Inventory of Wake Forest’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work
This page identifies Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at Wake Forest University. The cataloging of these – and future – efforts stems from strategic guidance provided by staff, student, and faculty members of the Slavery, Race, and Memory Project and the Campus Memorialization Steering Committee.
Though exhaustive and historical, this information is not intended to be a summary of ALL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives; as many are carried out by students, staff, faculty, and relevant stakeholders in more informal ways, often with little fanfare, and sometimes to address more acute circumstances. Nevertheless, as the University has expanded its efforts to address inequities in access and opportunities on and off campus, this account demonstrates some examples of where the institution has made strides in the name of increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion so as to create and sustain a greater sense of belonging for those that learn, live, and work at Wake Forest. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives are organized into Five Types: Institutional Initiatives, Academic Initiatives, Direct Student Support Initiatives, and Community Initiatives. Because of the overlap between some initiatives, a few are labeled as Academic and Community Initiatives.
If you would like to submit a WFU DEI Initiative that is not listed for consideration in this resource, please email Eliese Ashline at ashline@wfu.edu with all the required information to be reviewed by ODI.
DEI initiatives that were implemented at the Institutional Level, with direct benefits to all stakeholders. These initiatives tend to be more historical in nature, and involve the establishment of new offices, structures, procedures, and policies. In addition, they have included institutional recognition for ties to the institution of slavery. In many ways these initiatives have expanding on the Pro Humanitate motto, by encouraging university leaders and stewards to ask: how can Wake Forest answer the calling to use our knowledge, talents and compassion to better the lives of others.
Inception Year/Time Frame | Action | Description | Initiating Administrative Unit |
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2023 | Belonging and Inclusion Campus Evaluation Project | Institution-wide environmental scan and resulting campus climate survey of students, staff, and faculty in order to establish a baseline for inclusion and belonging throughout the institution | Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Office of the Provost |
2023 | Diversity Status Reports (DSR) | Summary reports on student enrollment and staff and faculty demographics, jointly developed by OIR and ODI. Student DSR is shared each November; Staff and Faculty DSR is shared each May | Office of Institutional Research and Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2022 | Naming New Roads for 4 trailblazing professors | In fall 2022, roads on campus were named for Marge Crisp, Herman Eure, Dolly McPherson, and Elizabeth Phillips | Office of the President |
2022 | Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct | Campus-wide survey of undergraduate and graduate students to assess sexual misconduct on campus and campus-affiliated programs | Division of Campus Life; Office of the President |
2021 | University Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (UDEIC) | President Wente charges a council of students, staff, faculty, and alumni to provide her with regular feedback and council on institutional DEI efforts | Office of the President; Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2021 | Digitized University Fact Book | The Office of Institutional Research develops an interactive Fact Book, allowing Wake Forest stakeholders access to current demographic data | Office of Institutional Research |
2020 | Realizing Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (R.I.D.E.) Framework is Adopted | R.I.D.E. comes out of the President’s Commission on Race, Equity, and Community, as our institutional framework and strategy for pursuing Inclusive Excellence | Office of the President; Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2020 | Wake Forest formally apologizes for it’s connections to the institution of slavery | On Founders Day 2020 Dr. Hatch formally apologized for Wake Forest’s participation in the institution of slavery, including Wake’s first 4 presidents holding enslaved individuals, and the university auctioning 16 men, women, and children to support the university’s endowment | Office of the President |
2020 | Honoring 50 years of the Integration of Women’s Residence Halls | The four women credited with integrating the women’s residence halls, plus a peer who was on campus at the time, were honored in Jan. 2020 | Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Office of the President |
2019 – 2020 | President’s Commission on Race, Equity, and Community | Initiated by President Hatch and Chaired by VP José Villalba and Associate Dean of the College Erica Still | Office of the President |
2017 | Universities Studying Slavery Consortium membership | Wake Forest joined the Universities Studying Slavery, at the time becoming the 2nd North Carolina to join the group. Wake co-hosted (with Guilford College) the USS Spring Symposium in 2022 | Office of the Provost |
2015 | Intercultural Center | The predecessor to this Center was the Office of Multicultural Affairs; the name change reflects Wake’s increased international student population | Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2014 – 2015 | President’s Commission on LGBTQ Affairs | Initiated by President Hatch and Chaired by VP Emeritus Penny Rue | Office of the President |
2013 | Women’s Center | Center reports to both the Office of the Provost and ODI | Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2011 | LGBTQ+ Center | Center brings first Director for LGBTQ+ Affairs | Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
2011 | First Director for Jewish Life | An Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life joins the Office of the Chaplain to oversee Jewish Life; Jewish Student Lounge is established a few years later | Division of Campus Life |
2010 | First Director for Muslim Life | An Imam joins the Office of the Chaplain to oversee Muslim Life; Muslim Student Lounge is established a few years later | Division of Campus Life |
