Wake Forest announced that former Michigan Fab Five phenom and NBA star Chris Webber will teach a course in its master of arts storytelling program. The class will focus on class, race and society.
“If we’re going to understand ourselves as a society, we have to understand sports, its culture and how it affects us every day,” said Peter Gilbert, a DFP professor and Emmy award-winning director and producer whose Oscar-nominated documentary, “Hoop Dreams,” won every major critics prize and journalism award in 1995. “Sports storytelling students will graduate with the expertise to tell the stories behind the stories of the 24/7 news cycle — the ones that fuel conversations.”
Webber says he’s excited about bringing his real-life experiences to the University’s Documentary Film Program
“I’m excited to bring real-life experience to the program. Sports are my passion and telling stories about sports is my new career,” said Webber. “I’ve been involved with the NBA for nearly 25 years, and I understand firsthand how sports, business, race, gender and economics mesh. Sports storytelling gives us a platform to explore these issues in an academic setting. I’m looking forward to not only sharing my own experiences, but learning from students how sports has had an impact on their own lives.”
Webber’s official title will be “professor of practice.” The program will start Fall 2016.
By Glenn Erby
