Stories this week at WFU

By Jacob McConnico
336-758-5237
October 27, 2004

ELECTION ISSUES FOCUS OF STUDENT-ORGANIZED DEBATE AT WFU — Wake Forest students have planned a public debate of the issues surrounding this year's presidential election for 7 p.m. Oct. 27 in the university's Wait Chapel. The free, public event is hosted by Wake Forest's College Democrats and College Republicans. During the debate, student members of the College Democrats and College Republicans will be on stage presenting different sides of a particular election issue. While the students will be the primary speakers, they will not be the only speakers. Two segments are reserved for audience participation and comment. David Cratis Williams, a former Wake Forest faculty member and debate coach, will be the moderator. He is an associate professor of communication at Florida Atlantic University.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

MEDIA INVITED TO FALL CONVOCATION FEATURING VICE CHAIR OF 9/11 COMMISSION — Lee Hamilton, vice chair of the Sept. 11 commission, will deliver Wake Forest University's Fall Convocation address at 11 a.m. Oct. 28 in the university's Wait Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. The title of Hamilton's address is "Foreign Policy and the 2004 Presidential Campaign." Immediately following convocation, Hamilton will be available to take questions from the media during a brief press conference in Room 407 of Benson University Center. Media seating for convocation is reserved in the first and second rows on the far right side of Wait Chapel. Cameras may set up along the right stairway and balcony. Media needing audio of the event should arrive at the chapel no later than 10:45 a.m.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WFU STUDENTS TREAT LOCAL CHILDREN TO 'MONSTER MASH' THIS HALLOWEEN — From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 28, between 1,500 and 2,500 children from various community agencies will attend Wake Forest's 16th annual Project Pumpkin. This year's theme is "The Monster Mash Sweet Sixteen Dance Party" and the event features carnival games, face painting and entertainment on University Plaza (main Quad) between Wait Chapel and Reynolda Hall. Through music, a comedy troupe of "monsters," haunted houses, a "mad scientist," and even a tour of a fire truck, Wake Forest's Volunteer Service Corps will provide safe Halloween fun and trick-or-treating through residence halls for children from invited agencies. This is a community service event that is not open to the general public. Organizers begin decorating the Quad at 5 a.m. Oct. 28. Morning show segments and interviews can be arranged. During the event, media representatives must check in at the media table in front of Wait Chapel to receive a press kit and find out which children cannot be photographed.

Contact: Pam Barrett at barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

N.C. STATE TREASURER TO DISCUSS SHAREHOLDER RESPONSIBILITY — Richard Moore, North Carolina State Treasurer and a graduate of Wake Forest and the Wake Forest School of Law, will discuss "Shareholder Responsibility in a Post-Enron World" at Wake Forest at 3 p.m. Oct. 29 in Kirby Hall, Room 1. The free, public event is offered as part of the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy's annual Joseph A. Jones Finance Lecture Series.

Contact: Pam Barrett at barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

BABCOCK DEMON INCUBATOR — The Babcock School's incubator is looking for a few good entrepreneurs. With the graduation of several companies that are now thriving businesses in the community, the BDI has openings for new tenants. The BDI operates under the Babcock School's Angell Center for Entrepreneurship. The BDI's mission is to foster entrepreneurial education at Wake Forest and an entrepreneurial spirit in the Triad by providing personalized services and relationships to growth-oriented, early stage ventures. The BDI offers office space, Internet access and business resources for growing companies. It houses five start-up businesses, with tenants admitted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Each business that enters the incubator has approximately 12 months to grow and find a permanent location. The BDI seeks to launch companies that have the potential to create significant economic impact in the Triad through jobs and business investment.

Contact: Dusty Donaldson, dusty.donaldson@mba.wfu.edu or 336-758-4454.

WFU EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT ON UPCOMING ELECTIONS — The Wake Forest News Service has prepared a list of experts who can comment on a variety of issues surrounding the Nov. 2 local, state and national elections. The list is provided below. All of the experts, with the exception of Allan Louden and Melissa Rogers, are available for television interviews. Louden and Rogers can be reached for telephone interviews. To contact any of the experts listed, please call the News Service at 336-758-5237. Wake Forest elections experts include:

— David Coates, Worrell Professor of Anglo-American Studies
Coates, a prolific author and a faculty member in the political science department, can discuss the link between President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is British and an expert on the British Labour Party and Anglo-American politics. He has lived in the United States for several years. He co-authored the recently released book "Blair's War," one of the first books to critically examine the arguments that were given by leaders in the U.S. and Great Britain for going to war with Iraq.

— John Dinan, Zachary T. Smith Associate Professor of Political Science
An expert on voter behavior and turnout, Dinan teaches several popular courses at Wake Forest and is leading a senior seminar this semester focused on the ongoing presidential race. Dinan has provided expert commentary for local, state and national media on topics such as the importance of political polls, the relation of patriotism to voting after Sept. 11, the push for a state lottery in North Carolina, and the benefits of same-day voter registration. He has also led the course "Presidential Selection in the Post-Florida Era."

— James Dunn, adjunct professor of Christianity and Public Policy
Dunn, a faculty member in the Wake Forest Divinity School and a former executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., is available to comment on religious liberty and separation of church and state as they relate to the 2004 presidential election. He has appeared on news programs of all the major television networks and has been a frequent guest on television documentaries. He testified in 2001 before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

— Jack Fleer, professor emeritus of political science
Fleer, author of the book "North Carolina Politics," has studied politics in North Carolina and the South for more than 30 years. He has been a keen observer of John Edwards' political career since 1998 when Edwards defeated a powerful incumbent to win an N.C. U.S. Senate seat during his first run for public office. Fleer can provide commentary on the Southern strategies of both campaigns. He is also available for expert commentary on the N.C. gubernatorial and Senate races.

— Katy Harriger, professor of political science
Harriger, a Supreme Court expert, can comment on the presidential race and the history of national elections. She can also discuss the importance of the court appointments that are likely to be made during the tenure of the next president. Harriger has spent the past three years working with a professor in the Wake Forest communication department on Democracy Fellows, a research project that looks at the effects of public deliberation on college students. She can provide expert comment on college-aged students and politics.

— Jac Heckelman, assistant professor of economics
Heckelman can comment on the connections between elections and the economy and has published papers concerning voter turnout and political business cycles. He can also provide historical election analysis.

— Allan Louden, associate professor of communication and director of the debate team
Louden, an expert on campaign rhetoric and political communication, was Elizabeth Dole's debate coach during the 2002 North Carolina Senate race. He is working this year with Bob Brown, a candidate for governor in Montana. Louden is also teaching the course "Political Communication" at Wake Forest and via live uplink at Carroll College in Helena, Mont. He is available to provide expert comment on presidential and vice-presidential debates, candidates' communication strategies and political advertising. Contact Louden directly at louden@wfu.edu or 406-431-2461.

— Melissa Rogers, visiting professor of religion and public policy
Rogers, a faculty member in the Wake Forest Divinity School, can comment on the role of religion in the presidential race and its likely impact on the outcome of the election. She is also an attorney who can comment on the legal restrictions on churches' partisan political activity and the way in which a pending Congressional bill, the "Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act," would change those restrictions. Rogers previously served as the founding executive director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in Washington, D.C., and she is co-authoring a book on religion and law for Baylor University Press.

— Sarah Watts, professor of history
Watts, author of the 2003 book "Rough Rider in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of Desire," can comment about manhood in American politics. She has done extensive research on Roosevelt (George W. Bush's favorite president). Watts is teaching the freshman seminar "Manhood in American Politics" and a graduate course, "The Political Culture of the American Presidency," this fall.

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