2009 | Office of Diversity and Inclusion | Office comes under the Office of the Provost, and Wake’s first Chief Diversity Officer is named | Office of the Provost |
1995 – 2015 | Office of Multicultural Affairs | In 1995, under the direction of Dr. Barbee Oakes, “Minority Affairs” broadens to become the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Over the next 20 years, the office added a host of new initiatives, oversaw increases in multicultural student organizations, and programming for students, staff, and faculty. | Office of the Provost |
1978 – 1995 | Office of Minority Affairs | The first administrative unit designed to support underrepresented students at Wake Forest University | Office of the Dean of the College |
DEI initiatives that originated and are sustained by academic departments (including programs) and units (such as a School, the College, or the Provost’s Office), often connected to a faculty member’s – or team – scholarship and creative work portfolio. Though these initiatives are developed, guided, evaluated, and sustained by a group of academics – with impacts both inside and outside classrooms, labs, performance spaces, etc. – they do link the University, broadly speaking, to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. Ultimately, credit for these initiatives resides with the faculty and administrators who initiated them, and the Institution rightfully takes no credit for their inception or continuation.
Inception Year/Time Frame | Action | Description | Initiating Administrative Unit |
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2023 | Digital Collection/Exhibit: “The Campus Memorial Landscape” | Lisa Blee and Kyle Denlinger (ZSR Digital Initiatives) are developing an online collection of campus memorials that will eventually serve as a resource on campus memorial culture. The collection is currently composed of three semesters of FYS students’ research on different campus memorials | History Department; ZSR Library and Special Collections; Humanities Institute |
2022 | The Humanities Institute and the Office of the Dean of the College with Mellon funding held the Universities and Neighborhoods conference | The conference invited an investigation of universities’ impact on neighborhoods, and in particular our own neighborhoods, documenting the inadequate public memory of urban life before downtown development and how the absence of public memory facilitates the dominance of one story over other histories and imagined futures, further marginalizing our already marginalized communities. | Office of the Dean of the College and The Humanities Institute |
2022 | Expanded Wake Voices: Inclusive Student Life Project | Donor funding and support for expansion of the History of WFU Oral Histories | Special Collections & Archives, ZSR Library |
2022 | 2022 Universities Studying Slavery Spring Consortium | From 3/3/2022 – 4/1/2022, Wake Forest and Guilford College co-hosted the “Pandemics, Protests and the Legacies of Slavery” symposium, which included programs at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum; a guided historical walking tour from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; and programs from scholars and artists | Slavery, Race, and Memory Project |
2022 | Wake Forest Plantation Research Database | A research database designed to explore the lives of African Americans enslaved by Calvin Jones | WFHM and Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Research Group |
2022 | Wake Forest Historical Museum for-credit internship | Five WFU students have worked with Terry Brock and Sarah Soleim to transcribe digitized materials from the Calvin Jones Collection and build a biography database of enslaved people who worked on the plantation | History Dept; Cultural Heritage & Preservation Studies; College; Wake Forest Historical Museum; Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Research Group |
2022 | WFU Student Stakeholder Report | Students in HST 367 “Public History” in Fall 2022 created a survey to collect WFU students’ interest in museum programs generally (and WFHM specifically) and wrote a report with recommendations for ways the WFHM might engage WFU students more effectively. Students in the course visited sites in Wake Forest, NC and worked with Sarah Soleim and Terry Brock (WFHM) and Bari Helms (Reynolda House archives) to take a deep dive into the institution’s history of slavery and racism. One student reported that she has changed her script when she leads campus tours to reflect what she learned | History Department; Wake Forest Historical Museum |
2021 | Launching of Interdisciplinary African American Studies Program and Major | Hired Professor Corey Walker to Build and Direct Inaugural African American Studies Program; create curriculum; recruit and hire faculty | Office of the Dean of the College; Faculty of the College |
2020 | Establishing The Center for Research, Engagement and Collaboration in African American Life (RECAAL) . | RECAAL was launched as an incubator of ideas and research promoting awareness about the complex experiences of Black people in the U.S., and engages in community facing collaborative work to address issues faced by African Americans in the local community through research support and programming | Office of the Provost |
2020 | Publication of To Stand With and For Humanity | A collection of essays and art on the history of Wake Forest and the institution of slavery | Office of the Provost, and the Slavery, Race, and Memory Project |
2016-2017 | College wide Diversity Action Plans Initiated | College required each department to submit its annual diversity action plan to diversity curriculum, better support URM students, and more intentionally support faculty | Office of the Dean of the College |
2015 | Wake Forest Histories Project / Slavery, Race, and Memory Project | The Wake Forest Histories Projected was established as a way to more accurately contextualize Wake’s history as part of the antebellum South, and became the Slavery, Race, and Memory Project (SRMP) has grown into an academic and research enterprise | Office of the Provost |
2013 | History of Wake Forest University Oral Histories | Includes interviews with underrepresented students, staff, faculty | Special Collections & Archives, ZSR Library |
DEI Initiatives that directly support the academic and/or personal-social development of undergraduate, graduate, and/or professional students. The supports may be address financial stability, academic success, career development, and/or social opportunities. Lastly, these supports are directly provided to students.
