Wake Forest University – Educating the whole person
Welcome to Wake Forest University. I hope that in the pages of this site you will find reflections of the distinctive academic community of Wake Forest.
I am stirred by excitement and pride each day to lead this University because of the way our institutional aspiration to create a challenging but supportive environment is lived out in thousands of interactions between students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and friends.
In a move that is counter-cultural, though faithful to the long tradition of this p
lace, Wake Forest boldly embraces the challenge of educating the whole person. We want every student in each of our programs to feel the same sense of challenge and support for the exploration of their passions and for service to others that they do for their academic growth in the classroom. Our motto, Pro Humanitate, is not just a Latin subheading, but a serious commitment by each member of the Wake Forest family.
Nathan O. Hatch
Vision and Mission Statements
Vision
Wake Forest University aspires to:
- Emphasize exceptional teaching, discovery, and student engagement within a dynamic academic community;
- Integrate the intimacy of an undergraduate liberal arts college with the academic vitality of a research university;
- Become a crossroads of discussion on the important national and international issues of our time;
- Attract a diverse community of the brightest educators and students from throughout the country and the world;
- Link intellectual curiosity, moral reflection and a commitment to service, shaping ethically informed leaders to serve humanity.
Mission
Wake Forest is a distinctive university that combines a liberal arts core with graduate and professional schools and innovative research programs. The University embraces the teacher-scholar ideal, prizing personal interaction between students and faculty. It is a place where exceptional teaching, fundamental research and discovery, and the engagement of faculty and students in the classroom and the laboratory are paramount.
The University continues to fulfill its ideal of a more diverse learning community, providing students an example of the world they will be called upon to lead. The University sustains a vibrant residential community with a broad-based program of service and extracurricular activities. The University recognizes the benefits of intercollegiate athletics conducted with integrity and at the highest level.
Central to its mission, the University believes in the development of the whole person – intellectual, moral, spiritual and physical. From its rich religious heritage, Wake Forest is committed to sustaining an environment where vital beliefs and faith traditions can engage secular thought in a climate of academic freedom and an unfettered search for truth. The University embraces the challenges of religious pluralism.
While national in scope, the university has been shaped by a culture that is distinctively North Carolinian. This history provides it with a sense of place and community responsibility. In extending its reach, the University has made a priority of international study and international understanding. Wake Forest seeks to be a place where a vibrant and diverse learning community weds knowledge, experiences and service that lift the human spirit.
Academics
Wake Forest is a collegiate university that integrates the intimacy of an undergraduate liberal arts college with the academic vitality of a research university. At the heart of Wake Forest is the teacher-scholar ideal. Professors are committed to personalized teaching and to their students’ individual development.
Schools
Wake Forest comprises two undergraduate schools, Wake Forest College and the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy; the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; the Babcock Graduate School of Management; the School of Divinity; the School of Law; and the School of Medicine
Departments
Nearly 40 undergraduate and graduate departments offer an array of majors and minors, interdisciplinary programs, service-learning programs, co-curricular programs, and research opportunities
Undergraduate Schools
Wake Forest College
Wake Forest College combines the intimacy of a small liberal arts school with the academic vitality of a research university. It is distinguished by its small size and collegiate atmosphere; outstanding faculty of teacher-scholars; and adherence to a values-based educated rooted in Pro Humanitate. The College offers the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degree in a wide range of disciplines.
Calloway School of Business & Accountancy
The Wayne Calloway School is ranked among the top 15 undergraduate business schools in the country. Its graduates annually achieve the highest passing rates in the country on the CPA exam. The school offers the BS in accounting, business and enterprise management, finance, and mathematical business, and the MS in accounting.
Graduate and Professional Schools
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers 27 nationally and internationally recognized masters and doctoral programs on the Reynolda and Bowman Gray campuses. The Graduate School also offers a MD/PhD and MD/MS with the School of Medicine; a PhD/MBA with the Babcock Graduate School of Management, the MDiv/MA with the School of Divinity; and degrees in biomedical engineering through the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.
School of Divinity
The School of Divinity, distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach, is one of only five divinity schools in the country with no formal denominational affiliation. The school offers a master of divinity degree; the MDiv/MA in counseling; and the MDiv/JD.
School of Law
The School of Law, annually ranked among the top 50 law schools in the country, offers a unique close family atmosphere that combines traditional legal courses with an array of experiential learning opportunities through clinics and externships. The school offers the jurist doctor degree; a masters of law for international students (LLM); a doctor of juridical science (S.J.D.); a JD/MBA with the Babcock Graduate School of Management; a JD/MA in religion with the Department of Religion; and a JD/MDiv. with the School of Divinity.
