Tuesday Newsday

In this Issue:

• Pizza with the Police, Feb. 9
• Founders Day is Feb. 15 – families can join in the livestream
• Why your students should go to University events
• Fire safety and fire alarm reminders
• Changes coming to course registration and more

I have been watching the news and thinking of our families in California who are dealing with such torrential rains and flooding. May you and yours stay safe.

Here at Wake, there were a handful of messages that went out yesterday, plus a few things I was asked to share. Dig in to what serves you, and scroll past anything that doesn’t apply.

Pizza with the Police, Feb. 9

Encourage your Deacs to join University Police on Friday, February 9 from 12-1:00 p.m. for Pizza with the Police to celebrate National Pizza Day!  Students can stop by Zick’s for some free pizza, and a chance to chat with University Police.  

Founders Day is Feb. 15 – families can join in the livestream

Each year in February, we celebrate Founders Day, which commemorates the founding of Wake Forest back in 1834. Part of Founders Day is a program in Wait Chapel; this year it will be held on Feb. 15. While we hope your students will attend, we also want to encourage families to tune into the livestream.

Please consider tuning in to Founders Day on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. (or watch a recording after the fact). Our program will feature the annual senior oration, reflections from Vice President for Campus Life Shea Kidd Brown, remarks from President Susan R. Wente, music, and more. 

Why your students should go to University events

Related to the Founders Day item above, sometimes we host University events and I am a little dismayed that more students aren’t there. I get it, they are busy, they have homework and studies, etc., but if students aren’t participating in events in the life of the University, they are missing out on the full range of experiences we offer.

Campus life and campus culture is constantly being made and remade by the people who are here. Events that offer a chance to hear the president, provost, vice presidents or other campus leaders give students a chance to hear what is on administrators’ minds, what they are proud of, where they are spending their energy, maybe even what keeps them up at night. These topics, and these people, help shape student experiences.

And all of us who work at Wake Forest – faculty, staff, and administrators – are here for our students! We want to meet them, and know them! So encourage your Deacs not just to go to events, but to hang around for the mixing and mingling before and after to make connections with us. Those networking moments can lead to relationships that can have powerful benefits to students when they are looking for mentoring, letters of rec, etc.

I’ve said before that our campus community is not a spectator sport – it’s a contact sport. You have to show up and participate. I know students can’t go to eveyr event, but do encourage them to go to as many as they can so they can hear what is being discussed, meet people, make connections, and be involved.

Fire safety and fire alarm reminders

Yesterday the Office of Residence Life and Housing sent the following message to resident students about fire safety, particularly about our fire alarm system. Here are a few key points:

• “At the beginning of each semester, we tend to receive messages of concern after an increased number of fire alarms and as students are learning their new community….

• Our alarms are functioning properly and doing what they should. Any time we have repeated alarms from the same sensor, or any other indicators of system issues, our partners in Facilities and Campus Services check the system and sensors.

• Our fire alarm systems are set at the lowest sensitivity that they can be per fire code. In other words, we cannot make the systems any less sensitive while remaining compliant with the fire code.”

The message also includes tips of things students may be unknowingly doing that might set off the alarms.

Changes coming to course registration and more

Students also got a message yesterday with news about the upcoming implementation of Workday Student in place of Ellucian Banner, our current Student Information System (SIS). Workday will give students access to registration, academic planning and progress, and financial information, all in one system.