Organizational Structure

Strategic Framework Process Organizational graphic
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Core Planning Team:

Provost Michele Gillespie will chair, along with three faculty vice-chairs. They will lead a representative faculty and staff group in the significant endeavor of translating the collective input on our distinctions into a focused set of themes, with our future vision at the center.

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    Chair

    Provost Michele Gillespie

    Vice Chairs

    • Amanda Griffith, Associate Professor and Chair of economics
    • John Knox, Henry C. Lauerman Professor of International law
    • Corey Walker, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities and Director of African American studies. 

    Members

    (in alphabetical order)

    • Phil Anderson, Associate Teaching Professor of Strategy
    • Grey Ballard, Dunn-Riley Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Computer Science
    • Shea Kidd Brown, Vice President for Campus Life
    • Regina Cordy, Assistant Professor of Biology
    • Mary Foskett, Wake Forest Kahle Professor, John Thomas Albritton Fellow, and Chair of the Department for the Study of Religions
    • Michael Gross, Professor of Engineering and David and Lelia Farr Faculty Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship
    • Philip Howard, the Joseph M. Bryan fellow in Banking and Finance and Assistant Professor
    • Ana Iltis, Carlton Professor of University Studies, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Center for Bioethics, Health, and Society
    • Nina Lucas, Professor and Chair of Dance and Theatre
    • Gregory Parks, Professor of Law
    • John Sumanth, James Farr Fellow and Associate Professor of Management
    • José Villalba, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer
    • Jonathan Walton (Fall 2022), Presidential Chair of Religion and Society, Dean of the School of Divinity and Dean of Wait Chapel 

Thematic Working Groups

By taking deep dives into each respective theme, they will bring back to the Core Planning Team an analysis of where we are currently and where we should focus forward in terms of our current, emerging and aspirational distinctions.

  • Student Experience Group

    Chairs

    • Steve Giles, Associate Professor of Communications
    • Shea Kidd Brown, CPT Member, Vice President of Campus Life

    Med School Liaison

    • Marcia Wofford, Professor, School of Medicine

    Members

    • Denisha Champion, Director, University Counseling Center
    • Matt Clifford, Assistant VP for Campus Life and Dean of Residence Life and Housing
    • Courtney Di Vittorio, Assistant Professor of Engineering
    • Nate French, Director, Magnolia Scholars Program
    • Matt Imboden, Chief Student Services Officer, Business
    • Nate Ivers, Department Chair, Department of Counseling
    • Christian Miller, A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy
    • Ann Phelps, Director of Programming, Leadership and Character
    • Heidi Robinson, Associate VP for Career Education & Coaching, Education & Office of Personal & Career Development
    • Katherine Shaner, Associate Professor of Divinity
    • Maggie Sheridan, Senior Academic Counselor, Office of Academic Advising
    • Ryan Shirey, Associate Teaching Professor of English (Faculty Senator)
    • Micheal Sloan, Associate Professor of Classics
    • Tim Wilkinson, Senior Associate Dean of Students, Student Engagement
    • Hu Womack, Instruction and Outreach Librarian, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
    • Tina Yarbrough-Liggons, Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance
  • Frontiers of Teaching and Learning Group

    Chairs

    • Julie Wayne, Area Chair of Management, Professor, & David C. Darnell Presidential Chair in Principled Leadership
    • Michael Gross, CPT Member, Professor and Interim Chair of Engineering

