Medallion of Merit winners
The Medallion of Merit, the University’s highest honor, was awarded on Founders Day to Dr. J. Wayne Meredith (MD ’78) and Dr. Julie A. Freischlag, two trailblazing physicians who transformed healthcare in North Carolina and raised Wake Forest’s profile as a national leader in medical education and clinical practice.
Dr. Meredith retired in 2024 as chief of clinical chairs at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and chair of surgery at the School of Medicine. During his 36-year University tenure, he started its trauma program and engineered a statewide trauma system, establishing a coordinated network of collaboration among state trauma centers and emergency medical service providers. His innovative approach to trauma-system management became a national model.
Dr. Freischlag retired in December 2025 as CEO and chief academic officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health, and executive vice president of health affairs at Wake Forest. She played a big role in creating a next-generation academic health system with Atrium Health and establishing the School of Medicine campus in Charlotte. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist opened a new adult emergency department tower named for her. Read more
Wake Forest in the news
Forbes recognized Wake Forest as one of America’s best large employers (No. 59 out of 700) and separately as one of 10 schools with the best “vibe,” based on its social vibrance, climate-friendly location and selectivity. Read more
The German Men’s National Team chose Winston-Salem as its home base for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, training at Wake Forest’s W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium and residing at The Graylyn Estate. Read more
The School of Business was named the No. 13 overall best undergraduate business school and No. 14 for online MBA programs in the Poets & Quants 2026 list. Read more
Wake Forest had the fourth-highest percentage — 86% — of students studying abroad for credit in the 2023-24 academic year and summer 2024 among leading doctoral universities, according to the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors 2025 report, a benchmark for global educational exchange. Read more
Boosting a student’s sense of belonging in college can significantly increase their likelihood of earning a degree, Associate Professor of Psychology Shannon Brady found in a recent study based on a survey of 21,000 undergraduates enrolled in two- and four-year colleges across the country. The relationship between belonging and graduation held “across different kinds of students and institutions,” she says. Read more
Sabin Center Fellow Claudia Vega’s TED Talk on the hidden cost of buying gold was named one of TED’s “10 Ideas Changing the World in 2026.” Read more
Campus moves
Nell Jessup Newton will continue serving as interim provost as needed through the 2026-27 academic year, providing continuity during the presidential transition. Read more
Ecosystem scientist Alan Townsend was named executive director of the Andrew Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability, starting July 1. Townsend wrote the 2024 book “This Ordinary Stardust” and was dean of the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. Read more
The Quad and beyond
The School of Law and the Program for Leadership and Character received $5 million from the Kern Family Foundation to expand the role of character-based leadership in legal education. The grant will help sustain campus initiatives and pave the way for a network of law schools committed to leadership and character. Read more
The University launched a Neuroarts Lab as part of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, a global effort to integrate arts into mainstream medicine. The lab is focused on investigating ways engagement with the arts improves brain health, increasing interdisciplinary partnerships with faculty and developing programs with community and regional partners. Wake Forest has been a pioneer in the emerging field of neuroarts, largely through the work of its co-directors, Reynolds Professor of Dance Christina Soriano and Rebecca E. Shaw Professor and Director Memory Counseling Program Christina Hugenschmidt (Ph.D. ’08). Read more
President Susan R. Wente said at Founders Day that the University Board of Trustees had approved the next steps forward for a campus memorial honoring the enslaved people who worked for, or were sold to benefit, Wake Forest. Designed as an amphitheater and garden near the intersection of Wake Forest Road and Eure Drive, next to the trail to Reynolda Village, the memorial is intended “to bring people together, to invite all in, to reflect on our past and to learn, to discern, how all can be founders for the future,” Wente said. Read more
Starting in Spring 2027, the University will offer a study away program at The Pearl innovation district in Charlotte for sophomores and juniors. The program will integrate academics with professional experience, helping students explore the intersection of business and the liberal arts. Read more
The School of Law and School of Professional Studies have launched a joint degree, the Juris Doctor/Master of Health Administration. The program combines legal education with comprehensive training in healthcare management and is designed for students interested in shaping the future of healthcare policy, administration and law. Read more
The 21st annual Wake ’N Shake, a 12-hour dance-a-thon, raised $353,147 for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund. Read more
Earvin “Magic” Johnson wrapped up the Face to Face speaker series’ fifth season. Read more
Coming in the 2026-27 year: Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, documentary guru Ken Burns, hit-show creator Michael Schur and chef and restaurateur José Andrés. Read more
The University Center for Private Business, which works with more than 230 privately owned businesses, has expanded to Asheville, with Scott Fowler joining the team as the Western North Carolina market manager. Read more
