OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E
F O R E S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
VOL. 92, NO. 1
T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 0 8
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Losing a Legend
Remembering Thomas K. Hearn, Jr. (1937-2008) “There are few people in my life who have held me spellbound by the degree to which their work has made their dreams reality. Dr. Hearn was one of these men.” - Joshua King
“His vision awoke a sleeping giant at Wake Forest and brought the University to places almost no one believed it could be. - Mark Hall, ‘86
“A mighty oak has fallen and when we look at the hole left in the forest canopy, we can only wonder ‘who can take his place’ and make the canopy whole again.” - Terry Holland By Alex Osteen | Opinion editor On Aug. 18 the university lost one of the most influential leaders of its long history: Thomas K. Hearn Jr., 12th president of the university, died of brain cancer at the age of 71. Although few students on campus today were around when he was still president, all undoubtedly still feel the transformational and vitalizing effects of the legacy that was his 22-year tenure. Hearn changed this university from the small regional Baptist school he found it as in 1983, the year he first took office, to the nationally-recognized academic powerhouse it is considered today. Legacy As the university currently finds itself at something of a crossroads, a time when it must make important decisions about what paths to take into the future, it may be worthwhile to take a look back to when Hearn was the new president here, when the school was on the verge of a similar turning point. The list of major changes to the school and accomplishments during Hearn’s tenure is formidable. University President Nathan O. Hatch said that he has “tremendous respect and admiration for Hearn who made the university what it is today.” “Even though the challenges the university faces are different today, I hope, like he did, to try to make the university better according to its own identity and higher aspirations,” he said. The first big challenge Hearn undertook was the university’s separation from the Southern Baptist Convention. Other colleges at the time were also splitting from their founding churches, like Duke University, but Hearn wanted to make sure that Wake Forest still maintained the positive spirit of religion on campus. Only three years after Hearn took office, in 1986, the university
became independent. The university also grew vastly in size in many regards because of Hearn. First of all, and perhaps most notably, the endowment’s market value in 1983 was $124.8 million. In 2005, the year Hearn retired, it had grown more than seven fold to $906.8 million. He was also instrumental in securing more research grants. While Hearn was president, hundreds of new professors signed on to the university and the number of student applicants more than doubled. With any change of such magnitude in the scale of operations comes the need to grow physically, and Hearn was in tune to that. Many large new construction projects, now such an integral part of campus life for students and faculty, were completed over his 22 years here. They include Polo Residence Hall, Collins Residence Hall, Benson University Center, Olin Physics Lab, Worrell Professional Center, Miller Center, Information Systems, Martin House, Green Hall, Kentner Stadium, Spry Field, other athletic buildings and the Environmental Health and Safety building. Also, several major additions to preexisting buildings were finished during his term, including the atrium and Wilson Wing of the library, Kirby Hall and Wingate Hall. The university‘s divinity school was also founded. Hearn ensured that the university found a solid grounding in WinstonSalem, joining several important community groups such as Leadership Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem Business, Inc. Finally, he was able to bring the university to the attention of the nation on multiple occasions. The university was the host to two national presidential debates in 1988 and in 2000. With his “Plan for the
Class of 2000,” the university was one of the first in the country to provide laptops to all its students and became one of the most wired campuses. And, as an ultimate tribute to his transformational success, since the year 1997, the school has been ranked in the top 30 national universities by US News & World Report magazine. Former chaplain Ed Christman who knew Hearn well, summarized his ability to get things done. “He was a very fine president because among other things he raised a great deal of money,” he said. “But he also had confidence in and vision of where the school was going and its needs. Hearn did a superb job of making new friends and of gaining support for his vision, convincing others of its importance.” Through all of his administrative ambitions and master plans of change for the university, it is apparent that Hearn always kept in mind the real reason for what he was doing: the students. “He had high regard for faculty and students,” Christman said. “On one hand, he maintained the school’s strong connection with students from North Carolina but also understood that the university had to expand and saw outsiders as allies and friends. He was effective in seeing people personally.” To further prove the point, Hearn made it a tradition to, at every convocation for entering students, recite the poem, “Magic Carpet” by Shel Silverstein of which the moral is to “seize the day.” In 2002, Hearn reflected upon this and the role of places of higher learning, in which he played such an important role. “We must see that the joy and discovery of some domain yet to be explored continues to surprise and delight young minds, for upon such uncharted explorations our future, their future – indeed the future of the world – depends.”
