Wake Forest athletic teams are known as theDemon Deacons and compete in eighteenNCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. Those teams have won elevenNCAA team championships and the university is a founding member of theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[22]
During the Baptist State Convention of 1833, at Cartledge Creek Baptist Church inRockingham, North Carolina, establishment ofWake Forest Institute was ratified.[23] The school was founded after the North CarolinaBaptist State Convention purchased a 615-acre (249 ha) plantation fromCalvin Jones in an area north ofRaleigh (Wake County) called the "Forest of Wake". The new school, designed to teach both Baptist ministers and laymen, opened on February 3, 1834, as theWake Forest Manual Labor Institute. Students and staff were required to spend half of each day doing manual labor on its plantation.Samuel Wait, a Baptist minister, was selected as the principal, later president, of the institute.[24]
Wait Hall at the original Wake Forest campus in 1943.
In 1838, the school was renamedWake Forest College, and the manual-labor system was abandoned. The town that grew up around the college came to be called the town ofWake Forest. In 1862, during theAmerican Civil War, the school closed due to the loss of most students and some faculty to service in theConfederate States Army.[citation needed] The college re-opened in 1866 and prospered over the next four decades under the leadership of presidentsWashington Manly Wingate, Thomas H. Pritchard, and Charles Taylor. In 1894, the School of Law was established, followed by the School of Medicine in 1902. In 1911,Louise Heims Beck became the university's first librarian, later going on to become avaudeville performer and the recipient of aTony Award.[25][26] The university held its first summer session in 1921.Lea Laboratory was built in 1887–1888, and was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1975.[27]
The leading college figure in the early 20th century wasWilliam L. Poteat, abiologist and the first layman to be elected president in the college's history.[28] "Dr. Billy" continued to promote growth, hired many outstanding professors, and expanded the science curriculum. He also stirred upheaval among North Carolina Baptists with his strong support of teaching the theory ofevolution but eventually won formal support from the Baptist State Convention for academic freedom at the college.[29]
The School of Medicine moved toWinston-Salem (then North Carolina's second-largest city) in 1941 under the supervision of DeanCoy Cornelius Carpenter, who guided the school through the transition from a two-year to a four-year program. The school then became theBowman Gray School of Medicine. The following year, 1942, Wake Forest admitted its first female undergraduate students, afterWorld War II dramatically depleted the pool of male students.[30][31]
In 1946, as a result of large gifts from theZ. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the college moved to Winston-Salem[32] for the beginning of the fall 1956 term. Charles andMary Reynolds Babcock (daughter ofR. J. Reynolds) donated to the college about 330 acres (1.3 km2) of fields and woods at "Reynolda", their estate.[33] A name change to Smith Reynolds University was considered, but dropped.[34] From 1952 to 1956, fourteen new buildings were constructed on the new campus.[35] These buildings were constructed inGeorgian style.[35] The old campus in Wake Forest was sold to the Baptist State Convention to establish theSoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary.[citation needed]
Japanese student Konsukie Akiyama became the first Asian graduate in 1909.[40]
The first women undergraduates were admitted in 1942.[31]
James G. Jones became the first American Indian graduate in 1958. He was from theLumbee nation.[41]
On February 23, 1960, ten Wake Forest students joined eleven students from Winston-Salem State Teachers College (present-dayWinston-Salem State University) for a sit-in atWoolworth'slunch counter in downtown Winston-Salem.[42]
Herman Eure (biology) and Dolly McPherson (English) became the first black tenure-track professors in 1974.[44]
The Office of Minority Affairs was formed in 1978 and later became the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Wake Forest also added an Office of Diversity & Inclusion, an LGBTQ Center,[45] and a Women's Center.[46]
In 1982, poet/actress/authorMaya Angelou was hired as Reynolds Professor of American Studies.[47]
In 2002, Wake Forest added a cultural diversity requirement to its curriculum.[48]
Wake Forest appointed its first (part-time) Muslim chaplain in 2010.[49] In 2011, the first associate chaplain for Jewish Life was named.[50]
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is:really out of date. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025)
Wake Forest's Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Barbee Oakes was named one of the "25 Women Making a Difference" in 2012 Diverse Issues in Higher Education, recognizing her for commitment to initiatives that promote pluralism and foster community.[51] Wake Forest was among 40 schools across the country awarded the 2012 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award by Insight into Diversity magazine.[52]
The Benson University Center at the current Reynolda campus was built in 1990.
A graduate studies program was inaugurated in 1961, and in 1967 the school became the fully accredited Wake Forest University. TheBabcock Graduate School of Management, now known as the School of Business, was established in 1969. TheJames R. Scales Fine Arts Center opened in 1979.
