President Wente walks and talks with Professor of Spanish José Luis Venegas about how history inhabits the present, who gets to tell stories, what those stories mean and who gets left out. He encourages students to look at the big questions and think about those questions across cultures and languages.
Categories: Walk with Wente
On Monday, I had the privilege of sitting down with Chancellor Bonita Brown of Winston-Salem State University for a conversation moderated by Wake Forest’s Dean Corey D. B. Walker. The topics we explored centered on the importance of courageous leadership and community building, and the […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk
Dear Wake Forest community, I am pleased to share that Dr. Nell Jessup Newton has agreed to continue serving as interim provost through the presidential transition and the 2026-27 academic year, as needed. This extension ensures continuity and stability in our academic leadership during this […]
Categories: Emails
In the months since announcing that my presidential tenure will conclude at the end of this coming June, I have often found myself in moments of reflection. Transitions invite us to look back, and some have asked about the path that led me to […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk
President Wente walks and talks with Dr. Tao Ma, professor of internal medicine, about his neuroscience research on the molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and Down Syndrome. His goal: finding a cure. “The future is exciting and bright,” Ma said. Students – graduate students and undergraduates – are a key part of his research. “Many times, people think of science as just one person doing it alone…These days, especially for biomedical research, it’s really teamwork.”
Categories: Walk with Wente
Each year in February, we celebrate the founding of our great university in February 1834, originally in the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina. During my first Founders Day address to the community, I asked a question I have recently reflected on as it […]
Categories: From Wente's Desk, Presidential News
Delivered in Wait Chapel on Feb. 19, 2026. Remarks as prepared. Good afternoon! Welcome to the 2026 Founders Day Ceremony. Every year in February, we acknowledge our beginnings as a manual labor institute in the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina, in February of 1834 […]
Categories: Speeches
President Wente walks and talks with Professor of Chemistry Patricia Dos Santos about biochemistry, enzymes and current research that could help develop better technologies for natural fertilizers to mitigate the environmental damage caused by artificial fertilizers. “Enzymes are present in all aspects of metabolism and can help us understand human disease and nitrogen fixation in plants,” Dos Santos said. She has seen many of her students go on to graduate school and successful research careers. “As faculty, we are forever learners,” she said. “It is a privilege to be a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students.”
Categories: Walk with Wente
President Wente walks and talks with Errin Fulp, professor of computer science, about his research on computer network systems and what ant colonies can teach us about cybersecurity. “We’d like to have that same sort of resilience, adaptiveness and self-healing in networks,” Fulp said. He encourages his students to take courses outside of computer science and think about how they can integrate ideas from other disciplines to solve complex problems. “Computer science is a field that really touches every aspect of our lives.”
Categories: Walk with Wente
Dear Wake Forest community, Today, families, communities, churches, and schools across our nation pause. We gather. We reflect. We donate. We pray. We plan. We act. As we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I find myself returning to a […]
Categories: Emails