Inception Year/Time Frame | Action | Description | Initiating Administrative Unit |
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2023 | Early Action for First Generation College Students | Considered one of the “first of its kind” program, this opportunity lets high school seniors identifying as First Generation college students apply to Wake Forest through a pathway specific to them | Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Office of the Provost |
2022 | Establishment of the Eure/McPherson Access and Opportunity Fund | With support from an anonymous donors, the Fund helps students receive assistance for studying abroad, securing school supplies, and related curricular and co-curricular expenses | Intercultural Center; University Advancement |
2022 | The For Humanity Scholarship | Dr. Wente announced the For Humanity scholarship initiative during her inaugural address, in order to raise funds to increase need-based scholarships for incoming students | Office of the President; Office of Student Financial Services; University Advancement |
2009 | Establishing First Generation Programs | The Magnolia Scholars Program was established in 2009, and currently enrolls roughly 30 undergraduate students per each year, for a total of 120 students. The program provides funding and professional development opportunities for “Mag Scholars.” In 2015, a broader program was established: The First in the Forest Program, providing additional community and resources for Wake’s growing first generation college student population | Office of the Dean of the College |
DEI Initiatives that connect with communities outside of the Wake Forest campus (including buildings and programs housed away Reynolda campus). These initiatives can take the for, academic or institutional projects, but they directly involve community leaders and collaboration and may specifically provided resources to members of the local community. Oftentimes these initiatives directly connect members of Wake Forest (i.e., students, staff, faculty, and administrators) with residents of Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Washington D.C., and other communities where Wake Forest has a presence.
Inception Year/Time Frame | Action | Description | Initiating Administrative Unit |
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2024 | Wake Forest JD Program Pathway from WSSU | Wake Forest University School of Law and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) have partnered to create a pathway for WSSU students to matriculate into the Wake Forest Law full-time residential juris doctor (JD) program. | Wake Forest University School of Law and WSSU |
2024 | Wake Forest PA Program Pathway from WSSU | Through this pathway program, the Wake Forest PA program will seek to admit WSSU students who meet the PA program’s admission requirements and have been formally recommended by WSSU, and have received their bachelor’s degree from WSSU. | Wake Forest University School of Medicine and WSSU |
2022-2023 | Research project by Dr. Nikki Moore (Art History) | Research project and courses on the architecture of Wake Forest on Old Campus and in Winston Salem in relation to plantation architecture and the associations of neo-classical architecture and whiteness | Art Department |
2021-2023 | Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Research Group (CHARG) | Designed a series of research projects focused on engaging with descendant communities of enslaved people across the country. projects range from African American cemetery documentation and preservation, archaeological excavations, historical research, database creation and management, and mapping. | Terry Brock, Cultural heritage and preservation program |
2021 | Unmarked Initiative | Through CHARG, Dr. Terry Brock has collaborated with Preservation Forsyth to document every African American cemetery in Forsyth County with the State of North Carolina | CHARG |
2021 | Ailey Young House Project | Dr. Terry Brock, through WFHM and CHARG, has been working with the Town of Wake Forest in their efforts to preserve and interpret the Ailey Young House, a post-emancipation African American homestead in Wake Forest, NC. | Wake Forest Historical Museum, CHARG |
2021 | Odd Fellows Cemetery Initiative | Dr. Terry Brock and Dr. Andrew Gurstelle have partnered with Odd Fellows Cemetery to work on preservation, restoration, and mapping projects at the 10 acre African American cemetery. | CHARG, Lam Museum |
2019 | Office of Civic and Community Engagement | Formally known as the Pro Humanitate Institute, OCCE provides campus-based and community-based programming, and is the central hub for volunteering on campus. | Office of the Provost |
