On Friday, school officials announced Rogan Kersh will serve as the new Provost of Wake Forest University. Kersh is a loyal alumnus who is connected to the university in many ways, including his role on the school's merit scholarship committee.

He said Wake Forest has grown a lot since his student days on campus in the 1980's. Kersh said despite the school's growth, Wake has retained its central values and traditions throughout the years.

He said his first goal is to listen and understand the needs of the university. He met several students, faculty and staff during a welcoming reception in Reynolda Hall on Friday.

Kersh is also a national obesity expert. He said he's looking forward to using his experience on campus.
"When I go into "The Pit" - it should be called something different because it looks like a kind of wellness center of organic and macrobiotic food. There is still fried chicken, of course, it is the South, but there are all kinds of dietary possibilities and I'm encouraged to see that. I've worked some with the folks at NYU around food services and I look forward to trying to make sense of how students eat here. I think obesity is a real danger and a source of concern all over the country," said Kersh.

Kersh will report directly to Wake Forest President Nathan O. Hatch. He will supervise the deans of the undergraduate College, the Schools of Business, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law, the School of Divinity and the Library.

Kersh currently serves as the associate dean of academic affairs and professor of public policy at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Besides serving as provost of Wake Forest University, he will also teach political science. He said having his door open to students is a priority.

"The kind of residential college system where students have an even closer relationship with faculty outside of the classroom would be a really valuable thing to at least think through. No way am I planning to come in and implement a set of changes immediately, but I would love to have conversations about how to sustain those kind of connections. Wake has gotten bigger, there's more students and faculty, but I'm curious to talk to students - like some of the remarkable freshman that I'm meeting today - to find about their connections to faculty and whether those can be deepened and extended. It really is a hallmark of Wake Forest," he said.