On April 2, Curt Farmer and Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt, co-chairs of the Presidential Search Committee, sent an email broadcast to the Wake Forest community to share an update on the university’s ongoing presidential search. 

The update shared that the committee is now looking at semi-finalists and anticipates the 15th president of Wake Forest will take office on July 1. They also said that they expect to announce the new president shortly following commencement, which will take place on May 18. 

“Throughout the past few months, the search committee has spent significant time with the candidates,” the announcement read. “Our committee understands the weight of the assignment and has brought thoughtful and compelling questions to bear. It has been heartening to see the level of engagement, intentionality and care with which the committee has approached the search. Committee members have been a joy to work with every step of the way.”

After a five-year presidency, Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente will step down from her position on June 30. She announced her impending resignation on Oct. 1, which led the university to create a committee tasked with finding and interviewing prospective presidential candidates. 

“Following a sabbatical, I plan to return to my roots as a faculty member, focused on mentoring and advancing science in service to society,” Wente wrote in her resignation broadcast. 

Farmer and Whitman Bobbitt wrote that they used community nominations to build a pool of candidates. They also said that candidates have all recognized the importance of hearing every voice in the Wake Forest community.

“We have repeatedly emphasized that our top priority is for the candidates to ‘get to know Wake Forest and get to love Wake Forest’ – which you all know is important to leading this community if selected for the role,” they wrote. 

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story.