In 1979, Wake Forest began a process to change its relationship with theBaptist State Convention of North Carolina, in order to obtain more academic freedom and choose non-Baptist trustees.[53]In 1986, the school gained autonomy from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and established a fraternal relationship with it.[54][55]
Middleton House and its surrounding 5 acres (2.0 ha) were deeded by gift to Wake Forest by Philip Hanes and his wife Charlotte in 1992.[56] The donation was completed in 2011.[57]
On September 16, 2015, Wake Forest announced plans to offer undergraduate classes downtown inInnovation Quarter in Winston-Salem. On March 18, 2016, the school announced programs in biomedical sciences and engineering at its new Wake Downtown campus, opening in January 2017. Wake Downtown is in a formerR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company plant, next to the second campus of the School of Medicine which opened in July 2016.[58][59][60][61]
On March 12, 2019, Wake Forest was one of eight colleges and universities involved in theVarsity Blues scandal.[65][66] It was later revealed that former Wake Forest volleyball coach Bill Ferguson accepted a $50,000 bribe to help a future student be admitted into the university.[67][68]
On February 21, 2020, Wake Forest officially apologized for the institution's role in benefiting fromenslaved people duringslavery.[69][70][71]
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center andAtrium Health announced a partnership in 2019 with the goal of aCharlotte, North Carolina, campus for theWake Forest School of Medicine. More specific details were revealed in February 2021, including a seven-story tower, and on March 24, 2021, Atrium Health announced a 20-acre site at Baxter and McDowell Streets. Also, School of Medicine dean Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag said construction would start in 2022, with the first students attending in 2024. It officially opened 2025.[72] Hatch, who was leaving as president June 30, said Wake Forest would have a School of Professional Studies at the Charlotte location in 2022.[73]
The Reynolda Campus is the main campus for Wake Forest University, housing the undergraduate colleges, three of the four graduate schools, and half the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The core of Reynolda campus is the two interlinked quads, separated by the main administrative building and dining facility,Reynolda Hall, into North and South Campus.[78] Known for itsGeorgian architecture, Wake Forest is constantly listed as one of the most beautiful campuses in North Carolina and the United States.[79]
North Campus consists of Hearn Plaza, better known as "the quad", which holds six upperclassmen residential buildings,Subway restaurant, a book/office supply store, a clothing/athletic store, andWait Chapel.[80] The classrooms at Wait Chapel house the offices and classrooms for the Divinity School and the Religion Department.[81]
South Campus is the home of Manchester Quad,[82] named for substantial donors Doug and Elizabeth Manchester.[83] It holds freshman housing, most of the classroom buildings, the Benson Center, and theZ. Smith Reynolds Library.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art is the centerpiece of the Reynolda Estate, from which the university's Reynolda Campus takes its name. The residence was constructed in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband, Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.[84] It was converted to an art museum in 1967 and has been affiliated with Wake Forest University since 2002.[85]
Wake Forest students regularly get involved at Reynolda House through internships, volunteer opportunities, and academic research. In 2010, Reynolda House and Wake Forest partnered on a first-year student orientation project[86] that uses the museum's masterpiece by Frederic Church, The Andes of Ecuador, as the focal point of the summer academic experience. General admission to the museum is free to students and university employees.[87]
The 129-acre (52-hectare) property that constitutes Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University was once at the center ofReynolda, the early 20th-century estate of Mr. and Mrs.R. J. Reynolds, and included a lake, golf course, formal gardens, greenhouses, and woods. Although many changes have occurred to the landscape over the past century, this preserve serves as a learning center for topics related to horticulture, environmental sciences, and landscape history. Wake Forest students and faculty engage in research throughout the preserve. The public is invited to participate in a wide variety of learning experiences, including classes, workshops, summer camps, and special events.[88]
Adjacent to the Wake Forest campus, Reynolda Village is home to stores, restaurants, services and offices. Now owned and operated by Wake Forest University, the buildings were originally part of the 1,067-acre (432-hectare) estate of the R. J. Reynolds family. These buildings were modeled after an English Village.[89]
Wake Forest University owns and manages one of the premier meeting destinations in the southeast.[90] Graylyn was built as a private estate forBowman Gray, Sr., and his family in 1932. The Gray family lived in the home until 1946 when it was donated to theBowman Gray School of Medicine. In 1972, it was donated to Wake Forest University where it was used for many things over the years, including graduate student housing.[91][92]
Wake Forest purchased theLawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and 33 surrounding acres from the City of Winston-Salem on August 1, 2013.[97] The Coliseum, which seats 14,407, has been the home of Wake Forest's men's and women's basketball teams since it opened in 1989.[98]
The opening of Wake Forest Biotech Place in February 2012 marked a milestone in development ofWake Forest Innovation Quarter, based in downtown Winston-Salem and formerly known as Piedmont Triad Research Park.[99] Operated byWake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Wake Forest Biotech Place is a 242,000-square-foot (22,500 m2) multipurpose biotechnology research and innovation center space that is the present-day home of several School of Medicine departments doing pioneering research, as well as private companies.[100]
In December 2012 the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center formally launched its new commercialization enterprise, Wake Forest Innovations.[101] Located in the Innovation Quarter, Wake Forest Innovations brings together technology asset management functions with resources to support scholarship, invest in the innovative potential of its academic and clinical communities and help translate ideas and discoveries into commercial products and services for both the Medical Center and Wake Forest University.[102]
In January 2017, undergraduate programs began at Wake Downtown.[95]
Built as the world headquarters for Reynolds Tobacco Company, RJR Nabisco donated the more than 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) building to Wake Forest University in 1987.[103] Now known as the University Corporate Center, the building is located off Reynolds Boulevard, near campus, and houses the following University offices: Information Systems, Finance Systems, Procurement Services, and Financial and Accounting Services. Aon Consulting, BB&T, and Pepsi are also tenants.[104]
The School of Business established a satellite campus inCharlotte, North Carolina, in 1995; in January 2001, it moved into a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2), award-winning[105] facility on North College Street inUptown Charlotte.