    Med School Liaison

    • Dupe Akinola, Associate Professor, School of Medicine

    Members

    • Rebecca Alexander, Associate Dean for Research and Community Engagement, Department of Chemistry
    • Betsy Barre, Executive Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching
    • Lori Bequette, Assistant Dean, Faculty and Accreditation, School of Professional Studies
    • Nelson Brunsting, Executive Director, RAISE Center, Center for Global Programs & Studies
    • Jeff Camm, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Professor, Inmar Presidential Chair in Analytics, & Academic Director of the Center for Analytics Impact
    • Chris Coughlln, Professor of Law
    • Adam Friedman, Director of the Instructional Technology Group, Education
    • Andrius Galisanka, Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs
    • Brenda Gibson, Associate Professor of Legal Writing, Law
    • Stephanie Koscak, Associate Professor of History
    • Lauren Reid, Associate Professor of Accounting & Lambert Family Accounting Fellow
    • Jackie Sheridan, Director of the Wake Forest Scholars Program, Scholar’s Office
    • Guillaume Coly, Assistant Professor of French
    • William Turkett, Associate Professor of Computer Science
    • Lynne Yengulalp, Assistant Teaching Professor of Math
    • Qiaona Yu, Associate Professor of Chinese, East Asian Languages & Cultures
  • Research, Scholarship, Areas of Excellence Group

    Chairs

    • Oana Jurchescu, Professor of Physics, Baker Chair
    • Ana Iltis, CPT Member, Professor & Director for Bioethics, Health, and Society, Department of Philosophy

    Med School Liaison

    • Carol Milligan, Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy

    Members

    • Margaret Bender, Associate Professor of Anthropology (Faculty Senator)
    • Mark Curtis, Associate Professor of Economics
    • Christina Dalton, Associate Professor of Economics
    • Rob Erhardt, Chair and Associate Professor of Statistics
    • Shanna Green Benjamin, Professor of African American Studies
    • Julia Jordan Zachary, Professor & Chair of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
    • Kevin Jung, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Divinity
    • Abdou Lachgar, Professor of Chemistry
    • Shannon Milhalko, Professor of Health and Exercise Science
    • Stacie Petter, Professor of Management Information Systems
    • Keith Robinson, Professor of Law
    • Miles Silman, Director, Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, Biology
    • Kenneth Townsend, Director of Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools, Leadership and Character
    • Christian Waugh, Associate Professor of Psychology
    • Ron Wright, Associate Dean for Research and Academic Programs, Law
  • Community Well-Being Group

    Chairs

    • Julie Velasquez Runk, Program Director and Professor of Environmental Studies
    • Nina Lucas, CPT Member, Professor of Theater/Dance

    Med School Liaison

    • Suzanne Danhauer, Director, Faculty Well-Being & Resilience; Director, Center for Integrative Medicine

    Members

    • Alyse Bertenthal, Assistant Professor of Law
    • Saylor Breckinridge, Associate Professor of Sociology (Faculty Senator)
    • Alan Brown, Chair and Associate Professor of Education
    • Mollie Canzona, Associate Professor of Communications
    • Jacqui Carrasco, Professor and Associate Chair of Music
    • Andrew Gurstelle, Academic Director, LAM Museum
    • Staci Helper, Associate Professor of Statistics
    • Julia Jackson-Newsom, Senior Advisor for Planning and Partnerships, President’s Office
    • Alana James, Associate Director of Community Engagement, Wake Downtown
    • Melissa Kenney, Assistant Teaching Professor of Engineering
    • Sherri Lawson-Clarke, Associate Professor of Anthropology
    • Marianne Magjuka, Executive Director and Assistant Dean of Students, Office of Civic and Community Engagement
    • Lauren Miller, Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish
    • Scott Schang, Director of Enviromental and Law Policy Clinic, Law
  • Strategic, Sustainable Partnerships Group

    Chairs

    • Mark Vail, Worrell Chair, Politics and International Affairs
    • Phil Anderson, Associate Teaching Professor of Strategy

    Med School Liaison

    • Jen McCraw, Director of Strategy and Operation, Center for Healthcare Innovation

    Members

    • Simone Caron, Professor of History (Faculty Senator)
    • Rodrigo Castro, Director of Public Services, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
    • Dan Cohen, John C. Whitaker, Jr. Executive Director of Entrepreneurship
    • Cindy Gendrich, Professor of Theater/Dance
    • Katy Harriger, Professor of Politics and International Affairs (Faculty Senator)
    • Kline Harrison, Vice Provost for Global Affairs & Kemper Professor in Business
    • Derek Hicks, Associate Professor of Divinity
    • Julia Jackson-Newsom, Senior Advisor for Planning and Partnerships, President’s Office
    • Amol Joshi, Associate Professor of Strategy & Bern Beatty Fellow
    • Ajay Patel, Area Chair, Professor of Finance, & Thomas S. Goho Chair in Finance
    • Abby Purdue, Professor of Law
    • Jennifer Richwine, Executive Director, Wake Washington
    • Nelly Van Doorn-Harder, Professor of Islamic Studies, Religion
  • Inclusive Excellence Practice Advisory Group

