Around the Quad – Fall 2026

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Wake Forest in the news 

The University and the Office of the Provost started a university-wide AI for Human Flourishing initiative to guide the integration of artificial intelligence across teaching, learning, research and administrative work while remaining grounded in the University’s mission and values. Hultquist Family Professor of Psychology William Fleeson was named associate provost for AI Initiatives.

An AI Task Force will help shape the University’s long-term AI strategy while overseeing three pilot initiatives: AI Compass, led by Carlson Professor in University Studies Ana Iltis (P ’24), to explore the ethical, societal and health implications of AI while strengthening Wake Forest’s capacity for interdisciplinary research and scholarship on questions surrounding artificial intelligence; AI Teaching Studio, led by Fleeson, to examine the opportunities and challenges AI presents for teaching and learning; and AI Impact Clinic, led by School of Business Professor of the Practice Shannon McKeen and Professors of Computer Science Paul Pauca (’94, MS ’96) and Errin Fulp, to connect faculty and students with internal and external partners to develop practical AI solutions through applied learning and real-world projects.

Wake Forest’s partnership with Senior Services Inc.’s Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness in Winston-Salem was recognized as the North Carolina Campus Engagement network’s Community Partner of the Year. The partnership culminated in the 2025-26 academic year with an Academic Community Engagement first-year seminar called Creative Care: Empathy and the Benefits of Community Engagement. Sixteen students participated in the seminar. They studied the neuroscience behind the benefits of engaging in the arts for people living with dementia and were paired with people living with memory loss or frailty for creative pursuits including crafts, writing poetry and other activities.

Allison Walker, director of community partnerships and experiential learning in the Office of Civic and Community Engagement, designed the seminar to deepen the collaboration between the organizations. The connection with the Generations Center was built over the past decade by dance professor and ACE Fellow Christina Soriano and School of Medicine researcher Christina Hugenschmidt
(PhD ’08). Funded by the National Institutes of Health, they study how improvisational dance can help improve walking and balance in people with Parkinson’s disease or cognitive decline. Some of their research has included the center’s patrons, and they continue to conduct a weekly dance class there that’s free and open to the public. 

For six weeks every summer since 2017, dozens of Forsyth County, North Carolina, children have gathered on the Reynolda Campus for the University’s Freedom School. The program is designed to motivate children who have finished kindergarten through eighth grade to keep reading and feel good about learning. College students lead the school’s classes as “servant leader interns,” teaching a reading-rich curriculum. 

A study of the program found after the first year that Freedom School students maintained their reading levels through the summer. The program changes the college students too, leading many to enter teaching as a profession, says Dani Parker Moore, executive director of the program and an associate education professor who was once a student intern herself. 

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Campus moves

Norma Montague, the Dale K. Cline Associate Professor of Accountancy, was named interim dean of the School of Business. She was senior associate dean of academic programs from 2021-25, providing strategic leadership for curriculum innovation, enrollment management and fundraising. She has overseen curriculum design in the undergraduate program and instructional innovation, including AI-enabled and experiential learning and cross-school academic initiatives. Previously she was senior associate dean for the MS in Management program.

Betina Wilkinson, an associate professor of politics and international affairs, was named associate dean for faculty development and belonging in the Office of the Dean of the College. She has won multiple awards for leadership in faculty and student mentorship and culture-building. 

Diana Polley joined the Office of the Dean of the College as director of experiential learning after directing the Martinson Honors Program at the U.S. Air Force Academy. There, she managed a $10 million gift for high-impact learning initiatives. 

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Awards, honors and milestones

The Fulbright Program awarded scholarships to four graduates: Jack Bradley (‘24), Maria Fernández (’26), Evan Harris (’26) and Isabella Romine (’26) to teach English in Colombia, Spain, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, respectively.

Faculty awards in May included: Reid-Doyle Prize for Excellence in Teaching to Alisa Russell, assistant professor of English; Teaching Professionals Award for Excellence in Teaching to Lynne Yengulalp, associate teaching professor of mathematics and director of the Math & Stats Center; Excellence in Advising Award to John Tomlinson (PhD ’05, P ’24 ’26, ’28), teaching professor of chemistry and director of pre-health advising; Awards for Excellence in Research to Qiaona Yu, associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures, and Stephen Winter, associate professor of physics; Kulynych Family Omicron Delta Kappa Award to Gary Miller, professor and chair of health and exercise science; and the Donald O. Schoonmaker Faculty Award for Community Service to Heidi Robinson (MA ’11, P ’18, ’20), professor of the practice in education and associate vice president for career education and coaching. 