The Charlotte Center offers two part-time MBA programs (Evening and Saturday), continuing legal education courses, continuing professional education courses, executive education, Lunch & Learn, and speaker events. Certificate programs offered at the Charlotte Center include business management for nonprofits, sustainability, financial planning and negotiations.[106] The center also hosts corporate retreats and serves as an educational and gathering space for students and alumni in the greater Charlotte area.
The university began offering a small set of general summer school classes at the Charlotte campus in the summer of 2014.[107]
The university'sWashington, D.C. campus offers undergraduate classes during the spring and fall as well as law classes during the spring and summer semester sessions. The Wake Washington Center also alumni workshops, networking events, volunteer meetings and speaker events and panels.[108]
In 1974, Wake Forest purchased the building that formerly housed the American Consulate inVenice and named it Casa Artom in honor of Camillo Artom, a professor at the Baptist Medical Center until 1969. Casa Artom is a two-story building facing theGrand Canal. It is flanked by thePalazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses thePeggy Guggenheim art collection, and the 15th century home Ca'Dario. Each fall and spring semester, a group of Wake Forest students and a resident professor live and study together here.[110]
In 1998, Wake Forest purchased a three-story villa inVienna. The acquisition was made possible through the donation of Vic and Roddy Flow of Winston-Salem, and the house was named in their honor. Built in 1898, the house was formerly the office of the U.S. Consulate. Each fall and spring semester, a group of Wake Forest students and a resident professor live and study together here.[111]
In 1977, Wake Forest acquired a large, brick home inHampstead for its London program. The house, a gift from Eugene and Ann Worrell, was named in their honor. Formerly known as Morven House, the building served as the home and studio of landscape painterCharles Edward Johnson. Each fall and spring semester, a group of Wake Forest undergraduate students and a resident professor live and study together here.[112]
In addition to the Undergraduate College, Wake Forest University is home to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and five professional schools.[119]
The thirteenth president of Wake Forest wasNathan O. Hatch, former provost at theUniversity of Notre Dame.[120] Hatch was officially announced as president on October 20, 2005. He assumed office on July 1, 2005, succeedingThomas K. Hearn Jr., who had retired after 22 years in office (and for whom theUpper Quad is now named).[121] In 2020, Hatch announced his retirement as president.[122] On January 29, 2021, the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees namedSusan Rae Wente as Wake Forest's fourteenth president and first female president of the school.[123] On October 1, 2025, it was announced that university president Wente will be stepping down effective immediately June 2026.[124]
Including the professional schools, the university has 1,996 faculty members, of whom 84.5 percent are full-time employees.[125]
Ninety-three percent of undergraduate faculty have doctorates or other terminal degrees in their field.[126] Wake Forest ranked tied for 10th best undergraduate teaching in the U.S. byU.S. News & World Report in its 2016 report,[127] and the school maintains a faculty-to-student ratio of 1 to 11.[128]
Notable faculty include:
Anthony Atala, the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is considered a national pioneer in organ growth. His work has been lauded as the No. 1 Science Story of the Year byDiscover Magazine in 2007 and the fifth-biggest breakthrough in medicine for 2011 byTime.[129]
John A. Allison IV, distinguished professor in practice for Wake Forest University School of Business, former head of theCato Institute and former Chairman and CEO ofBB&T[130]
David Carroll, professor of physics and director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, is known for his research in nanoengineered cancer therapies, green technology,[131]photovoltaics and lighting innovations.[132]
Former PresidentNathan O. Hatch is a nationally known religious historian. His book,The Democratization of American Christianity, was named one of the "Five Best: Books on Religion in Politics" by the Wall Street Journal.[135] He also served as the chair of the NCAA Division I Board.[136]
David Faber, professor of art and printmaking, is a nationally recognized printmaker whose works are housed permanently at five of the country's leading museums.[137]
Author and civil rights activistMaya Angelou, Reynolds Professor of American Studies, taught at the university from 1982 until her death in 2014. Among her many awards, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.[138][139]
The Wake Forest University Police Department (WFUPD) consists mostly of properly trained police officers, security officers, communication officers, and their support staff.[141]