Tom Hearn, The Man Hearn grew up in the state of Alabama. It would be fair to say that a love for education and learning played a big role in his life there and in the places that he’d travel over the course of his lifetime. He graduated summa cum laude from Birmingham-Southern College and then earned a divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He later went on to achieve a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. Hearn was drawn back to the classroom after his graduation, this time as a professor, teaching philosophy for 10 years at the College of William and Mary. The next year he went back to his home state to help start the philosophy department at the University of Alabama. Later he was promoted to dean of the School of Humanities, then vice president, then senior vice president. At the age of 45 he took over the presidency at Wake Forest in 1983. Provost Emeritus Ed Wilson, a university legend in his own right who served as provost alongside Hearn for many years, spoke about the man Hearn was, the man behind his presidency. Wilson explained how being president is a full time job and requires formality and being an “official” public figure. He said that Hearn was “great at reflecting, listening to what others had to say, then coming to the best conclusion that would benefit the most people.” However, beyond the necessary formality of his office, Hearn had a more emotional, philosophical side, according to Wilson. Whenever Hearn gave the commencement address to graduating seniors and their families, he recognized the need for “something more … something idealistic, something that transcended the occasion, something that came from the heart,” Wilson said. Wilson later explained how he got to know Hearn on this more personal level during the few times they could
unwind together with occasional discussions about poetry. “Poetry has literary content and emotional content and discussing it brings out emotions; You see the inner person,” Wilson said. “Day of Beginnings and Endings” “On This Day of Beginnings and Endings” is the title of a recently published collection of Hearn’s commencement speeches, but it also stands to symbolize the times of his passing. “Hearn told me that you should relate to people as yourself and be who you are, be forthright and say what you believe as much as possible on and off campus. That was his advice,” Hatch said about one of the last times the two presidents talked about the office. Hearn was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2003 and subsequently underwent treatment and surgery, taking some needed time away from the university. He officially retired from his presidency in June of 2005. The following year he received the Medallion of Merit, the university’s most prestigious award that honors the legendary and distinguished leaders of the university. As a final token of gratitude for his service, the main quad on the Reynolda campus was renamed “Thomas K. Hearn, Jr. Plaza” in 2006. His 22 years in office at the university made him the second-longest serving president in the school’s history, just behind seventh president William Poteat. He was married to the former Laura Walter and is survived by three children, three stepchildren and nine grandchildren. In the speech he gave at his last Founder’s Day ceremony as president on February 3, 2005, Hearn bade farewell to his school. “I am conscious of how blessed I am to have served the university for so long.”
University makes controversial admissions decision By Elliot Engstrom | Senior writer
The class of 2009 will be a first in university history, as they will be the first incoming class not required to submit SAT or ACT scores as a part of their applications. By making this move, the university becomes the only top 30 national university with a testoptional admission policy. “By making the SAT and ACT optional, we hope to broaden the applicant pool and increase access at Wake Forest for groups of students who are currently underrepresented at selective universities,”
said Martha Allman, director of admissions at Wake Forest, in a university press release. The decision is anything but a random one. University officials have cited evidence that standardized test scores often do not accurately reflect a student’s academic abilities. They see the requirement of the SAT as a part of the application a barrier that keeps highly-qualified students with low standardized test scores from applying to the university. “What we have discovered is that there are many talented students – students with fantastic
high school credentials, but who may not be strong standardized test takers – who won’t even apply to Wake Forest because they feel their SAT score will automatically rule them out,” said a statement on the university’s Web site. Another major change in the admission policy is that personal interviews will be conducted with every applicant. And, if an applicant absolutely cannot interview in person, an interview will be conducted by phone. “Because of the nature of our intimate environment and our focus on person-to-person rela-
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tionships, we feel that the interview will help us see a part of a student that an SAT score, a high school transcript or other elements of the admissions application might not,” the university’s Web site said. There has been some concern that the policy is an attempt to justify admitting students from underrepresented groups who are not academically qualified to be at the university. However, the statement on the university’s Web site denounces this claim. “This policy will not favor students from underrepresented
groups who are not academically competitive, just as it will not favor students from families of significant wealth who are not academically competitive. We will only admit and enroll students who meet our requirements and who can succeed here,” the statement said. Associate Professor of Sociology Joseph Soares has been highly involved in the decision. He is also the author of The Power of Privilege: Yale and America’s Elite Colleges. “Dr. Soares presents a compelling argument that reliance on the SAT and other standardized
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tests for admission is a major barrier to access for many worthy students,” Provost Jill Tiefenthaler said in a university press release. “By taking this step at Wake Forest, we want to remove that barrier.” Students are still encouraged to submit standardized test scores if they wish. Also, as the university is asked to provide standardized test data to outside agencies, students who choose not to submit standardized test scores will be asked to submit these scores following acceptance to the university.
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