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News Plus Reminders for Spring Semester

by Betsy Chapman

In this Issue:

  • Big news: German National Team selects Wake Forest and Graylyn Estate as host site for FIFA World Cup 2026
  • Community Safety Advisory: Fondling Incident on Campus
  • Important action item: students have required Workday onboarding tasks they must complete
  • Career Fair coming up on Jan. 21
  • The Bookstore is students’ one stop resource

Today has been a big news day already and it isn’t even lunchtime! We learned that we will be hosting the German National Team for the World Cup this summer. There was also a Community Safety Advisory. And students will be moving in this weekend, with FDOC (First Day of Classes) starting Monday.

So let’s get straight to the news.

Big news: German National Team selects Wake Forest and Graylyn Estate as host site for FIFA World Cup 2026

We got big, big, big news this morning: President Wente announced that “The German Men’s National Team has selected The Graylyn Estate as its team base camp and Wake Forest as its official training site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The four-time World Cup champions will arrive on June 8, reside at Graylyn, and train at Wake Forest’s W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium, one of the nation’s premier collegiate soccer facilities, throughout their World Cup preparation and competition….

The German Men’s National Team is among the best in the world – known for its excellence and commitment to teamwork – and is led by coach Julian Nagelsmann, who is one of the youngest head coaches in this world-renowned event. This partnership highlights Wake Forest’s international reputation as one of the top universities in the country, both academically and in collegiate athletics.” Read the full story here.

I am super, super stoked about this announcement for a very personal reason: my ’27 played soccer during early childhood, and we watched a ton of soccer on TV, both FIFA World Cup and my ’27’s favorite league, the Bundesliga (German). There was a point in my life where I knew most of the Bundesliga teams, names of star players, etc. So I can’t wait to have the next generation of German football stars here in Winston-Salem!

Community Safety Advisory: Fondling Incident on Campus

Campus also got a Wake Alert message this morning advising of a fondling incident on campus. Here is a snippet:

“University Police received a report from a student of a fondling incident on campus near the North Campus Apartments yesterday evening. Police immediately searched the area, including the adjacent neighborhood, but were unable to locate the assailant.

The report described the alleged assailant as a White male, about 30 years old and 6 feet tall with brown hair and a broad build. He was wearing a dark cargo jacket, possibly black or navy, with front pockets, gray cargo pants, dark sneakers, and appeared to be clean shaven. Please see the image below of the alleged assailant.

Anyone with information about the alleged crime is asked to contact University Police at 336.758.5911 (emergency) or 336.758.5591 (non-emergency), submit a tip through the Wake Safe App, file a report online, or email police@wfu.edu. Reports of alleged assaults may also be submitted to the University’s Title IX Office.”

Read the full Wake Alert message. And parents/families, if you want to receive community safety advisories, please follow the instructions here on how to download the WakeSafe app and enable notifications.

Important action item: students have required Workday onboarding tasks they must complete

Yesterday we send out the weekly WFU Should Know email that goes to all students. It’s meant to be a digest of critical info that students need to be aware of. Knowing that many of them might not start checking their WFU email until they physically get back to campus, I wanted to share this here for the Daily Deacdom’s awareness:

“Please complete your required onboarding tasks in Workday as soon as possible. This is required for all continuing students (i.e., students who are not new to Wake in the spring semester). See your Workday inbox. These important tasks must be completed before modifications to registration for spring or registration for summer or fall will be permitted.”

Career Fair coming up on Jan. 21

My friends in the OPCD (Office of Personal and Career Development) have one of their signature events coming up the second week of school, and they were kind enough to share this for the Daily Deacdom:

“As students return for the spring semester, the Office of Personal & Career Development (OPCD) is hitting the ground running with several key opportunities.

If you are speaking with your student this week, please encourage them to take advantage of these upcoming January events:

  • Jan 21: Spring 2026 Career & Graduate School Fair – The primary event for students seeking internships, full-time roles, or exploring graduate school options.
  • Jan 30 & 31: Industry-specific days for Advertising/Marketing and Finance.
  • Weekly: Wake Your Resume Workshops on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in the OPCD: Practical sessions to help students build/polish their resumes.

We are excited to support your student’s professional journey this semester!

Additionally, we offer free professional headshots at our office in Reynolda 230 during business hours.”

Those free headshots are a phenomenal resource. Encourage your Deacs to take advantage!

The Bookstore is students’ one stop resource

As the semester begins for real on Monday, my friends at the Bookstore wanted to remind students and families of all they offer. This short, informative video highlights all you need to know!

Wishing all our Deacs safe returns to campus and a great start to the Spring semester!

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