Winston-Salem, NC (June 6, 2014) - In 1980, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation established a $2.5 million endowment fund for professorships at Wake Forest University. In 1982, Maya Angelou became the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies.
Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University were fortunate to have had Angelou’s presence in our community for more than three decades. The trustees and staff of the foundation join all those who are mourning the loss of this great teacher, poet, author and activist, yet we continue to celebrate and remember her many contributions to our city, this state and to the world.
On behalf of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and as a former student of Angelou’s, I offer my deepest appreciation to the leaders at Wake Forest University, who had the great insight to select Angelou as a Reynolds Professor so many years ago. We the people of Winston-Salem and North Carolina are better for having had her as our neighbor, our teacher, our fellow human being. What an indelible mark she left on us.
Heinsohn is the director for programs of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
