On July 22, 2025, Wake Forest announced that Nell Jessup Newton, Professor Emerita of Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, will serve as interim provost. This announcement comes after former Provost Michelle Gillespie stepped down from the role on July 1.
A message shared on behalf of President Susan R. Wente stated that, as former interim dean of Wake Forest’s School of Law during the 2022-2023 school year, Newton is well-prepared to handle this transition.
“I am confident Professor Newton is well equipped to sustain our strong momentum across the academic enterprise and support the academic Deans in the Schools and College in their continued efforts to bring the University Strategic Framework further to life,” Wente said.
On Aug. 1, in a letter to the Wake Forest community, Gillespie said that while the reasons behind her decision “are many,” she ultimately wants to resume her role as the Presidential Endowed Professor of Southern History.
“While I have relished my academic administrative work for the last 10 years, serving as Dean of the College and then as Provost, I am eager to return to my academic roots,” Gillespie said. “I first joined Wake Forest as a faculty member in 1999, and while the institution and I have both changed over that time, my passion for our core mission has not.”
Wente said in a “message of gratitude” that since assuming office in 2022, Gillespie contributed to many of the University’s academic developments, including the creation of the academic Strategic Framework, the recruitment of four academic deans and the establishment of the Wake Downtown and Wake Washington programs.
“[Gillespie’s] leadership has helped position Wake Forest for the future while remaining true to our core values,” Wente said. “We are fortunate that she will continue to contribute to our academic life as a scholar, teacher, and mentor.”
Wente said that she will update the community as the “national search for the next permanent provost” continues.
