Welcome, President Rodriguez!
In this Issue:
- President Rodriguez’s welcome message to the campus
- Portraying Martha Washington: A Q&A with Katharine Pittman (’07)
- Wake Forest art students explore the 61st annual Venice Biennale
It’s the first day of July, and today we welcome Wake Forest’s 15th president, Dr. Peter Rodriguez! These are exciting times and I know we all look forward to getting to know him. More on that in the first item in today’s issue.
The first day of July also means we have officially turned the calendar page from the 2025-26 academic year to the 2026-27 academic year. For any P’26 families whose students have graduated, you will no longer receive “current parent/family” emails from Wake, unless you have a younger student enrolled here too.
The Daily Deac is run out of a separate distro list, so you will continue to receive it as long as you wish to. As I say to graduating senior families who email me, I know that to everything there is a season, and whenever the Daily Deac no longer serves you, there is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. Stay as long as you like, and no hard feelings when it is time to move on 🙂
Now to our top story: President Rodriguez begins his time at Wake Forest!
President Rodriguez’s welcome message to the campus
This morning, President Rodriguez sent a welcome message to students, faculty, and staff. You can read the full message here; below is an excerpt:
“Some expect a new president to kick things off with an ambitious vision or a list of institutional priorities. While it’s a bit early for that, I want to share a few of the items that are important to me right now.
Getting to know you
The President’s Office staff has been diligently fielding requests for meetings and event invitations on my behalf. I have so much to look forward to in the next few months! I plan to get around campus as much as possible when the fall semester starts, and I hope you will stop me to introduce yourself.
I’ve already learned something important about Wake: it’s a deeply relational place. This is by far the most frequent answer I hear when asking people what they love about Wake Forest. Therefore, when we meet, I’m likely to ask you a different question; not what makes Wake Forest special, but who makes Wake Forest special to you? I’m eager to hear your answers.”
In the message, he invited invited Wake Foresters to follow his social media accounts. Do consider giving him a follow at any/all of his channels:
We are so excited to have him join the Wake Forest community! Go Deacs!
Portraying Martha Washington: A Q&A with Katharine Pittman (’07)
Yesterday, one of my colleagues shared this super cool short story about Katharine Pittman (’07) who has been portraying Martha Washington at Colonial Williamsburg for the past decade. She will be featured on CNN, Good Morning America, and PBS for the 250th this July 4th. Here is a snippet:
“As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Wake Forest alumna Katharine McEnery Pittman (‘07) finds herself at the center of the celebration. A former theatre major and history minor, Katharine portrays Martha Washington in Colonial Williamsburg – and this Fourth of July, she will be featured on CNN, Good Morning America, and PBS.
The Dean’s Office spoke with Katharine about her historical interpretation of the founding figure and the lessons she has carried with her, from Scales Fine Arts Center to the cobblestone-street stage of Williamsburg.”
Read the full story. I was especially excited to read that Katharine was a theatre major at Wake, as some of my closest Wake friends were deeply tied to our theatre program.
Wake Forest art students explore the 61st annual Venice Biennale
I also learned yesterday that this summer, some of our art students traveled to Italy to explore the 61st annual Venice Biennale, which I am told is one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions in the world. As part of their trip, our students conducted research presentations and “engaged in exclusive meetings with featured international artists and curators.”
You can see these photos of their time in Venice. (Next time around, if you need a blogger, I am available :))
It’s a new academic year, a new month, a new president – all on the same day. Excited about what’s to come! You should be too 🙂