2016 | Joint effort between Derek Hicks and Dani Parker-Moore in conjunction with the formed Winston-Salem Freedom Schools coalition | Through ongoing work led by Hicks and the Wake Div with the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), we were able to start a CDF Freedom School serving local Winston Salem community children, notably those attending Cook Elementary School (now Cook Literacy Model School). The FS summer program provides a culturally relevant, literacy based curriculum to participating children. Under Dani Parker-Moore’s leadership, this program has positioned WFU as a solid community partner working for the advancement of children. | Office of the Provost, Office of the President, School of Divinity, RECAAL |
DEI initiatives where there’s a direct connection between an academic initiative and an external community entity or group. The distinction between these sorts of initiatives and Community Initiatives or Academic, is that these are lead more by faculty and staff and departments, as opposed to being overseen by Wake Forest University. Furthermore, the distinction between these sorts of initiatives and Academic Initiatives os that there is a direct partnership or benefit to members of the community where they are occurring. Oftentimes, though not exclusively, these initiatives take a “community-based participatory” approach which means external community members are actively engaged in the design, implementation, and continuation of the initiative.
Inception Year/Time Frame | Action | Description | Initiating Administrative Unit |
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2023 | Consultancy and internships, Boston-Thurmond Documentary Project | Lisa Blee is Lead Humanist Scholar on a NC Humanities grant administered by Boston-Thurmond Community Network. The grant aims to collect, document, and preserve the history of the neighborhood to create resident-facing programming. Blee set up the oral history collection management system, supervises the work of two WFU students who index the interviews, and ran oral history indexing workshops for Boston Thurmond resident-scholars on campus | History Dept; Cultural Heritage & Preservation Studies; College |
2018 | Class collaboration with World Relief | As part of a class project for HST 367 “Public History”, students in the course volunteered to work with recently-resettled refugees as English language tutors and, with instruction from ZSR Special Collections staff, organized an institutional archive documenting 30 years of World Relief’s work in the Triad | History Department |
2018 | Hidden Town Research Internship | Faculty members in History work as liaisons to Old Salem to recruit students for research internships with the Hidden Town Project. Since 2018, 23 WFU students have conducted archival research on buildings in Old Salem to create biography files of enslaved people | History Department, College |
2016-2022 | New Winston Museum/MUSE public programs | As a museum board member and chair of the Education & Programs Committee, Lisa Blee organized about a dozen public programs focused on features of Winston-Salem’s African American history, African American neighborhoods/businesses/churches, and Southern foodways. Larger public programs with WFU funding include: Michael Twitty lecture; Online “Community Read” with Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste; and the hybrid “Community Read” series with Phoebe Zerwick’s Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt . Dr. Terry Brock, CHP, and Anthony Tang, Advancement, now both serve on the Board at MUSE | History Department; Humanities Institute |
2015-2017 | Collaboration with Project Re-entry | As part of a class project for HST 367 “Public History” in Fall 2014, students worked with Project Re-entry clients (current and former inmates at the Forsyth Correctional Facility) to curate art, music, and other creative expressions into a public exhibit installed at Sawtooth School for the Visual Arts. Faculty in Psychology and Sociology incorporated Project Re-entry staff and clients into research studies in 2016. Faculty in Psychology and History partnered with Project Re-entry for a summer URECA research project with two WFU students in 2017. In the fall of 2017 one of those students curated and opened an exhibit featuring photography by former offenders at Goodwill Industries of NWNC, where it remains on permanent display | History Department; Psychology Department; Sociology Department; Dean’s Office |
1996 | Building the Dream: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King | WFU and WSSU have co-hosted and co-sponsored this event that honors students, staff, and faculty who embody Dr. King’s Dream, with each campus taking turns hosting a community dinner and a guest speaker every other year | The Intercultural Center; The Office of the Provost |