Babcock Graduate School of Management
The Babcock Graduate School of Management is consistently ranked among the world’s best graduate business schools. The Babcock School offers four MBA programs: full-time and evening programs on the Reynolda Campus and an evening and Saturday program on the Charlotte campus; a master’s in management for liberal arts and sciences graduates; the JD/MBA with the School of Law; the MD/MBA with the School of Medicine; the PhD/MBA with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; and the MSA/MBA with the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy.
School of Medicine
The School of Medicine is among the top 32 schools in the country in research funding awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The medical school offers the doctor of medicine degree; a physician assistant program leading to a master of medical science; the MD/MBA with the Babcock Graduate of Management; and a number of masters and doctoral programs in biomedical sciences. The School of Medicine and N.C. Baptist Hospital comprise Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest Athletics
Athletics are integral to the college experience, and at Wake Forest, there is no shortage of occasions to wave the black and gold. Competing in the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference, Wake Forest teams are consistently among the leaders both athletically and academically.
In recent years, the Demon Deacons have won national championships in field hockey (three times) and men’s soccer, achieved a No. 1 ranking in men’s basketball and played in a BCS bowl in football.
Athletic Facilities
Lawrence Joel Coliseum
Since its opening in 1989, Joel Coliseum has proven to be one of the best environments in college basketball. Road victories have been hard to come by for men’s opponents at the Joel, as the Deacons have won over 81 percent of their games at the venue. The facility seats 14,665 fans and is home to the raucous Screamin’ Demons student section, also known as Tie-Dye Nation.
The facility is named after Lawrence Joel, the only Winston-Salem native awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also honored are nearly 500 Forsyth County veterans who gave their lives for their country in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada and the Persian Gulf.
Wake Forest Baseball Park
After playing the past 28 seasons on campus at historic Gene Hooks Stadium, the Deacon baseball program moves to Wake Forest Baseball Park for the first time since 1980. Wake Forest purchased the facility from the City of Winston-Salem and moved in at the start of the 2009 season. The former minor league park gives the Deacons one of the top facilities in the ACC.
Bridger Field House
Bridger Field House at Groves Stadium, built at a cost of $8 million, officially opened in the fall of 1998 and serves the football team in numerous ways, as well as being a major catalyst for the continued growth and development of the overall program. It includes offices for the athletic ticket office, the marketing and promotions staff, and the Deacon Club, as well as the Norman Snead Club Room and the Bill Barnes Sports Lounge which will be the site of athletic (and general university) functions for years to come.
The WFU Hall of Fame also has its new home in the complex, and a Deacon Gift Shop is available "in house" to service WFU fans during home contests and throughout the calendar year.
Leighton Tennis Stadium
One of the finest outdoor, on-campus tennis facilities in the nation, Leighton Stadium is located just steps from the Wake Forest athletic center and near the heart of campus. Named in memory of former head tennis coach Jim Leighton, the stadium includes 1,200 permanent seats, 140 box seats, five lighted outdoor courts and much more.
Reynolds Gym
The historic home of the Wake Forest volleyball team is Reynolds Gymnasium, located in the heart of the Wake Forest Reynolda Campus. Home to the volleyball team since 1971, Reynolds Gym was renovated during the winter of 2004, making it one of the most modern volleyball gyms in the ACC.
Once a site of all women’s basketball games, Reynolds Gym not only serves as the home of the volleyball team, but it is also used and as an alternative practice location for both the Demon Deacon men’s and women’s basketball teams.
During this past off-season, Reynolds Gym underwent a face lift that included new automatic bleachers, two ceiling hung basketball goals, an updated scoreboard and shot clock and a redesigned floor. The walls and ceiling were also painted.
Originally completed in March of 1956 after the University moved from Wake Forest to Winston-Salem, the gym is named after the late William Neal Reynolds, a former president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Reynolds was one of the central figures in the plan that resulted in the decision to move to Winston-Salem.
The 235,000 square foot facility houses the indoor gym, a swimming pool, spacious lockerrooms, physical education offices, ROTC, the main athletic equipment room and the sports medicine unit.
Driving Directions:
Reynolds Gym (on campus): Follow I-40 to the I-40 Business Split. Take Business 40 to the Cherry Street exit. Coming from the east, the exit is about one-half mile past the U.S. 52 exit; from the west, it immediately follows the Broad Street exit. Proceed north on Cherry through the downtown area (Cherry Street turns into University Parkway). Bear left at the fork in the road and turn left into campus entrance. Turn left at the traffic light. Reynolds Gym is the first building on the left.
BB&T Field
The home of Wake Forest Football is BB&T Field, considered one of the most beautiful stadiums of its size in the nation.
The facility, which celebrated its 42nd season in 2009, has undergone significant changes in recent years which have added to both its appearance and utility.
Wake Forest is currently in the middle of a six-phase plan to completely renovate BB&T Field.
Prior to the 2005 season, the facade along the sidelines and south endzone were re-faced with approximately 89,000 bricks, specifically created for this project by Pine Hall Brick Company. The bricks are in the same style of those that adorn the buildings on Wake Forest’s Reynolda Campus, less than a mile away.
