Peter Brunette studies works of an Oscar-nominated filmmaker.

Professor Peter Brunette will be closely watching the Academy Awards on Sunday; he has a new book out on Austrian director Michael Haneke, whose film “The White Ribbon” has been nominated for best foreign film. Communication Professor Mary Dalton on the Oscars.

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on Feb. 28 was many times more powerful than the one that struck Haiti two months ago, but Professor Peter Siavelis says Chile’s strong government will help the country recover quickly.

For most high school students, learning happens one individual discipline at a time. But in the world outside the classroom, finding solutions to challenges requires looking across disciplines. Wake Forest is starting a summer residential program this year to help high school juniors and seniors learn that the biggest challenges in the world can only be solved by studying a variety of perspectives.

Anne Boyle

The LENS program — for Learn, Experience, Navigate and Solve — will give students a college experience from a liberal arts perspective, says Kline Harrison, associate provost and professor of business. “It’s a holistic experience. It’s about learning what it’s like to be a college student while exploring and helping to solve a contemporary problem. The kind of student we are looking for is interested in taking up challenges.”

Associate Professor of Economics Sylvain Boko, an expert in economic development in Africa, worked with more than 20 other development experts for his newest book, “Back on Track: Sector-Led Growth in Africa and Implications for Development.” The book advocates a new approach to fight poverty in Africa from the inside out, rather than rely on outside financial assistance.

In 2008 and 2009, he led a group of Wake Forest students and faculty to his native Benin to work with small business owners and entrepreneurs. He has assisted with development projects in Benin, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Togo, Senegal and Rwanda, and is currently on leave working in Mali, in western Africa.

Selenium pollution from mountaintop coal mining is causing permanent damage to the environment, Dennis Lemly, a research professor of biology, told U.S. Senators during a visit to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 23.

Michael Hyde, University Distinguished Professor of Communication Ethics, will sign copies of his new book, “Perfection: Coming to Terms with Being Human,” Feb. 25 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Wake Forest Bookstore.

Michael Hyde

In the book, published this month by Baylor University Press, Hyde explores the history of the idea of human perfection throughout Western philosophy, religion, science and art. He draws on figures from St. Augustine to Leonardo DaVinci to Mary Shelley and examines the consequences of the perfection driven impulse of medical science.

Professor Emeritus of Art Robert Knott, who led Wake Forest’s art department through its formative years and was a guiding inspiration for the Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art, died Feb. 18 in Winston-Salem following an illness. He was 68. A gathering of family and friends will be held Sat., Feb. 20, from 2 – 4 p.m. at Salem Funeral and Cremations, 120 S. Main Street in Winston-Salem.

Provost Emeritus Ed Wilson (’43) chats with faculty members following convocation.

Seniors Zahir Rahman, Kate Miners and Monica Giannone delivered their senior orations at Founders’ Day Convocation on Thursday, marking Wake Forest’s 176th anniversary. Several faculty awards were presented. Barbara Babcock Millhouse, founding president of Reynolda House Museum of American Art, received the Medallion of Merit.

It’s time once again to stand up and be counted. Sociologist Ana Wahl explains the importance of the census, why fewer people may complete the survey, and how she uses census data in her research and teaching.

Counseling department chair Sam Gladding has been elected president of the American Association of State Counseling Boards. More faculty appointments, books and awards in this month’s Faculty Focus. Staff news and milestones in Staff News.