Undergraduate admission to Wake Forest is deemed as "most selective" byU.S. News & World Report.[143] For freshmen enrolling in the fall of 2023, the university received 17,479 applications and admitted 3,768, or 21.56 percent. 1,385 students enrolled, making the yield rate (percentage of accepted students who then enrolled) 36.75 percent. Approximately 55 percent of the class are women and 45 percent are men. Wake Forest University does not require applicants to submit a college entrance exam score; of the 26 percent of applicants who did submitSAT scores, the middle 50 percent for total scores were between 1410 and 1500. Of the 22 percent of applicants who did submitACT scores, the middle 50 percent composite score was between 32 and 34.[142] The median family income of Wake Forest University students is $221,500, with 71% of students coming from the top 20% highest-earning families.[144][145]
Over the past couple of years, Wake Forest has been consistently ranked as one of the most expensive institutions in the state ofNorth Carolina, with its estimated cost of attendance 2025–26 academic year being $94,600,[146][147][148] including $70,332 in tuition.[149] On September 17, 2025, Wake Forest announced that it will offer tuition-free admissions for some low income North Carolina residents starting fall 2026.[150][151]
In May 2008, Wake Forest made college entrance exams optional for undergraduate admissions,[152] becoming the first national university ranked in the top 30 by theU.S. News & World Report to adopt a test-optional policy.[153] Being test-optional means Wake Forest's admissions process does not require applicants to submit theirSAT orACT scores, and students can decide if they want their standardized test scores to be considered.[154] Wake Forest University does not publish any explanation of how its admissions process compares applicants with submitted scores to those without.[154]
A formal lounge area used for studying insideReynolda Hall overlooking the Magnolia Quad (formally known as Manchester Plaza)
Wake Forest offers 50 undergraduate majors[155] and 60 interdisciplinary minors[155] across various fields of study. Students initially declare a major the second semester of their sophomore year.[156]
In order to graduate, a Wake Forest student must finish three requirements for 120 hours of credit: a core set of classes, a course of study related to a major, and electives. The core set of classes includes basic requirements (a first-year seminar, a writing seminar, health and PE classes, and foreign language literature) and divisional requirements (at least two classes in each of the humanities, social sciences and math/natural sciences and at least one in the fine arts and literatures).[157]
Wake Forest also offers an "Open Curriculum" option, in which a small number of students, approved by a committee, may design a course of study with an adviser.[158][159]
In order to attend the School of Business, students must make a special application to its program, which offers an accountancy program whereby a student earns aBachelor of Science (B.S.) and anMaster of Science (M.S.) in Accountancy and qualifies to sit for theCPA exam after five years of combined undergraduate and graduate study.[160] The School of Business also offers undergraduate programs leading to degrees in business and enterprise management, finance and mathematical business.[161]
Wake Forest supports a number of centers and institutes, which are designed to encourage interdisciplinary curriculum and programming. Currently, there is one provost-sponsored institute (Humanities)[162] and eleven centers (including Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials; Enterprise Research and Education; Translational Science; Bioethics, Health and Society; BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism; Energy, Environment and Sustainability; Molecular Communication and Signaling; and Interdisciplinary Performance and the Liberal Arts).[163]
Wake Forest offers more than 400 semester-, summer- and year-long study abroad programs in 200 cities in more than 70 countries worldwide through Wake Forest-sponsored programs and through Affiliate programs (approved non-Wake Forest programs).[164]
Wake Forest program options include:
University-owned houses: Each semester or summer session, a resident professor leads a group of students to one of three University-owned study abroad houses and offers two courses in his or her respective disciplines. Resident professors are chosen from a wide variety of academic departments. The university houses are: Casa Artom inVenice, Italy; Flow House inVienna, Austria; and Worrell House inLondon, England.
Wake Forest University offers pre-college programs for high school students to explore various subjects and majors before college through the on-campus Summer Immersion and Online Immersion Programs. The Pre-College Department is part of the Wake Forest University Office of Professional and Career Development.
The Summer Immersion Program began in 2015 and the Online Immersion Program began in 2016. The Summer Immersion Program offers 23 institutes[169] in the STEM, social sciences, and creative disciplines. The Online Immersion Program offers nine courses[170] in the same disciplines. All courses are congruent with Wake Forest University offered majors. All institutes and courses are led by Wake Forest University faculty and staff members.