    Embedded in this work, President Susan R. Wente has charged Vice President José Villalba to regularly convene with the Core Planning Team and with representatives from each of the Thematic Working Groups to ensure that best practices in promoting inclusive excellence are woven throughout the resulting cohesive, actionable framework. All group members sit on a Working Group and are charged to 1) raise both “positive” and “constructive” feedback from a diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective within their respective working groups, and 2) bring a R.I.D.E. framework lens to the group’s work.

    Enrich the Student Experience

    • Matt Clifford (Campus Life – AVP, Residence Life and Housing)
    • Matt Imboden (School of Business – Chief Student Services Office)

    Frame the Future of Excellence in Teaching and Academic Engagement

    • Betsy Barre (Office of the Provost – Executive Director, Center for Teaching & Learning)
    • Adam Friendman (Office of the Dean of the College – Director, Instruction Tech. Group)

    Enhance Impact Through Distinction in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work

    • Margaret Bender (Department of Anthropology – Associate Professor)
    • Shanna Benjamin  (African American Studies – Professor)

    Build on Wake Forest’s Unique Role in Supporting the Well-Being of the Communities We Call Home

    • Alana James (Wake Downtown and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center – Assoc. Director, Community Engagement)
    • Marianne Magjuka (Office of the Provost – Executive Director, OCCE)

    Define Principles and Pathways for Engaging in Sustainable Partnerships Locally and Globally

    • Rodrigo Castro (ZSR Library – Director of Public Services)
    • Cindy Gendrich (Department of Theater and Dance – Professor)

    Ex-Officio Members

    • Monique Gore (Intercultural Center – Director)
    • Kayla Lisenby-Denson (LGBTQ+ Center – Director)
    • Malika Roman Isler (ODI – Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence)
    • Shelley Sizemore (Women’s Center – Director)
    • José Villalba (ODI – Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion)

University Resource Group (URG)

Led by Senior Advisor Julia Jackson-Newsom and comprised of senior administrative and staff leaders, this group will define our current and future capabilities and capacities in the domains of space, people and financial resources such that our Strategic Framework is actionable.

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    Abigail Brumfield​, ​Director of Strategic Initiatives, Campus Life

    Stephanie Carter, President, Staff Advisory Council; Director, Residence Life & Housing

    Brett Eaton​, ​Senior Associate Vice President, Communications & External Relations

    Phil Handwerk​, ​Assistant Provost, Office of Institutional Research

    Beth Hoagland, Senior Assistant Provost for Budget and Administration

    Malika Roman Isler​, ​Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Office of Diversity and Inclusion

    Dedee Delongpré Johnston​, ​Vice President for Human Resources and Sustainability

    Eric Maguire, Vice President, Enrollment

    Hof Milam​, ​Executive Vice President

    Mur Muchane, Vice President for Information Technology & CIO

    Emily Neese​, ​Vice President, Finance, Strategy and Planning

    Tim Pyat​t, ​Dean, Z. Smith Reynolds Library

    John Shenette​, ​VP for Facilities and Campus Services

Advisory Network:

Vice President Mark Petersen will lead this network, which will enable the input of our alumni and key supporters. This will also provide a mechanism for capturing the expertise in strategic thinking that rests within our Board of Trustees, and our Boards and Councils across the University.

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    Don Flow, Trustee

    Curt Farmer, Trustee

    Marybeth Hays, Trustee

    Gary Pinkus, Trustee

    Serena Dugan, Trustee

    Jermyn Davis, Trustee

    Mit Shah, Trustee

    Jim O’Connell, Trustee

    Hannah VanderWiede Shue, Trustee