What Does a Target Reveal About a Terrorist?: In an interview with Emily Sohn for Discovery News, communications professor Randy Rogan answers questions about how the bombing site itself offers clues about a terrorist attack — and whether the target is a hard target (highly patrolled and often symbolic) or a soft target (unprotected and easier to access). “”When you attack a soft target, you’re saying, ‘You as civilians are not safe anywhere,’” Rogan said. “You are vulnerable at any given point in time.”

How ‘High-Performance Clothing’ Will Power Your Phone and Monitor Your Health: Robert Ferris with Business Insider interviewed Wake Forest nanotechnologist David Carroll about Power Felt, an inexpensive fabric that collects power from body heat. “We have some really interesting applications for high-performance clothing,” said Carroll. “And that high-performance clothing will not only be useful for collecting power…the bigger story is that we are also going to be using it for health monitoring.”

>> Read more about Power Felt on the Wake Forest News Center.

Taking the sting out of tuition: “The suspense is over for many college-bound kids, as nearly all the acceptance letters have gone out. Now it’s decision time — not only which school to attend in the fall, but how to pay for it,” writes Marketplace reporter Gigi Douban. Wake Forest University economist Amanda Griffith commented on how colleges want to attract a variety of students, including those whose parents earn too much to be eligible for financial aid. “Offering a merit-based scholarship where maybe that student is not eligible for need-based financial aid could entice them to come to your school  instead of a different institution where they’d have to pay the full sticker price,” she said.

$6.5 million gift to Wake Forest will boost Magnolia Scholars: Dr. Steven and Becky Scott have committed $6.5 million to further the education of first-generation college students through Wake Forest’s Magnolia Scholars program. The majority of the gift will fund scholarships for students who are the first in their families to attend college. It is the second largest commitment to scholarships by individuals in Wake Forest’s history. Steven Scott said Wake Forest “has long been a place of opportunity” for students, many of whom have been the first in their families to go to college. “Today, Becky and I are proud to honor that tradition and continue our support of first-generation college students through the Magnolia Scholars program,” Scott said.

All Work and No Play? No More: “We could all use a friendly game of Ping-Pong to de-stress once in a while, especially when we’re juggling three or four classes, a part-time job, extracurriculars and media stimulation,” writes Inside Higher Ed reporter Allie Grasgreen.

Her story focuses on ways that Wake Forest is working to educate the “whole person” — not just the mind, but the body and spirt as well — by introducing fun and spontaneous ways for students to relax and enjoy community and fellowship.

“We really are aiming to not transform their lives with a capital T, but in a very unobtrusive way introduce elements [on campus] that aren’t announced, aren’t planned, aren’t programmed, aren’t another thing they have to do,” said Wake Forest Provost Rogan Kersh.

“We worry about binge drinking and mindless partying and the whole ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality,” Kersh said — not just of Wake Forest, but of colleges generally. “It feels as if our responsibility to these students does not stop at the classroom door, and so this notion of educating the whole person feels pretty necessary.”

Read more at Inside Higher Ed…

The SAT gets a makeover: Sociology professor Joseph Soares, author of “SAT Wars,” was interviewed on Marketplace after an announcement by the College Board of a planned overhaul of the SAT test. “Thirty-eight percent of all four-year degree granting institutions in the United States are test optional,” says Soares. “The SAT conveys no additional useful information over and above what the high school transcript tells us,” he adds.

A driving force behind the movement to rethink college admissions and adopt test-optional admissions policies, Soares’ research shows that high school rank is the best predictor of college success.

How to Find a Mentor Who’s Right for You: Allison McWilliams, director of Wake Forest University’s Mentoring Resource Center, says quantity as well as quality is key for professionals and students looking for career guidance. “A mentoring network can help you across many areas of your life,” McWilliams says. “It’s not uncommon to have a mentor for different aspects of your professional life, and for your physical or spiritual life too.”

Mentors can help by asking useful, probing questions, providing quality feedback and helping you meet your goals.

“Mentors push us to explore our personal values and beliefs,” McWilliams says. “They help us discover who we are and how we find meaning.”

Who are your mentors? “If there is someone whose advice you seek for difficult decisions or whose guidance you always trust, chances are these people are your informal mentors.”

Wake Forest receives $1M gift from young alumnus: Wade Murphy, the executive vice president of Marmik Oil in Arkansas, has become the only person younger than 35 to make a seven-figure donation to Wake Forest University. Murphy, who graduated in 2000 from Wake Forest with a major in history, pledged $1 million to support the school’s Humanities Institute with the intention of extending the reach and impact of humanities and liberal arts. “Wade’s generous support underscores the critical role that the humanities play in the education and preparation of today’s students,” said Mary Foskett, a professor of religion and director of the Humanities Institute. “The humanities are rooted in intellectual traditions that empower students to engage the world. Today’s graduates must be prepared to interpret complex information, understand diverse cultures and create solutions that serve the common good.”

Crossing the Lines: Fans Chants of Cruelty: An op-ed written by Associate Professor of Communication John Llewellyn published in the Huffington Post  addresses what it means when reprehensible behavior comes to revered college basketball arenas. Llewellyn writes: “A story recapping the men’s basketball game between Duke and N.C. State has an eerie sidebar. Duke won the game, 98-85, but along the way civility and sportsmanship took a beating. Newspaper accounts in the Charlotte Observer confirm that a segment of the Duke student body chanted, “How’s your grandma?” while N.C. State guard Tyler Lewis was shooting free throws at 13:47 in the second half. Lewis’ grandmother had died on February 1st. Lewis’ father, Rick, heard the chants. …

Liberal arts majors or not, students need more career guidance: Colleges and universities need to invest more, not less, in their career development resources, writes Andy Chan, vice president of personal and career development at Wake Forest, in an op-ed appearing in the Charlotte Observer. The piece was written in response to Gov. Pat McCrory’s statement on national radio about the disconnect between skills taught in North Carolina’s public universities and what businesses want from college graduates.

“The governor is partially correct. But the disconnect is not due to course of study; the problem is that most colleges and universities do not effectively provide student career development programs required for successful short and long-term employment. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, rather than investing in students, colleges are cutting career development resources by an average of 16 percent this year.…”