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers 25 programs of graduate-level study as well as 11 certificates. Degree programs include eleven areas of Ph.D. study in the sciences, as well as 30 master's degrees in the arts and sciences. The school also offers nine joint degree programs in conjunction with the other professional schools and the undergraduate college.[171]
The Wake Forest School of Business was founded in 1969 as the Babcock School of Management, and the school now houses both graduate and undergraduate programs in the new Farrell Hall facility on the main Wake Forest campus. The school also maintains a campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, which houses an MBA program for working professionals.[106]
Gail O'Day was appointed in 2010 as dean of the school and professor of New Testament and preaching.[179] The school has 18 faculty members, five adjunct faculty and 12 associated faculty from other university departments.[180] According to its mission statement, the school is "Christian by tradition, Baptist in heritage, and ecumenical in outlook."[181] In April 2019,Jonathan L. Walton was appointed as the new dean of the divinity school.[182] On September 7, 2023,Corey D. B. Walker was appointed as the new dean replacing Walton.[183]
Planning for the school began in April 1989.[184] In May 1996,Bill J. Leonard was appointed the school's first dean,[185] and in March 1998, the school selected its 14-member board of visitors.[186] The first faculty members were named in April 1998, and additional faculty were hired that October.[187][188] In August 1999, the first 24 students enrolled in the program.[189] The university's first Master of Divinity degrees were conferred May 20, 2002.[190]
In 2012, the school established the Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative to equip religious leaders with the knowledge, skills, and pastoral habits necessary to guide congregations and other faith-based organizations around food issues.[191]
Worrell Professional Center, home to theSchool of Law
The Wake Forest University School of Law is a privateAmerican Bar Association-accredited law school and is a member of theAssociation of American Law Schools. The school was established in 1894.U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the school among the top 30 law schools in the nation.[192] The current dean is Andrew Klein.[193] Wake Forest University School of Law has a faculty of 52 Resident Faculty Members and 40 Extended Faculty Members.[194]
Wake Forest Law offers the following degrees: theJD, theJD/M.Div., theJD/MA in Religion, the JD/MA in bioethics, theMaster of Studies in Law, theMaster of Laws in American Law, theSJD and the JD/MBA in conjunction with the university's Schools of Business. Class sizes are limited to sections of 40 in the first year, with legal writing classes limited to sections of 20.[195]
The Wake Forest School of Medicine has one campus on the Bowman Gray Campus in the Ardmore neighborhood ofWinston-Salem, North Carolina, and a second campus downtown which opened in July 2016. Founded in 1902, the School of Medicine directs the education of about 1,800 students and fellows, including physicians, basic scientists and allied clinical professionals each year.[61][196] It is clinically affiliated withAtrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest Community Physicians and, with its research program, forms the integrated academic medical center,Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
In addition toMD,PhD andMS degrees (including an MS forphysician assistants), the School of Medicine has five joint-degree programs, nurse anesthesia and medical technology teaching programs, and is the clinical site for 10 Forsyth Technical Community College programs.[196]
In its 2016 edition,U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 52nd best in research and tied for 74th in primary care.[197] The nurse anesthesia program is ranked 10th nationally.[197]
The School of Medicine ranks among the top third of American medical schools in total funding from theNational Institutes of Health (NIH).[198] In the 2012 fiscal year, the school was awarded nearly $185 million in research funding from federal and state agencies, industry and other sources.[199] In November 2023, the School of Medicine pledged $100 million to help fund research.[200]
Established in 2021, the School of Professional Studies offers Master's programs and graduate certificates and certifications as well as Non-Credit programs and boot camps, with most courses being virtually online.[201]
Wake Forest University Press was established in 1976 by Irish scholar Dillon Johnston with the support of provostEdwin Wilson and presidentJames Ralph Scales. It has a strong focus on Irish poetry with published poets including Ciaran Carson, Thomas Kinsella, Michael Longley, Medbh McGuckian, John Montague, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, and Irish language poet Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill.[222]
There are over 225 chartered student organizations of all sorts. Student sports organizations are highly visible on campus. Special interest organizations range from the academic, such theModel United Nations team, to the artistic, such as thehandbell choir. In spring of 2006, theMock Trial team was notable in qualifying for the national tournament while only in its 2nd year in operation. Religious organizations are also numerous. Both theCollege Republicans andCollege Democrats have active chapters at the university. Historic student organizations such as the Philomathesians, an artistic literary magazine, are also present.[224] Students are entertained by numerous performing groups, includingThe Lilting Banshees Comedy Troupe, The Living Parables Christian Drama Troupe, and The Anthony Aston Players.[225]
The Office of Student Engagement, oversees all student organizations and fraternities and sororities. Student Engagement also organizes leadership oriented student activities such as CHARGE (Formerly called LEAD), a semester long course in campus leadership.[226]
The event-planning arm of Wake Forest is an undergraduate student-run organization known as Student Union. Student Union events includeHomecoming,[227] Family Weekend,[228] Special Lectures, Concerts, the Coffeehouse music series and other weekly events such as movie screenings and Tuesday Trivia nights. Its signature event is the annual "Shag on the Mag" where a big tent covers Manchester Quad (formerly the Magnolia Quad) during Springfest and studentsshag dance to a live band. It started in 2005 under then Springfest chairman Joseph Bumgarner.[229]
Founded in 1923, Wake Forest Student Government (known as SG) works under asemi-Presidential system. Four executive officers (Student Body President, Speaker of the House, Secretary and Treasurer) are elected each spring. The President appoints a Chief of Staff. The Executive Officers coordinate with the Cabinet, formed by the Co-Chairs of the seven standing committees. The seven committees are Academic, Campus Life, Diversity & Inclusion, Judiciary, Public Relations, Physical Planning, and The Student Organizations Council (SOC). The executive committee and Cabinet work with members of the Senate to pass legislation and advocate on behalf of students.[230]
The Senate, which acts as a student legislature, is made up of about 60 senators, chosen in fall and spring elections each year. The legislators are assigned to one of seven committees focused on an area of student needs. The student trustee is an ex-officio member of Student Government and acts as a liaison between theboard of trustees and Student Government.
