Wake Forest University has lost its favorite son. Dr. Wilson, also known as “Mr. Wake Forest” embodied so much about Wake Forest that is good and true and we will miss him terribly. The University has provided a memorial page so everyone can learn more about Dr. Wilson’s amazing life. We were fortunate to be able to host Dr. Wilson’s 100th birthday in 2023—the opportunity to visit with his many supporters and friends gave him great pleasure. We also have a link, for those who wish to record their thoughts and memories in audio or in writing for the University Archives.
The mission of SCA is to connect Wake Foresters, past, present, and future and preserving memories of Dr. Wilson’s impact will be a component of that work. Just as a reminder, some of the Dr. Wilson-related projects we are still working on:
His World War II letters will be available to researchers visiting Special Collections & Archives (Room 625, ZSR Library) later this spring. Permission will need to be granted by Emily Wilson for any citations/publications, but anyone will be welcome to come and read. We are also working on describing a series of course recordings of Dr. Wilson teaching to be made available online. There will be an announcement when these materials are ready for researchers.
Two other Wilson projects in progress include the creation of a specific timeline of his career, which will become part of the History of Wake Forest Timeline, and a new digital collection dedicated to Dr. Wilson. And please do not forget our resource page and finding aids to his collections as Dean of the College and as Provost.
I would like to again list our past donors, as without them, we would not have been able to complete the processing of his papers. To donate to the Edwin G. Wilson Fund, please make a gift here.
- Paul (John) and Betsy Bullock (Sigma Chi)
- Barry and Margaret Clendenin
- Jim and Judith Bunn (Sigma Chi)
- Scott and Jenny Bunn
- Stephen and Catherine Creech (Sigma Chi)
- Jane and James Crosthwaite
- Laura Elliott
- Martin and Jane Erwin (Sigma Chi)
- Major and Jane Harding (Sigma Chi)
- Ashley and Wanny Hogewood (Sigma Chi)
- Paul and Barbara Matthews (Sigma Chi)
- Hayes and Gail McNeill
- Craig and Karen Metz
- Tommy and Ruby Morris (Sigma Chi)
- Dickie and Jerome Newsome (Sigma Chi)
- Fred and Jan Riley (Sigma Chi)
- John and Marylynn Roberts (Sigma Chi)
- Charles and Judith Rooks (Sigma Chi)
- John and Lynda Wagster (Sigma Chi)
- Curtis (Jocie) and Cathy Williams (Sigma Chi)
- Larry and Zelma Williams (Sigma Chi)
- George and Carol Williamson (Sigma Chi)
- Ed and Emily Wilson
- Frederick Wolf (Sigma Chi)
2 Comments on ‘In Honor and Memory of Dr. Edwin G. Wilson (Mr. Wake Forest)’
What a perfect tribute to Dr. Wilson! Thank you for this post and these wonderful links!
Among the many lessons we learned from Edwin Wilson of Wake Forest is that the soul of an institution is not linked to a specific place so much as it is to the institution’s character. Edwin Wilson learned this as student at the old campus near Raleigh and exemplified it in his extraordinary service on the current real estate, including WF’s outposts abroad. He kept faith with the old and cultivated the new. It is impossible to count the lives he enriched as a teacher/administrator, nor to compass the application of his character to benefit the institution he had so loved and so cherished for so long.