both in my own career and those […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Universities as partners in the talent pipeline

Over the past year, I have learned so much about all the different ways our university works with our city, region and state. As a great university, our reach is broad; yet, a critical role we play locally is contributing to the economic development of […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Announcing the Strategic Framework Process

As a great university, Wake Forest is called to continually build upon our strong foundation and strive for excellence. Across the last four decades, we have been guided by several strategic plans with the most recent conceived between 2007-09. Each moved the University as a […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Summer Greetings

With the summer now fully upon us, there are many different paces and rhythms across our campus community. For some, summer is a time to reset and plan for the Fall semester. For others — such as our facilities staff, our financial units and those […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Reflecting Forward on the Academic Year

While commencement festivities this month marked the beginning of our graduates’ next adventures, they also signaled the completion of our 2021-22 academic year.  This year’s events were especially beautiful — returning to Hearn Plaza and with Baccalaureate and five separate hooding ceremonies in Wait […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Embracing Change

As we close in on the last day of classes and prepare for final exams, we also look forward to next month’s spring commencement celebrations. Commencement is always a special time on a campus, even with the creativity and flexibility needed for the past two […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


Reflections on Inauguration Week

Last Friday marked the 14th time a new president was officially invested to lead Wake Forest. I am deeply grateful to everyone who was involved in making it such a special week for the university community, and for me and my family.  Across all of […]

Categories: From Wente's Desk


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