WAKE Radio was founded by a student group in 1985 afterWFDD terminated a long-standing position of student broadcast assistants.[231][232]
The Student was founded in 2004 and is a website created and run by students to help integrate the student body with academic activities and social events around campus and the Winston-Salem area.[233]
TheOld Gold & Black (OGB) is Wake Forest University's school newspaper, publishing bi-weekly in print and daily on its website. The paper takes its name from the university's official colors. It was established in 1916 and has been produced by a group of student editors, reporters and photographers every year since then. Notable alumni includeAl Hunt, current managing editor forBloomberg News in Washington DC,W. J. Cash who authored The Mind of the South, andWayne King who won aPulitzer Prize for his coverage of The 12th Street Riot in Detroit in 1967.[234]
Wake Forest Review is an independent student newspaper providing news and commentary "from a libertarian and conservative perspective."[235]
Wake TV is the university television channel. It features weekly television content likeWake TV News andEntertainment Wakely. Past students have also collaborated withESPNU to create media packages featuring Wake Forest athletes.[236]
3 to 4 Ounces is the official literary magazine on campus, publishing a collection of student prose, poetry and art through a blind application process each semester. It is also the longest-running media outlet on campus, as it began in 1882 asThe Student when the school was still known as Wake Forest College.[233]
WFDD is anNPR-affiliate which was founded in 1946.[239] The station has a signal strength of 36,000watts and broadcasts to 32 counties in North Carolina andVirginia.[240] The station has been broadcast on 88.5 FM since 1967.
The Wake Forest Debate team has won the National Debate Tournament in 1997[241] and 2008,[242] made the finals in 2006[243] and 2009[244] and has had six semifinal teams: 1955,[245] 1993, 1994, 1995, 2017 and 2019.[246] Wake Forest has had two winners of the "National Coach of the Year" award: Ross Smith (1997) and Al Louden (1988). The award is named for Smith.[247][248][249]
In 2010, Wake Forest became the first top-tier debate team in the country to go "open source" and share all its evidence and arguments online through a wiki accessible to other debaters.[251]
The Volunteer Service Corps (VSC) is one of the most popular student organizations. It coordinates volunteering in both the local and international/national setting via service projects and trips. The organization has annual service trips to Russia, Vietnam, and Latin America. In light of the disaster caused byHurricane Katrina, VSC sent 30 Wake Students on a Wake Alternative Spring Break in the Spring of 2006.[252]
Wake Forest University offers anArmy Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC) program. At Wake Forest contracted ROTC cadets are given full scholarship, a monthly stipend, and book money by the US Army. The university extends the scholarship with free room and board.[253] The program also serves students fromWinston-Salem State University andSalem College.
With 24 chapters,fraternity and sorority membership consists of around 45 percent of the undergraduate student population.[254] Wake Forest requires that all new members of fraternities and sororities complete at least one semester of full-time studies, so the primary recruiting time is during the spring semester.
In the mid-2010s, fraternities at Wake Forest began to come under more public scrutiny for claims of sexual assault, racism, and violence.[255][256][257]
Wake Forest offers classes inyoga,Pilates, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT),Zumba,BodyPump, andindoor cycling.[258] Wake Forest students field 36 club sport teams that compete against other colleges and universities at the regional and national level.[259] Over half of the student body participates in 18 different intramural sports.[260] The university's fitness and recreation center, Reynolds Gym, is the oldest gym in the ACC. It was renovated in March 2018 and renamed the Wake Forest Wellbeing Center.[261] The project includes the addition of the Sutton Center which opened in January 2016.[262]
Students are guaranteed housing for four years. As of 2010, students were required to live on campus for their first three years as full-time enrolled students.[263]
The three main community areas for the 2025–2026 academic year are:[264]
South Campus (First Year Student Housing): Babcock Hall, Bostwick Hall, Johnson Hall, Luter Hall, Collins Hall, Hopkins Hall, Huffman Hall, and Angelou Hall[265]
Quad Area (Upperclass Student Housing): Kitchin Hall, Davis Hall, Poteat/Huffman Halls, Taylor/Efird Halls[266]
North Area (Upperclass Student Housing): Magnolia Hall, Dogwood Hall, Polo Hall, Martin Hall, Palmer Hall, Piccolo Hall, North Campus Apartments, Student Apartments, Polo Road houses area.
