After-Action Review: Charge and Members
After Action Review Committee (AARC)
Charge to Review the University’s Response to Campus Events
from April 30-May 21, 2024
Overview
The Wake Forest University community experienced a period of intensity from April 30-May 21, 2024, with demonstrations and encampments that began on Hearn Plaza and later relocated. As President Wente shared with faculty and staff, members of the community may have different perspectives regarding these experiences that remain unresolved. However, University leadership is committed to objectively and carefully assessing the University’s actions and response, as part of the University’s common work to heal, and to continue, as President Wente wrote, to “cultivate a learning environment of respect, integrity, and care.” For that purpose, the President charged the administration with conducting an after-action review (AAR).
With input and assistance from the Faculty Senate, the University has appointed six members to the After Action Review Committee (AARC). The members are:
- Arjun (Raja) Chatterjee (Co-Chair), School of Medicine faculty, current Faculty Senate executive committee member, past president, University Faculty Senate
- Corey D. B. Walker, (Co-Chair), Dean of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Program in African American Studies
- Emily Austin, Professor of Philosophy, Member of the Faculty Senate
- Mary Jones, Executive Director of Finance and Administration in Information Services
- Marianne Magjuka, Assistant Vice President of Campus Life
- John Sumanth, Associate Professor of Management, School of Business, Faculty Senate Executive Committee member
The University is grateful to these individuals for their service.
Purpose
The central purpose of the AAR is to assess the University’s actions and response to the demonstrations and encampments that occurred from April 30th through May 3rd. To perform this function, the AARC will gather pertinent and relevant facts and data to develop a textured and multidimensional understanding of community members’ perspectives of what occurred during that period, including perspectives of actions and instances of inaction; of decisions and instances of deferred decision; and of understandings and instances of misunderstanding. From this assessment, the AARC will provide University leadership with specific recommendations for future improvement.
While the AARC will seek to gain a deep and holistic understanding of events that occurred, it is not the purpose or responsibility of the AARC to investigate or adjudicate the conduct of individual faculty, staff, or students. For this reason, the AAR will not be punitive in nature. Rather, the AAR’s purpose is to discover ways to strengthen the University community through reflective assessment of the University’s actions and response.
Actions
To achieve this purpose, the AARC specifically will:
- Lead the University’s review of the University’s actions and decisions related to the demonstrations and encampments that occurred on Reynolda Campus between April 30 and May 3, 2024. The outside date of the review (i.e., the last factual date that the AARC will consider) is May 21st.
- Develop and finalize a proposed process and timeline for the AAR, to enable completion of the full process by August 2, 2024. As part of this process and timeline, the AARC will (a) consider documents and other records that it will request and review and (b) conduct and consider conversations with community members.
- Develop, review, and refine key takeaways and recommendations.
- Author a confidential final report and an executive summary for use in briefing the wider University community on the report’s outcomes and recommendations.
The committee has begun its work, which is expected to conclude in early August. If you have information that you believe would be relevant to the work of the committee and that you would like the committee to review, please email aarc@wfu.edu.