News > January 24, 2008

By Liza Greenspun | News editor

An event featuring long-time members of the university community who will discuss how the university has changed over the years will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 in Shorty’s. According to senior Whitney Marshall, Student Government president, the program will give a brief history of the university, with a question-and-answer session between facilitator Clay Hipp, senior lecturer at Calloway and panelists Ed Wilson, provost emeritus and Herman Eure, professor of biology.

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Several long-time members of the campus community will discuss the evolution of the university, including that of Shorty’s, Jan. 30. (Sophie Mullinax/Old Gold & Black)

“What’s unique about Ed Wilson,” Marshall said, “is that he’s been at Wake Forest since 1939.”

This is particularly unique because Wilson was at the university to experience the transition between the old campus in Wake Forest, N.C. and the new, current campus, which occurred in the 1950s. Marshall said that Wilson has done pretty much everything at the university, from being a student to a professor to a provost.

Eure, Marshall said, has also been at the university for many years; he graduated in 1969 and became the first black faculty member at the university in 1974.

Eure will also be the speaker at Founder’s Day Convocation at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in Wait Chapel, speaking about the evolutionary history of the university by drawing upon his teachings of evolution.

Similarly, the two panelists will sit on stage in Shorty’s Jan. 30 with Hipp to discuss the evolution of the university, similarities and differences between the two campuses, the role of Shorty’s on the old campus, how the new campus has changed over time and the overall spirit of the university, Marshall said.

“You could consider the spirit of Wake Forest the things that make Wake Forest Wake Forest ­– the traditions and things that did not change when the campus moved in the 1950s,” she said. “We just want students to come to this program so they can get a better understanding of what it is to be a Wake Forest student, to better understand what the spirit of Wake Forest is.”

This opportunity is unique because the speakers have been a part of the university for so many years and have grown along with the campus, even through the move to a new location. “I can only imagine how (the move) impacted campus culture,” Marshall said, adding that she herself has recently learned interesting facts about the university’s history, such as that until the 1970s men and women were separated, with women on South campus and men on North campus. She also learned that the student apartments were formerly provided for married couples at the university.

Interesting facts such as these and many others will be discussed during the event for anyone interested in learning a little more about the university.

“We would love for it to be packed,” Marshall said of her hopes for the program. The idea for such a program came about last semester when Hipp approached Marshall about having such a talk about the history of the university, especially in light of the controversy in the spring of 2007 about the possibility of replacing Shorty’s and the current plans for renovating Benson.

Marshall said that while final preparations have not been completed, they are hoping to provide hot dogs and sodas to those who attend the program.