Midweek Roundup
In this Issue:
- What we can learn from Stephen Nedoroscik and the idea of specialization
- Wake Forest’s Educating Character Initiative to grant an additional $10M to support character education across the U.S.
- Face to Face single tickets go on sale August 1
- Reminder of parking registration opening up
Are you watching the Olympics, Daily Deacdom? Like my late mother, I am an official Olympics junkie and will watch any and every event. Which leads me to today’s first story…
What we can learn from Stephen Nedoroscik and the idea of specialization
Like much of America, I have been captivated by the triumph of pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik. What I love about this story is that he found one area he loved and excelled at – pommel horse. He’s not an all-around gymnast. He has This One Thing that he does better than everyone else.
And that is not unlike what can happen to students in college. They find their academic passion, or a particular skill that is useful (e.g., making spreadsheet formulas, coding, excelling at research, etc.) and hone that one interest. Faculty, too, have years of specializing in Their Main Academic Interest so that they are one of the best of the best in their field. We have staff who specialize too – whether that is in mentoring, or student engagement, or whatever.
I was talking about Nedoroscik with a colleague earlier today and we discussed the benefits of specialization within a work team. I’m a comms person specializing in parent and family communications, but I am lousy at graphic design. Thankfully I don’t have to be good at graphic design, I just have to know who is good at it and get them to help me when needed.
Sometimes I think our students feel pressure that they have to be good at everything. And maybe they need to hear from us that it is not just OK, but sometimes incredibly beneficial, to specialize in one thing you love. And remove some of that pressure to be an all-around.
Wake Forest’s Educating Character Initiative to grant an additional $10M to support character education across the U.S.
I am very happy to share this news story from my talented colleagues, as there is great news about our Program for Leadership and Character:
“Wake Forest University’s Program for Leadership and Character will grant an additional $10 million to further help colleges and universities nationwide develop their own character education programs and initiatives. The funding comes from a new $12.4 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. which will also support coaching, resources, and workshops for faculty across the country.
In 2023, Lilly Endowment Inc. provided a $30.7 million grant to Wake Forest to help create the Educating Character Initiative (ECI). The aim of ECI is to provide a wide range of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. with the resources, funding and support needed to develop and implement ideas for integrating character education at their institutions. Of that funding, some $23 million was set aside to help grow programs beyond Wake Forest.”
Read the full news story.
Face to Face single tickets go on sale August 1
In case you missed it, our Face to Face speaker forum has some incredibly big names coming this season.
I’d argue you want to get season tickets, because they are all so fantastic in my humble opinion. But if season tickets are not the right answer for your family, single tickets for the Face to Face events go on sale tomorrow, August 1.
As a reminder, students can attend the free Face to Face Student-Led event, which typically happens around 5 p.m., and seating is General Admission. Doors open at 4:00 p.m.
Reminder of parking registration opening up
Just a reminder that if your student plans to have a car to campus, they must register during their appropriate day/time based on student status (e.g., first-year student, second year student, etc.). The first registration group begins tomorrow, August 1.