Wake Forest University Establishes 'Maya Angelou Artist-In-Residence Award'

Wake Forest University has established a new award inspired by the late author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

The Maya Angelou Artist-In-Residence Award will celebrate artists who reflect Angelou's passions for creating, performing, and teaching.

Angelou wore many hats as a poet, actress, author, and activist. She was also an inspiration to several generations of students as a teacher and mentor at Wake Forest.

Now the university will pay her influence forward with the award celebrating people who have combined achievement in the arts with a commitment to improving the human condition, much in the spirit of the school's motto, Pro Humanitate.

Angelou's relationship with Wake Forest dates back several decades. She was named the University's first Reynolds Professor of American Studies in 1982 and continued teaching until her death in 2014.

According to a news release, recipients of the Artist-In-Residence Award will visit Wake Forest to engage and collaborate with students and faculty. The first award is expected to be made in the spring of 2022.