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Happy Valentine’s Day!

by Betsy Chapman
  • Encourage your Deacs to share their voice in our Space Planning events next week
  • Order of 23’s Masquerade Ball announced
  • Andrew Wyeth exhibition to open at Reynolda House
  • A penny for the thoughts of Dr. Whaples

Happy Valentine’s Day, Deac families! Don’t forget to take a minute today and tell your students that you love them – whether that is in funny memes or a FaceTime or a text or whatever is your preferred method. Even if they don’t tell you, I suspect that they all want to get a little sweet message from you today 🙂

It’s the end of the week, so sharing just a few things that might interest your Deacs. Let’s dig in!

Encourage your Deacs to share their voice in our Space Planning events next week

In yesterday’s WFU Should Know student e-newsletter, there was an item about wanting student voices in our Space Planning project, and I’d love your help in encouraging your Deacs to participate:

  • “Student voices needed for the University’s Space Planning project!
    • Attend How Wake Works: Student Edition on space planning Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium, Benson Center. This important event is a chance to hear about the campus planning process and for your voice to be heard! Come help shape the future of Wake Forest! You’ll hear about what a campus plan is and have a chance to give opinions and feedback on things like residence halls, dining, parking, and everything in between.
    • Visit these poster/tabling events:
      • Monday, Feb. 17, from 5:15-6:30 p.m. in the Wellbeing Center Living Room
      • Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 9-11 a.m. in ZSR Library and Farrell Hall Living Room
      • Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Benson University Center (3rd floor) and also in Kirby/Manchester (1st floor near Math and Stats)
      • Visit these poster/tabling events to share your thoughts on potential design concepts and space priorities.”

Students are normally not shy about sharing their opinions, but sometimes their schedules are packed and they don’t want to add one more thing to their calendar. But we really want and need student voices as we consider campus spaces, so I hope students will participate in these offerings.

Order of 23’s Masquerade Ball announced

I received an email yesterday from the Order of 23, an “esteemed secret society” which has been on campus for as long as I can remember. Sadly, I am not a member so I have no additional intel on this group. But this event looks like it might be a lot of fun for your Deacs, as well as the faculty who are being honored (again, no idea who this might be). So I hope it might interest some of your Deacs.

“Step into an evening of mystery and elegance at The Order of 23’s Masquerade Ball, where intrigue meets celebration. Join us as we honor distinguished faculty members of the Wake Forest University community for their outstanding contributions.

With special guest Dr. Shea Kidd Brown, Vice President of Campus Life, this enchanting night will also feature a special announcement of the Kenneth Zick Scholarship recipient. Don your finest attire and a mask of your choosing as we toast to excellence, scholarship, and the spirit of Pro Humanitate.

Event Details:

  • Date: Sunday, February, 23
  • Location: University Activity Space
  • Time: 7 p.m. onwards”

Andrew Wyeth exhibition to open at Reynolda House

“One of the most popular and celebrated American artists of the twentieth century, Andrew Wyeth spent seven decades painting a particular farm in his hometown of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. ‘Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth’ will be the first comprehensive examination of this defining subject in his work in fifty years. This exhibition tells the story of the connection between artist and place—one of the most enduring connections in American art.”

Having grown up a couple of towns over from Chadds Ford, I am really looking forward to seeing this. Students get in to Reynolda House free with their WFU ID, as do faculty and staff; see requirements. But if you are coming to town this spring and want to see what I expect will be a spectacular exhibition, you can purchase tickets online.

A penny for the thoughts of Dr. Whaples

We’ll close today with a nugget from the news:

“For more than two decades, economics professor Robert Whaples has advocated for an end to the penny. In 2007, when he published an article about the imperative to eliminate America’s one-cent coin, Whaples received a personal note from Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve: ‘Get it done, and you will deserve the Nobel Prize!’”

Enjoy this Q&A with Dr. Whaples and see a short video about the penny.

Reasonable people may come to different conclusions about the value of the penny. I did not know most of these facts myself, so it was interesting to read about Dr. Whaples’ research.

I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and feel well loved not just today, but every day!

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