Good Afternoon -

We hope this message finds you settling into your new home and looking forward to the beginning of your academic career here at Wake Forest. During New Deac Week, we hope you’ve had a chance to connect with your fellow students, with faculty and staff who will support and guide you throughout your Wake Forest journey, and with this place that so many call “Mother, so dear.” 

As you begin your journey, we want to highlight some of the ways Residence Life and Housing, the Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of Academic Advising partner to layer living, advising, and learning in intentional ways. 

New this year, your advising groups have been, to the extent possible, assigned within each residence hall. This added layer of connection and support will give you the opportunity for a closer relationship with your advising group and faculty through proximity and programming.

Other important elements of support include:

FACULTY FELLOWS

Faculty Fellows are a crucial part of the South Forest experience. Each faculty team is affiliated with a first-year residence hall. If your Lower-Division Adviser is also a Faculty Fellow, they will likely be assigned to your hall; that builds in another connection for you as a first-year student. Faculty Fellows are able to answer questions, connect you to campus opportunities and student support services, and help ease your transition to college. Your Faculty Fellow team will organize events–workshops, meals, and casual drop-in opportunities–to help build community.

If you haven’t met your Faculty Fellows yet, visit southforest.wfu.edu to learn more and look out for them soon! 

LOWER DIVISION ADVISING

On Friday, you had the opportunity to meet your Lower-Division Adviser (LDA). This individual plays a vital role in your academic and personal growth. Advisers are careful listeners, caring consultants, impartial coaches, and helpful guides to an exciting, changing array of academic options. They also assist with the often-daunting procedural challenges you might face in a complex university environment. Your LDA can teach and empower you to take personal responsibility for your own education, so you should consider them a first point of contact for academic guidance.

FIRST-YEAR PROGRAMMING

This year, the Division of Campus Life and the Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences will provide support for additional programming by Lower Division Advisers. If your LDA or Student Advisers (SAs) reach out, we encourage you to engage in the opportunities provided. Your LDA and SAs want to get to know you and hear about how your year is going! 

As you begin classes, we want to emphasize there will be both celebratory and challenging moments in your Wake Forest journey. No one expects you to have it all figured out. Lean on the resources available – including your Faculty Fellows, LDA, and advising group – and with time you’ll find your stride. 

Sincerely -

Matt Clifford, EdD

Assistant Vice President, Campus Life

Dean, Residence Life and Housing

Eric Ashley Hairston, J.D., Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Advising,

Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences

Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Humanities

Laura Giovanelli

Associate Dean for Learning Spaces,

Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences

Associate Teaching Professor, The Writing Program, Department of English

Office of Residence Life and Housing | Wake Forest University

336-758-5185 | housing@wfu.edu | rlh.wfu.edu