Awards, honors and milestones
Eli Leadham (’26) was named a Schwarzman Scholar, one of 150 students worldwide selected to pursue a fully funded master’s program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. A sociology major from Portland, Oregon, Leadham plans to spend the year advocating for transitional justice and human rights on a global scale. Read more
Laura Malone Elliott (’79), who writes under the name L.M. Elliott, was inducted into the Wake Forest Writers Hall of Fame on Feb. 21 at WordsAwake5!, a daylong conference that featured panels of Wake Forest literati. Read more
Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology Eranda Jayawickreme received an honorary doctorate from Rector Magnificus Wilco Hazeleger of Utrecht University in recognition of his exceptional contributions to science and society. Read more
Associate Professor of French Studies Amanda Vincent won the 2026 Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award from the Society of Architectural Historians for “Constructing Gardens, Cultivating the City,” recognized as the most distinguished work of scholarship in the history of landscape architecture or garden design. Read more
The American Society of Civil Engineers named Associate Professor of Engineering and Associate Engineering Chair Tricia Clayton a 2026 Fellow, recognizing her years of service shaping civil engineering education nationally. Read more
Assistant Professor of Art Nikki Moore was awarded The Dedalus Foundation’s 2026 Senior Fellowship for her book, “Experts in the Fields: Art, Architecture, and Aesthetics at the Mexican Origins of the Global Green Revolution, 1924 – 1972.” Read more
Thurman D. Kitchin Professor of Chemistry Bruce King (P ’20) was named an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, a lifetime honor. Read more
WFDD, the public radio service of Wake Forest, won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting along with multiple regional awards and Public Media Journalists Association honors.
Wake Forest Magazine won CASE Best of District III awards for 2025 in two categories: General Interest and Single Topic/Special Edition. The magazine was specifically recognized for its Spring 2024 How To Issue and Fall 2024 Photography Issue.
Four statistical sciences faculty members were recognized by the American Statistical Association: Staci Hepler won the Caucus for Women in Statistics’ Michael Woodroofe Award; Sarah Lotspeich won the Caucus for Women in Statistics’ Societal Impact Award; and Lucy D’Agostino McGowan won the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies Emerging Leader Award; and Nicole Dalzell received the Mu Sigma Rho Early Career Undergraduate Impact Award. Lotspeich also was awarded the 2026 ENAR Dionne Price Early Career PIONEER Award in Biostatistics.
Associate Professor of East Asian Languages & Cultures Qiaona Yu was elected vice president of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, the largest U.S. organization dedicated exclusively to the study of Chinese language, culture and pedagogy. Read more
Intercultural Center Director Monique Gore, Associate Director of Digital Fabrication and Maker Education Paul Whitener (P ’18, ’22, ’23, ’27), Eric Cisneros (’27) and Genesis Mark (’27) were recognized with 2026 “Building the Dream” awards for fostering unity and leadership in Winston-Salem. Read more
Professor of Theatre J.K. Curry (P ’27) was named Volunteer of the Year by the Twin City Track Club for contributions spanning park cleanups to race-day support. Read more
Demon Deacon sports
The men’s tennis team captured its fourth ACC Championship, beating Virginia. All four championships came under Head Coach Tony Bresky, who was named ACC Coach of the Year for the fourth time. Mees Rottgering earned ACC Freshman of the Year, and the team racked up five selections for All-ACC teams. Read more
A pedestrian pathway is under construction to connect Faculty Drive to The Grounds, Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium, the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and other athletic facilities. Working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the University is re-engineering the intersection at University Parkway and North Cherry Street to consolidate traffic into a single, signaled crossing with highly visible crosswalks. Read more
Roper Osborne Halverson (’76) and Herman Eure (Ph.D. ’74, P ’23) received the 2025-2026 Trailblazer Award for the lasting impact they have made on Wake Forest. Osborne Halverson competed as a three-sport standout during the mid-1970s and helped create the women’s golf program. Eure became the first Black faculty member in 1974. Read more
PGA Tour professional Cameron Young (’19) and his wife Kelsey Young endowed a men’s golf scholarship in March, shortly after he won the 2026 Players Championship. Read more
Wake Forest Dance and The Spirit of the Old Gold and Black marching band took top honors in January at the 2026 UCA & UDA College Nationals — Combined for Division IA Game Day LIVE (Dance and Band). View photos of the college nationals here. And a scholarship program for the marching band is starting this fall with up to 50 merit-based scholarships of as much as $5,000 a year being awarded to eligible continuing band members. The goal is to expand the band to 100 members in the next five years. Read more
The In Her Wake initiative raised more than $47.5 million from more than 2,140 donors for Wake Forest women student-athletes as of Feb. 7, its official two-year mark.Steve Weinman, an NBA front office veteran, was named senior associate athletics director for analytics and general manager of men’s and women’s basketball. He is also a School of Business executive affiliate, managing a partnership that aims to develop a sports analytics concentration within the Master’s in Business Analytics (MSBA) program. Read more
