About Wake Forest University
What is Wake Forest University?
Wake Forest University is a private university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Its own "Big Picture" page says it was "First known as the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute" when it opened in 1834 in the town of Wake Forest, that it relocated to Winston-Salem in 1956, and that "we are one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in North Carolina". Its motto, Pro Humanitate (For Humanity), is described as "a calling to use our knowledge, talents and compassion to better the lives of others". The page lists its full-time employees as faculty 3,184 and staff 5,842. This profile covers the staff jobs on the university's own Workday careers site, run by its Human Resources office, and the time-off policy quoted below is the Reynolda Campus's.
Where will I work?
The staff careers site, which hr.wfu.edu/careers links, held 64 postings on 2026-10-20: 63 in Winston-Salem and one in Charlotte, 46 full-time and 18 part-time. The titles run from "Assistant Director, Financial Aid", "Senior Analytics Engineer", "Senior Compensation & Benefits Analyst, Human Resources" and "Director, Capital Projects" to "Postdoctoral Researcher, Physics" and "Associate Director, Integrative Student Services - MBA Program, School of Business". The same board also carries postings for three properties that follow their own pay and time-off rules, the Graylyn Conference Center, Reynolda House Museum of American Art and The Barn at Reynolda Village, and this page lists none of them, nor the campus trades, custodial and security roles. Most postings state no working pattern, so treat them as campus-based; the Senior Analytics Engineer lists "Flexibility in how you work: hybrid by default, with roughly one day a week on campus" and the Assistant Director, Financial Aid expects "most job duties in an office setting on the University campus in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and by remote modes according to departmental and university needs".
What is the Wake Forest team like?
Wake Forest describes a campus community it calls "Deactown". Its Wake Perks page says "Faculty and staff have access to a 20% discount on football and men's basketball tickets", that "Women's basketball, baseball, and soccer are free with your Deacon OneCard", and that "All other sporting events are free to the community". Staff can use the Healthy Exercise and Lifestyle ProgramS (HELPS), the university runs free flu-shot clinics every fall "for all faculty, staff, and retirees", and the Face to Face Speaker Forum brings speakers to Winston-Salem with a 20 percent ticket discount for staff. The Parent & Caregiver Employee Interest Group and the Women's Center run the WFU Caregiving Network, which connects colleagues who need short-term child care with those who can provide it.
Work-Life Balance
The Human Resources page says the university "offers a generous Paid Time Off (PTO) program that includes competitive accrual rates, holiday schedules, and a dedicated Personal Observance Day". Its amounts are "Five weeks (25 days) if employed by the University less than five years; six weeks (30 days) if employed by the University five years or more, but less than 10 years; seven weeks (35 days) if employed by the University 10 or more years", and the Policy Office page repeats them for "Reynolda Campus employees". The Reynolda Campus also "observes 18 paid staff holidays as well as one Personal Observance Day per year", which the university says helps staff observe days of personal or religious significance. A new staff member therefore has 25 days of PTO and 18 paid holidays, 43 days, and 48 from year five. PTO covers "Vacations, non-work related short-term injuries/illnesses of five days or less, personal business, family care, other needs" and is "subject to departmental approval". The Graylyn Estate, Reynolda House and the Z. Smith Reynolds librarians have different PTO schedules.
Perks and Benefits
The 403(b) retirement plan carries university contributions of 5% of eligible compensation after two years of service, 7.5% of regular salary after five and 10% after ten; from January 2027 its recordkeeper moves from TIAA to Fidelity, and CAPTRUST advisers hold consultations for plan members. The tuition concession has the university pay "full tuition for up to two courses per semester" for staff after two years of full-time service, 80% or 94% of undergraduate tuition for dependent children (80% for staff hired on or after 1 January 2014, after five years) and 50% for spouses. Staff parents receive "Up to eight weeks of base salary continuation". The medical plan comes as a Low Plan or a High Plan, both with prescription and behavioral health coverage, a 24-hour nurse line and free breast pumps. KinderCare runs a child care and early education center at the University Corporate Center for Wake Forest families.