In 2009, President Nathan Hatch outlined in his strategic plan a campus culture in which personal and career development would become an integral component of the undergraduate student experience.[267] Later that year, he created a cabinet-level position and appointed Andy Chan as the vice president for personal and career development.[268]
Chan's work has included hosting a national conference in 2012 ("Rethinking Success: From the Liberal Arts to Careers in the 21st Century")[269] featuringCondoleezza Rice,[270] and issuing "A Roadmap for Transforming the College-To-Career Experience" in 2013.[271] Wake Forest quadrupled the size of the staff,[272] integrated personal and career development into freshman orientation, and added "College to Career" courses.[273]
Every student takes at least one course in the arts (art history, studio art, theatre, dance, music performance and music in liberal arts) before graduating.[274] In 2011–2012, more than 500 Wake Forest students were directly involved in performances on campus, and 110 public exhibitions in theatre, music dance and visual arts held in Scales Fine Arts Center in 2012–2013.[275] The university's home,Winston-Salem, calls itself the "City of Arts & Innovation".[276]
Students also can take advantage of a number of other art-related opportunities:
The WFU Art Collections consist of nine independent collections with more than 1,600 works located in 35 on- and off-campus locations.[277] Every four years, selected students make an art-buying trip to New York City to add to the collections.[278]
Students are within walking distance of theReynolda House Museum of American Art, the Wake Forest Museum of Anthropology, the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery and START, the student art gallery.
TheTheatre Department, which allows students to participate from their first year, supports interdisciplinary exploration of its plays through the Interdisciplinary Performance and the Liberal Arts Center (IPLACe), which connects the performing arts and other academic departments.[279]
The student-run Reynolda Film Festival is a free weeklong series of film screenings and workshops featuring a keynote address by a well-known and respected representative of the film industry.[280]
The Secrest Artists Series offers the Wake Forest community several free opportunities each year to hear world-class concerts.[281]
"Rolling the Quad" is a WFU tradition that is done after major victories in athletic competition.[282]
Arnold Palmer Day: Each year Wake Forest University and its students celebratePGA Tour legendArnold Palmer who attended Wake Forest in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Bell Tower/Tunnel Tours: Each year during the spring, Wake Forest seniors get an opportunity to tour and explore the tunnels of theWait Chapel and often sign their signatures on the chapel's woodwork.
Deacon Dash/First Year Field Run: Every year during the first Wake Forest Football game, first-year students rush the field.
D.E.S.K: This longstanding campus tradition brings together local elementary students each spring to campus to create inspiring and colorful study spaces.
CP3 Day: Every year Wake Forest and its students celebrate former Wake Forest basketball alum and NBA player and Winston-Salem nativeChris Paul on Manchester Plaza, where students are offeredKrispy Kreme doughnuts.
Hit the Bricks: Started in 2003, this campus-wide tradition is a philanthropic event that benefits the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund as well as the Comprehensive Cancer Center atAtrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Every fall semester, members of the campus community meet at Hearn Plaza and take turns running and walking around the Quad to support the fight against cancer.
Lighting the Quad: Each year, the Wake Forest community celebrates the holiday season at Hearn Plaza.
Lovefeast: Originally started 1965 by Moravian student Jane Sherrill Stroupe ('67), this longtime tradition has become the largest Moravian-style lovefest in the nation.[283]
Pitsgiving: Each fall, Pitsgiving is an annual Wake ForestThanksgiving holiday dinner.[284]
President's Ball: Each year, the university, students, staff and faculty celebrate the university president.
Pro Humanitate Days: During this annual event, Wake Forest alumni, students, faculty and staff from around the world join and volunteer to give back or help the local community.
