WS Chronicle | Staff Report
Two months into his tenure as Wake Forest University’s 15th president, Peter Rodriguez is taking charge of an institution whose ambitions increasingly extend beyond the boundaries of its Reynolda Campus.
Rodriguez, an economist and former Rice University business-school dean, began leading Wake Forest on July 1. In an interview published Tuesday by the Triad Business Journal, he discussed the university’s growth, The Grounds development, its presence in Charlotte and efforts to make Wake Forest more affordable for North Carolina families.
The issues place Rodriguez at the center of several changes that could reshape both Wake Forest and its relationship with Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest’s Board of Trustees selected Rodriguez after a national search. He previously served for a decade as dean of Rice Business, where the university says he oversaw enrollment growth, faculty expansion, new degree programs and major facilities projects.
He succeeds Susan R. Wente and takes office as Wake Forest approaches its third century.
Among the most visible changes underway is The Grounds, a roughly 100-acre mixed-use development in the Deacon Boulevard and University Parkway area near Wake Forest’s athletic facilities.
Plans call for restaurants, retail, housing, office space, entertainment and pedestrian connections that tie the area more closely to the university’s main campus.
A new pedestrian connection across University Parkway opened this summer, linking the Reynolda Campus with The Grounds, University Corporate Center and the sports and entertainment district. The project includes a signalized crossing designed to stop traffic while pedestrians cross University Parkway.
Construction is also underway on a five-story office building at The Grounds that is expected to house about 400 Wake Forest employees when it opens in 2027. Departments expected to move there include Human Resources, Information Systems, legal and compliance operations, University Advancement and financial and administrative offices.
The development represents more than a campus expansion. Its retail, residential and office components are designed to function as part of a broader Winston-Salem district, extending university-related activity farther into the surrounding community.
Rodriguez also arrives as Wake Forest implements one of its most significant recent affordability initiatives.
Beginning with students entering in fall 2026, the North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University program provides full tuition for qualifying undergraduate students from North Carolina whose families earn less than $200,000 annually.
For students from families earning less than $100,000, financial aid is designed to cover standard living expenses in addition to tuition. Students from North Carolina families earning between $200,000 and $300,000 may qualify for aid equal to half the cost of tuition.
The university says the initiative is intended to make Wake Forest accessible to more high-achieving students from its home state.
Affordability has become an increasingly important issue across private higher education as tuition, housing and other college expenses have risen sharply and universities compete for students from a changing population of high-school graduates.
Rodriguez’s background combines academic economics with experience expanding a major university business school.
During his time at Rice, MBA enrollment doubled, according to Wake Forest, and the number of tenure-track business faculty grew by more than 40%. Rodriguez also oversaw the introduction of Rice’s first online graduate degree and expansion of entrepreneurship initiatives.
In his introductory message to the Wake Forest community, Rodriguez described himself as an academic economist who had become comfortable operating in both higher education and the business world.
His first months in Winston-Salem are unfolding as Wake Forest’s physical, educational and economic presence continues to grow — from its Reynolda Campus and downtown academic operations to The Grounds and programs reaching beyond the city.
The choices made during Rodriguez’s presidency will help determine how that growth shapes both the university and the Winston-Salem community that has been its home since Wake Forest moved here in the 1950s.