Funding Priorities

Student Support

Wake Forest students thrive when there are powerful connections across their academic disciplines. The Arts are the connective tissue that define the engaged liberal arts model we honor at Wake Forest. Our Presidential Scholarship program strives to attract and award scholarship support for talented students who will enliven and enrich our community. In an increasingly competitive landscape, funding support is needed to supplement Presidential Scholarships to secure top talent.

 

CREATIVE EXEMPLAR SCHOLARSHIPS

SEEKING FOUR AT $350,000

• Department can be designated
• Supplemental to Presidential Scholarships, to attract and retain top talent

Departmental Support

Our faculty and staff at Wake Forest are here not only because they have shown expert proficiency within their respective fields, but also because of their status as visionary change leaders through cross-curricular innovation throughout their academic experiences.

When our departmental leaders enjoy the freedom to craft new developmental experiences for our students in real-time, our entire community reaps the benefits. These funds allow faculty to attract industry-leading voices to campus in the form of speakers or artists-in-residence, to lead educational travel, purchase equipment, perform research, attend conferences and bring their curriculum to life through perspective and engagement. When we empower the vision of our faculty, we make it possible for our students to imagine and realize a broader application of their talents to the world in unique ways.

 

ENDOWED OR CURRENT-USE DEPARTMENT FUNDS

• Endowments start at $50,000
• Gifts of $100,000 or greater can be specified to support an area of the donor’s choice

Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in medicine, business, law, and they all report back that their arts training proved crucial. Perseverance, discipline, creativity, sensitivity, attention to detail, a sense of ‘play’ — all skills developed through the engaged liberal arts.

Peter Kairoff, Department of Music

Visionary Projects

Projects that can dramatically enhance the impact of our student experience are the hallmark of a highly talented faculty and staff. A critical goal of Wake the Arts initiative is to secure funding for these visionary projects to come to fruition. Together, with the inclusion and collaboration of our most loyal supporters and the students themselves, we can create a powerful interdisciplinary environment where curiosity and creativity thrive.

 

CURATOR OF EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

$250,000 for current use or $1.5M for endowment

• Serves as academic liaison within the University Art Collections staff to WF faculty, staff and students
• Partners with faculty to integrate the WF art collection and exhibitions at Hanes Gallery into curriculum across disciplines 
• Develops and maintains collaborations with WFU faculty, local universities, and other local arts organizations 
• Oversees academic and public engagement programs, working closely with faculty from across the university to provide academic and public audiences with opportunities to explore the collections.

 

FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS IN THE ARTS: Theatre/Dance, Music and Art

$100,000 to $1M

• Allow the Dean of the College to reward faculty dedicated to extraordinary research, teaching and mentoring

• Provide recognition for facult who are nationally and internationally known at their area of expertise.

• Retain faculty committed to strong undergraduate teaching in the Arts.

 

DIGITAL VISUAL RESOURCE CENTER

$250,000

• Dynamic teaching and cross-disciplinary production resource space based within the art department
• 3D printing capabilities as well as exploratory space for new applications and technology
• Designed to bridge the strengths of analog and digital operation for creative innovation
• House an abundance of technology, including scanners, tablets, cameras and CNC machines

 

HISTORICAL COSTUME STUDY COLLECTION

$250,000

• Create a temperature- and humidity-controlled space to preserve and maintain Wake Forest’s extensive and rare collection of costumes
• Establish an efficient system for cataloging the collection to facilitate continued use of the costumes by multiple departments, including art history, anthropology, and sociology
• Named space will steward gifts in Scales Fine Arts Center 

 

ENDOWED FUND FOR MUSIC EXCELLENCE

$250,000

• Replace, refurbish and store orchestral, percussion and keyboard instruments, which are vital for performance and instruction
• Conserve and store the University’s rare gamelan
• Named space will steward gift in Scales Fine Arts Center 

 

CONSERVATION FUNDS FOR UNIVERSITY COLLECTIONS

Named funds $50,000 AND ABOVE

• Conserve University collections of more than 2,000 works (housed in 35 on- and off-campus locations) to protect their integrity and value
• Ensure regular maintenance by accredited conservators and specialists

 

CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS

Named funds $50,000 AND ABOVE

• The Center’s decade-long innovative educational approach infuses the performing arts with other academic offerings at Wake Forest
• The Center benefits from endowed and current use funds, allowing it to seize interdisciplinary opportunities as they arise
• Programming includes guest speakers, panel discussions, commissioned works, research and special classroom projects

The arts invite us to look at a problem and see a solution that might not be obvious. Nothing in any curriculum requires activity of mind and body more than the arts.

Nathan O. Hatch, President 2005-2021