Thomas Hearn

Bold, courageous, visionary, gracious, determined, and modest are all words used to describe Thomas Hearn. Born in Alabama, Thomas graduated summa cum laude from Birmingham Southern College. He later earned a divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Vanderbilt. As president of Wake Forest University he has presided over two decades of innovation and growth. Hearn quickly saw that Wake Forest needed to part ways with controls from the Southern Baptist Convention and did so tactfully. Wake was among the first schools to require freshmen to have computers back in 1996. He likes to say that Wake Forest is a national university with a Southern accent. Hearn has been a member and chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, staunchly advocating accountability for the education of athletes. In 2003 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and turned the experience into an inspiration and education for all. As he steps down from excellence in leadership at Wake Forest, our state applauds and appreciates Thomas HearnÕs contribution. We proudly recognize him as this week's NC Notable.

Previous NC Notables
06.23.2005 John Allison
06.16.2005 Jim Martin
06.02.2005 Darleen Johns
05.26.2005 Hugh Morton
05.19.2005 Bernie Mann
05.12.2005 Orrin H. Pilkey
05.05.2005 William Friday
04.28.2005 Annie Louise Wilkerson
04.21.2005 Martin Lancaster
04.14.2005 Shirley Caesar
04.07.2005 Carl Fox
03.31.2005 Bob Jordan
03.24.2005 Ann T. Denlinger