In 2006, a state-of-the-art, "next generation" FieldTurf surface was installed.
In January 2007, construction began on Deacon Tower, a massive seven-story pressbox that houses luxury suites, club seats, boxes for the University President, home and visiting athletic directors and print and electronic media. Construction was completed in August, 2008. The new Deacon Tower is located on the west side of the stadium.
Prior to the 2009 season, the East Side bathrooms and concession stands were all remodeled, enhancing the fan experience for all in the stadium.
Dedicated on September 14, 1968, in a 10-6 loss to rival NC State, BB&T Field represents an extensive fund-raising effort undertaken by the college during the mid-1960s which, for all practical purposes, made possible Wake Forest’s continued membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The stadium, which has 31,500 permanent seats, is located between Reynolds and Deacon Boulevards, one mile from the Wake Forest campus. It also is part of the athletic center of Winston-Salem which includes Lawrence Joel Coliseum, home of the Demon Deacon basketball teams, as well as the Wake Forest Baseball Park, the home of Demon Deacon baseball.
The most modern technology available is also present at BB&T Field with its state-of-the-art scoreboard and computerized display and message center at the south end of the playing field.
The history of BB&T Field can be traced back to the original home of the university in the eastern North Carolina village of Wake Forest. When the school announced its planned move to Winston-Salem in 1948, the Groves family, led by Henry (the original stadium’s primary benefactor) and his brother Earl, made an additional financial commitment to insure that their family name would remain on whatever new facility that the football program would construct.
The new stadium, however, remained only a dream for nearly two decades. The actual cost of the campus’ relocation to Winston-Salem was much greater than first anticipated, and more pressing physical needs in academic areas took precedence.
The Deacons had scheduled frequent dates in Winston-Salem’s Bowman Gray Stadium in the years preceding the college’s move and made that 16,000-seat facility their permanent home in 1956. Winston-Salem philanthropist Charles H. Babcock donated a 77-acre plot of land for the building of a new stadium, but each time that the project seemed on the verge of becoming a reality, other needs would emerge.
Finally in 1966, a fund-raising campaign was initiated. And while the $1.5 million raised was less than half of the total price tag, construction began the following year.
After dropping its opening contest at BB&T Field to NC State, the Demon Deacons played Clemson to a 20-20 tie the following Saturday, September 21, 1968. That contest also marked the first televised football game in Wake Forest history, as ABC broadcast the game as part of its regional package. Wake Forest’s first victory in the facility had to wait until after three-straight road dates, when on October 26th of that season, Wake defeated North Carolina, 48-31.
Through the 2009 season, Wake Forest has compiled a 102-129-4 record at BB&T Field. That mark includes two undefeated home seasons, which not surprisingly are two of the finest overall years in Deacon football history. Wake was 4-0 at home during its ACC Championship season of 1970; the 1979 squad improved that figure by one win to a 5-0 mark on its way to a Tangerine Bowl bid. One of the most dramatic BB&T Field victories also occurred during that 1979 season when the Deacs rallied from a 38-20 halftime deficit to defeat Auburn, 42-38. That game marked the first time that two nationally-ranked teams met at BB&T Field.
In 1987, Wake Forest and NC State, the same two schools that met in BB&T Field’s first game, played the 100th contest in the facility’s history. This time the Deacons came out on top, 21-3.
In 1990, a BB&T Field milestone of sorts was reached when the University of Virginia became the first (and still the only) No. 1-ranked team to appear there.
In 1997 and 1998, BB&T Field hosted its first-ever national telecasts as part of ESPN’s popular Thursday night series. In both games, the Deacons emerged victorious, defeating NC State, 19-18, in 1997 on a last-minute field goal by Matthew Burdick, then downing Navy, 26-14, in 1998, scoring 23 unanswered points after falling behind 14-3 in the first half.
In 1999, BB&T Field hosted another dramatic victory as the Demon Deacons upset 14th-ranked Georgia Tech, a team featuring the nation’s top ranked offense. The 26-23 win, which prompted fans to swarm the field and quarterback Ben Sankey to climb the goalpost, secured a winning season and a bowl bid for Wake Forest for the first time since 1992.
Wake Forest won its second ACC Championship in 2006 by going 11-3, beating Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game, and earning a bid to the FedEx Orange Bowl.
Wake Forest broke its single-game attendance record in 2004 when temporary bleachers were installed for the North Carolina game, attracting a crowd of 37,623. Nine of the 13 largest crowds in stadium history have congregated since 2003. The Deacons have been among the national leaders in attendance as based on percentage of capacity. Wake Forest had averaged better than 100 percent of capacity each year from 2006 through 2009.
Through the end of the 2009 season, over 5.7 million fans had watched Wake Forest football games at BB&T Field.
Source: Wake Forest University
