2021 – 2022: Year In Review

Dear Salem Community,

Greetings from Salem Academy and College. I hope you are having an enjoyable summer. During the past year, Salem has navigated historic and unprecedented times. After operating, teaching, and learning remote for more than 18 months, last July our campus reopened and Salem returned strong. Together the entire Salem family then celebrated our institution’s most important birthday as we marked 250 years as the oldest educational institution for girls and women in the United States.

As we all celebrated the possibilities for the future, Salem Academy and Salem College moved forward this year with bold, ambitious plans to grow, transform, and rise as a liberal arts institution that affords its students the opportunities and responsibilities of leadership in the many frontiers of health. I started my tenure as President with those new strategic directions in mind and am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work alongside you all as we lift up our students and all of Salem’s legacy. Our RISE celebration marked a critical moment as we all considered so many new ways for Salem to lead.

As we have journeyed together this year, each step has been an opportunity to learn and grow as a community. I have listened carefully and am committed to learn and respect all that you value as we move forward with shared understanding.

I know you share my appreciation for all that we have accomplished this year as a community. The stories of our success from our students, faculty, staff, and alumnae/i ring out and call us to continue our work. I cannot overstate my own thanks for all your dedication and service.

OUR COMMUNITY

• Salem Academy and College hosted multiple COVID-19 vaccination clinics to serve the campus and area communities.

PEER RECOGNITION

• Salem College successfully completed its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) decennial reaffirmation site visit in March 2022 and received positive feedback during that visit about its new health leadership vision, quality enhancement plan and work to strengthen the institution’s finances and administration.
• Salem Academy and College was featured in major international and national media stories, including in Forbes and Inside Higher Education.
• U.S. News & World Report ranked Salem College 4th among all National Liberal Arts Colleges as a Top Performer on Social Mobility.
• Salem College has continued to be ranked among the top three National Liberal Arts Colleges in North Carolina for the past six years.
• Salem College ranked No. 6 in the nation for college affordability (between Stanford and Princeton Universities).

EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

• The Anna Maria Samuel Project: Race, Remembrance, and Reconciliation sponsored two community events. Those events focused on the history of Salem Academy and College’s relationship with slavery and the work of both enslaved and free African Americans in the history of the institution.
• Salem Academy and College named AJ Mazaris Ph.D., as the institution’s first Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Salem College conducted its first Campus Climate Survey.
• Thirty-two percent of all new hires in the past year self-identified as being from historically underrepresented groups.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

• Salem Academy and College, alums and friends recreated the historic journey that resulted in the institution’s founding in 1772.
• Salem Academy and College and Bookmarks hosted author Chelsea Clinton.
• The institution anticipates 20 new Academy students are anticipated to enroll in the incoming year of 2022 – 2023.
• The institution anticipates 116 College students are anticipated to enroll in the incoming class of 2022 – 2023.
• Salem College’s commencement returned to the May Dell.
• More than 1,600 attendees participated in our RISE Weekend celebrating our presidential inauguration, 250th Founders Day and reunion weekend.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMS

• Salem Academy partnered with ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute to offer groundbreaking coursework in gene editing for high school students during January term.
• The institution hosted its inaugural Health Leadership Forum with more than 400 attendees.
• Salem College created five new faculty positions for health leadership including new professorships in public health, leadership, health sciences, health administration and bioethics.
• Salem College launched its first health leadership scholarship program, Salem Scholars.

FINANCE AND FUNDRAISING

• The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem awarded a $4,850 grant to Salem Academy for its Girl Up Mentor Program.
• Salem Academy and College exceeded its annual fundraising goal and has raised $8,849,329.
• In August 2021, Salem College received an anonymous $2.5 million pledge to support the College’s transformation in the areas of technology, marketing and communications.
• Salem Academy and College reduced its overall debt by $2.4 million.
• The 250th Anniversary campaign has raised more than 75% of its $12.5 million goal (December 31, 2022 deadline).

I look forward to continuing to work with you to build on these successes in the upcoming year. As I outlined in my inauguration speech in April, I believe that Salem Academy and College’s work in the coming years must be guided by four foundational commitments to ensure that our institution continues to elevate itself as a national leader in the educational success of all students. These priorities will guide my efforts and service to Salem Academy and College:

• REACH for new successes.
• INVEST in our people, programs and places.
• SERVE our students and community.
• EVOLVE our institutional brand and identity.

It has been an honor to serve as your President during this last year. I look forward to what we will accomplish in the new academic year ahead.

Sincerely,

Summer J. McGee, Ph.D.
President