Project Pumpkin: Started in 1988, this is normally a student-led project and community-building event to bring together the campus as well as the Winston-Salem community. The event also brings local children to the Reynolda campus for a fall festival, which includes educational activities and trick-or-treating entertainment.[285]
Rolling The Quad: Started in the 1950s, each year Wake Forest students celebrate Wake Forest athletic teams' wins by rolling and spreadingToilet Paper all over the quad and trees, especially when those victories are against other teams in theTobacco Road rivalry.[286]
Wake 'N Shake: Every spring Wake Forest student participants stay awake and on their feet for 12 hours straight to participate in the Wake 'N Shake Marathon to raise awareness of cancer. In 2022, Wake Forest students exceeded $3 million in fundraising for Wake 'N Shake.[287]
Notable among the songs commonly played and sung at events such ascommencement,convocation, alumni reunions and athletic games is the alma mater, "Dear Old Wake Forest", and the fight song "O Here's To Wake Forest".[288]
Student attendance ofWake Forest Football andBasketball games is high, in part due to the program known as "Screamin' Demons". At the beginning of each respective athletic season students on the Reynolda Campus can sign up for the program whereby they pay $40 for each year; in addition to the best seats at the games, this gets students a football shirt in the fall and a tie-dye T-shirt in the spring along with a card that serves as an automatic pass to the sporting events. They lose this privilege if they miss two of the games. Through the planning of Sports Marketing and the Screamin' Demons program, basketball game seats in the students section are difficult to attain without participating in the Screamin' Demons program. The arena can seat only 2,250 of the 4,500 undergraduate students at Wake Forest. At least 150 seats are always set aside for non-Screamin Demons, who sit behind the 2,100 member group.[289]
Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as The Old Gold and Black or the Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention (from which it later separated itself). However, in 1923, after a particularly impressive win against nearby rival theDuke Blue Devils, a newspaper reporter wrote that the Deacons "fought like Demons", giving rise to the current team name, the "Demon Deacons".[290]
Wake Forest's Athletic teams have won a total of 11 NCAA team national championships in five different sports. The women's field hockey team has won three (2002, 2003, 2004), the men's golf team has won three (1974, 1975, 1986), the men's tennis has won two (2018,2025), themen's soccer team (2007), thebaseball team (1955), women's golf (2023) have won one each. Wake Forest has a 96% student athlete graduation rate. Wake Forest is sometimes referred to as being a part of "Tobacco Road" or "The Big Four", terms that refer to the four North Carolina schools that compete heatedly against each other within the ACC; these includeDuke,North Carolina, andNorth Carolina State, as well as Wake Forest.[291][292][293]
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons participate in theNCAA'sDivision I (in theBowl Subdivision forfootball) and in theAtlantic Coast Conference. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.[294]
Wake Forest plays its home football games atAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. The Demon Deacons have won twoACC Football Championships. The program also have had four players named as ACC Player of the Year, four consensus All-Americans, including 17 bowl appearances.[295]
Wake Forest Demon Deacons women's basketball team also boosts a competitive program. In 2012, Jen Hoover took over as coach from Mike Petersen, the program's all-time winningest coach.[301] Hoover (then Jenny Mitchell) is the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, was a three-time All-ACC selection and was a member of the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team in 2002. Hoover was part of the program's onlyNCAA tournament appearance in 1988, when Wake Forest beat Villanova and lost to Tennessee. Wake Forest has appeared in theWomen's NIT four times, all under Petersen. In 2015,Dearica Hamby was drafted 6th overall in theWNBA draft by the San Antonio Stars (nowLas Vegas Aces).[302]Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is the home venue for the Demon Deacons basketball teams.
On May 22, 2018, the Wake Forest Men's Tennis team won its first ever NCAA National Championship. This feat was accomplished on their home courts, as they defeated the Ohio State Men's Tennis team 4–2.Wake Forest had been ranked as the number one team for most of the season leading up to the tournament.[311] In 2025, Wake Forest Men's Tennis defeatedTCU 4–2 to claim its second NCAA National Championship.[312]
^abWFU News Service (November 20, 2011)."Turner named Rhodes Scholar". Wake Forest University.Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. RetrievedNovember 21, 2011.He is the 12th Wake Forest student to be named a Rhodes Scholar in the past 25 years
^abWalker, Cheryl (November 30, 2010)."Senior wins Marshall Scholarship".Wake Forest Office of Communications and External Relations.Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. RetrievedMarch 18, 2013.
^Jones, Malcolm (May 28, 1973)."It Was Like Homecoming".Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 1–2.Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. RetrievedAugust 5, 2021 – via University and N.C. Baptist Biographical Files Collection.
^Walker, Cheryl (February 9, 2011)."New audio, transcript of MLK speech".Wake Forest News. Wake Forest University.Archived from the original on January 15, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 16, 2015.
^Laura A. W. Phillips (May 2000)."Middleton House"(PDF).National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office.Archived(PDF) from the original on May 8, 2019. RetrievedNovember 1, 2014.
^"History of Casa Artom".wakeforestvenice.com. Wake Forest University. March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. RetrievedMarch 11, 2020.
^Fact Book 2014-15(PDF). Wake Forest Office of Institutional Research. p. 35.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 11, 2015. RetrievedNovember 10, 2015.
^Fact Book 2014-15(PDF). Wake Forest Office of Institutional Research. p. 38.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 11, 2015. RetrievedNovember 10, 2015.
^Common Data Set 2014-2015(PDF). Wake Forest University Office of Institutional Research. p. 22.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 2, 2015. RetrievedNovember 9, 2015.
^"New divinity school dean named". Wake Forest University Office of Communications and External Relations. April 29, 2010.Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. RetrievedMarch 8, 2013.
^Walker, Cheryl (October 24, 2012)."Connecting food and faith". Wake Forest University News Service.Archived from the original on March 11, 2013. RetrievedMarch 8, 2013.
^"South Residence Hall".wfu.edu. Wake Forest University Office of Residence Life and Housing.Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. RetrievedNovember 15, 2016.
^"Quad Area Overview".Wake Forest University Office of Residence Life and Housing. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2024.
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