Four faculty received URECA Faculty Awards for Excellence in Mentored Scholarship: Justin Esarey, professor of politics and international affairs; John Gemmer, associate professor of mathematics; Luis González (P ’13, ’17), professor of Spanish; and J’Nese Williams, assistant professor of history. 

Kenneth Kishida, professor of biology and Boswell Presidential Chair in Neuroscience and Society, received a $683,782 award from the National Institutes of Health for computationally assisted multi-neurotransmitter detection for intracranial research. 

Ebony Flowers, assistant professor of creative writing, was named a 2026 Howard Foundation Fellow. The program is designed to advance independent, creative and scholarly work of early- to mid-career individuals. Flowers teaches Making Comics and Advanced Fiction.

Tricia Clayton, associate professor of engineering, was accepted into the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science fellowship program at Drexel University, designed to help senior faculty in STEM become effective institutional leaders.  

Delta Alpha Pi, an academic honor society for students with disabilities, named Anna Parker, assistant teaching professor in biology, as its 2026 Accessibility Champion. And the University recognized five staff members and departments for their commitment to raise awareness and support the disability community: Carol Cramer, head of collection management, resource services at ZSR Library; Anna Hawryluk, director of campus planning; Paul Whitener (P ’18, ’22, ’23, ’27), associate director of digital fabrication and maker education at the WakerSpace; Lynne Yengulalp, associate teaching professor in mathematics; the School of Business; and the Center for Learning, Access, and Student Success staff. 

The Southeastern Association of Teachers of Japanese (SEATJ) named Professor of the Practice Yasuko Rallings its 2026 Teacher of the Year. 

Stacia Pelletier, executive director of corporate and foundation relations in University Advancement, also writes historical fiction. Her latest book, “The Deliverance of Barker McRae,” took bronze in the Foreword Indies awards for historical fiction.

Wake Forest Magazine won a 2026 CASE Gold Circle of Excellence award in design for its Summer 2025 Creativity Issue and Spring 2025 Mentoring Issue. 

Amy Diaz, a reporter for WFDD, Wake Forest’s public radio station, won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her coverage of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools budget crisis. 

New books by professors include “Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World,” by A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy Christian Miller; “Daylight / Savings,” by Assistant Professor of English Lucy Alford; and “Science of the Supernatural” by Melissa Maffeo, an associate teaching professor of psychology. 

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jackie Travisano was a Triad Business Journal 2026 C-Suite Award winner.

The University Police Department earned accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

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The Quad and beyond

The University officially opened its new Charlotte campus in May with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Part of The Pearl innovation district, the new campus includes work areas, meeting rooms, classrooms and student gathering spaces. Within the next year, the long-standing Charlotte-based offerings from the School of Law and a new study-away semester will be based at the Pearl, alongside programming from the School of Business and School of Professional Studies.

Mit Shah (‘91, P ’25), CEO of Noble Investment Group in Atlanta and vice chair of the University Board of Trustees, gave a keynote in April on the hospitality industry as the first installment in the University’s Friends of Economics Lecture Series.

Michael Kamtman, an associate teaching professor of performance, was featured in CNN’s documentary miniseries “This Land” for his story as a descendant of President James Monroe.

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Demon Deacon sports

Two student athletes were recognized for excellence on and off the field by the Department of Athletics: Track and field and cross country athlete Rocky Hansen (’27) received the Arnold Palmer Award, and Mia Schoenbeck (’27), a field hockey player, received the Marge Crisp Award. Tennis player Mees Rottgering (’29) and soccer player Kylie Maxwell (’29) were named newcomers of the year. Rottgering also made it to the round of 16 in August’s Winston-Salem Open.

Janeen Lalik was named deputy athletics director and senior women’s administrator. Joining from the Nashville Predators’ Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment, Lalik will represent Wake Forest as senior woman administrator in the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference governance system and work closely with partners to support The Grounds development surrounding Wake Forest’s athletic venues.

Five Demon Deacon baseball players were selected in the Major League Baseball draft: Kade Lewis (’28) in the fourth round by the Cleveland Guardians; Duncan Marsten (’28) in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Reds; Javar Williams (’27) in the 11th round by the Athletics; Matthew Dallas (’28) in the 12th round by the Washington Nationals; and Dalton Wentz (’28) in the 16th round by the San Francisco Giants. Separately, Zach Johnston (’26) and Blake Schaaf (’29) both signed with the New York Yankees.

Terry Rooney was named director of baseball recruiting. He has mentored 14 pitchers who reached Major League Baseball and coached 20 who were selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft.

Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie (’93) was selected as ACC Chair of Athletic Directors, making him part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leadership team for 2026-27.