Events & Outreach
The Z. Smith Reynolds Library features a variety of events, workshops, and more. The library often partners with other units on campus to offer these programs. For more information, contact the library.
Upcoming Events
–ZSR Library, Special Collections & Archives Research Room (Room 625)Tobacco has played a significant role in shaping North Carolina’s cultural, economic, and social identity, even before the state’s official establishment. Early depictions of Native American communities along the coast at the end of the 16th century show cultivation and use of the plant.
During the 19th century, tobacco became a cornerstone of the plantation economy, generating immense wealth for select families. In the 20th century, the rise of mass production and commercialization, along with an expanding labor force dedicated to its cultivation and processing, further embedded tobacco in North Carolina’s way of life. Marketing campaigns and iconic imagery tied to tobacco are deeply woven into the state’s historical narrative.
This exhibit showcases images, artifacts, and records from Special Collections & Archives, spanning from the sixteenth century to the modern era. It also features contributions from North Carolina artists and photographers, including Daisha Bunn and Erin Kye and their families, as well as works by photographer Dan Routh.
–ZSR Library, Faculty Commons Classroom 665Meets six (6) times this semester (9/9, 9/16, 9/30, 10/7, 10/21 & 10/28) on Tuesdays from 12:30-2:00 in ZSR 665 (Faculty Commons Classroom inside the Faculty Commons space in ZSR Wilson Wing). We will provide the book for the first 15 registrants. The focus will be both learning and putting the ideas into practice using the provided workbook, with working time and peer feedback. We encourage you to sign up only if you are able to fully participate throughout the series.
Join us for a discussion of David Yeager’s 10 to 25, an exciting new book that explores how we might interact with young people. This book discusses Yeager’s research on adolescent brain development and his “mentor mindset,” offering practical strategies to foster respectful, empowering relationships with students from age 10 to 25. Discover how understanding their need for status and avoiding common communication pitfalls can lead to more engaged, motivated, and successful young adults, ultimately making your role as a teacher more effective and rewarding.
In this series, we will be both reading and applying the ideas utilizing the book’s Putting It Into Practice section. These sessions will include working and peer feedback time.
Register for the 10 to 25 book discussion here.
(Please note: You must register before the first session to attend).
–ZSR Library, Faculty Commons Classroom 665Meets three times this semester (9/17, 9/24 & 10/1) on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30pm in ZSR 665 (Faculty Commons Classroom inside the Faculty Commons space in ZSR Wilson Wing). We will provide the book for the first 15 registrants. These discussions are very popular so we ask that you register only if you are available to attend all sessions.
Join your colleagues for a timely discussion of Tricia Bertram Gallant and David A. Rettinger’s The Opposite of Cheating, a guide to fostering academic integrity in the era of generative AI. During this discussion, we’ll explore the book’s research-backed strategies for understanding and preventing cheating, not just as a disciplinary measure, but as an opportunity to enhance student learning and personal growth. We’ll talk about practical suggestions for reframing conversations around integrity, redesigning assessments, and ultimately, creating classrooms that prioritize meaningful interaction and support students’ development.
Register for the Opposite of Cheating book discussion here.
(Please note: You must register before the first session to attend).
Schedule.
9/17: Introduction & Chapters 1-39/24: Chapters 4-510/1: Chapters 6-7 & Conclusion.
–ZSR Library, Faculty Commons Classroom 665Friday, September 19, 9:30am-12:00pm, ZSR 665, Facilitator: Karen Spira and a panel of WFU Students.
Throughout 2025, media outlets such as the New York Times and the New Yorker have published tell-all accounts of college students who outsource reading and writing assignments to AI, as well as professors who use AI tools to create course materials and grade student work. These provocative articles, while informative, stoke distrust between students and instructors. It is time to have a different kind of conversation about AI, one that centers our reality at Wake Forest and is driven by curiosity and a desire to understand our students’ experiences as pioneers in an educational landscape being remade by generative AI.
In this workshop, participants will:.
Interact with a panel of students as they reflect on the pressures, dilemmas, temptations, frustrations, and opportunities of being a student in the age of AIEngage in small-group consultations with students, colleagues, and the staff of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, addressing difficulties related to AI that they are navigating in their teachingLeave with a more nuanced understanding of what students need and want from their instructors in order to thrive in this new environment.
–ZSR Library, Room 204Join us to learn the basics of AI and generative AI, and how it may be used here at Wake Forest and beyond. In this workshop, we will explore how generative AI works, its potential applications, what to know before using it, and then we’ll explore a few tools. We hope you’ll join us!
–ZSR Library, Room 204Join us to learn about NotebookLM, which is an AI-powered tool that helps us interact with our documents, notes, slides, websites, videos, and more. This cutting-edge tool offers intelligent summarization, in-depth explanations, and instant answers. Discover how NotebookLM can supercharge your productivity and elevate your understanding of complex topics. Whether you are a seasoned AI practitioner or a curious beginner, this workshop will offer you a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with NotebookLM and unlock the future of interactive AI.
–ZSR Library, CAT Faculty and Staff Lounge, 6th floorJoin us for casual monthly meetups to share and discover artificial intelligence together in a new conversation series, the AI Café! Whether you’re an AI wiz or just curious to learn, join colleagues to share ideas, seek advice, and explore the potential of AI together. AI Café will be held monthly on the fourth Friday, on an alternating schedule of Zoom and in-person. Online: July, September, November, January, March, May. In person, 6th Floor ZSR in the Center for Advancement of Teaching lounge, August, October, December, February, April.
See all AI Café events and add to your calendar.