Throwback Thursday: Deacons on Parade

June 18, 2026

by Betsy Chapman

In this Issue: Deacons on Parade

Here’s a little Wake history for you, Daily Deacdom: did you know that back in 2001, Wake did a Deacons on Parade, like the famous Cows on Parade of Chicago? Read on to learn more. But first, a quick note: no Daily Deac on Friday, as offices will be closed for the Juneteenth holiday.

Deacons on Parade

25 years ago, we held a design contest for 20 Deacons. Each would be decorated by students (individually or in groups). Most of the Deacons were designated for undergraduate students, but each of the professional schools had one to decorate.

Winners of the design contest then spent several weeks priming, painting, and perfecting their Deacons in one of our Facilities warehouses. I was of the staffers that was on site during the decorating. It was a lot of messy fun. Click the right arrows below to see a few of the Deacons in progress.

Seven-foot-tall Demon Deacons await the final touches as they get ready for the Deacs on Parade to kick off the Wake Forest University capital campaign. (WFU/Ken Bennett)

Student painting the student organizations Deacon

Wake Forest students Kelly Jones, left, Michelle Johnson, and Han Shi work on a model Demon Deacon in a campus warehouse on Thursday, April 5, 2001. The model, sponsored by the WFU Baptist Student Union, will be part of the Deacs on Parade event that kicks off the new capital campaign later this month. (WFU/Ken Bennett)

We showed off the finished Deacons at a big event on the Quad. It was really cool to see them all together.

The front sides of the Deacons on Parade, with Reynolda Hall in the background

The backsides of the Deacons on Parade - with Wait Chapel in the distance

While most of these Deacons on Parade were auctioned off (with the proceeds benefiting the capital campaign in 2001), there are still a number of these Deacons on campus:

One of the Deacons was named the Signature Deacon, and all students, faculty, or staff at our big event were invited to sign their name on the Deacon. That Deacon now resides in the Porter Byrum Welcome Center (see top left of the second pic below).

There is a Deacon in the library in a corner across from the Circulation Desk. I believe we called it the Mucha Deacon, based on the works of Alphonse Mucha and his beautiful Art Nouveau women.

The Mucha Deacon resides in the lobby of the ZSR Library across from the Circulation desk

The Benson Center atrium hosts the Michelangelo Deacon.

And the Babcock Global Manager of the Future – designed by our business students in what was then called the Babcock Graduate School of Management – is now located at The Pearl in Charlotte.

Wake Forest University Staff and faculty pose with students at The Pearl in Charlotte NC for marketing photos on Thursday, May 21st, 2026.

I’m pretty sure our Doctor Deacon might be at the Med School, and our Athletics Deacon is in Bridger Field House, but I can’t seem to find any pictures of them in their permanent locations.

But here are pictures of the Deacons from our Deacons on Parade 25 years ago. Which one is your favorite?