Salem College

Salem College
Motto	Reach Within, Shape the Future
Type	Private woman's college
Established	1772
President	Susan E. Pauly
Academic staff	40
Undergraduates	800
Postgraduates	300
Location	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Mascot	Salem Spirits
Website	salem.edu

For the previously named Salem College in West Virginia, see Salem International University.

Salem College is a small, liberal arts woman's college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina founded in 1772, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. Though Salem is officially classified as a women's college, men 23 years of age and over are admitted into the Continuing Education program.

Overview

Practically everything that is known about Salem life and traditions to the outside world comes directly from the institution itself. This is largely due to active encouragement of a spirit of isolationism and exceptionalism by Salem's administration, justified by Salem's groundbreaking history and highly unique traditions. Other contributing factors include Salem's technological backwardness in comparison with other colleges and universities (for example, registration for classes is still accomplished with pen and paper).

This contributes to interest in Salem by lending itself to an aura of secrecy much like that surrounding Area 51; hovever, this trait of Salem's also works against it, making its reputation outside the immediate geographical area virtually nonexistent, historical milestones notwithstanding.

History and campus

In 1766, at the age of 17, Sister Elisabeth Oesterlein walked from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Salem. On April 22, 1772, the school of Salem was founded. Her influence led the school to be among the first to accept non-white students.

Located in the historic Moravian community of Old Salem, Salem College was originally a girl's school established by the Moravians, who believed strongly in equal educations for men and women. It became a boarding school in 1802. In 1866 it changed its name to Salem Female Academy and began passing out college diplomas in 1890. In 1907 the name was officially changed to Salem Academy and College and to this day both Salem Academy and Salem College share the campus in Old Salem. [1] [2]

During the summer, the Salem campus has, since 1963, housed one campus of the Governor's School of North Carolina, a state-run summer program for gifted high school students.

The oldest building on Salem's campus is the Single Sister's House. Originally constructed in 1785, an addition was added in 1819. The Single Sister's House is the oldest building in the United States dedicated to the education of women. Renovation on the Single Sister's House began in October 2005, and was completed for a re-opening ceremony on April 22, 2007 - marking the 235th anniversary of the founding of Salem. In the fourth-floor attic of the Single Sister's House is its original 1785 datestone. Several interesting features were found in the renovation process, including graffiti that was covered by plaster. A Salem professor, Dr. John Hutton, wrote and illustrated the children's book "Sister Maus." The story portrays a mouse as a stowaway on the trip from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to living in the Single Sister's House. The story was inspired by a mouse hole found in a baseboard of the foyer.

Salem has seven residence halls on campus. Two, Mary Reynolds Babcock and Dale H. Gramley, are designated for first-year students. The additional residence halls are named Alice Wolle Clewell, Hattie Strong and Louisa Wilson Bitting. Each hall is named after someone who was important to the Salem community. The Fogle Flats are townhouses available to seniors.

Student Life

According to official statistics, Salem College enrolls (as of 2007) approximately 1,100 students. However, this includes graduate students in the field of Education as well as adult Continuing Education students who live off-campus. An estimated 400 students are "traditional" (non-adult) undergraduates who live on campus. Salem draws most of its students from the local area. "Traditional" undergraduates are mandated by the institution to live on Salem's campus or with their immediate family; thus, all non-CE off-campus undergraduates are local. The same is true of adult students. On-campus undergraduates are more geographically diverse: Though the majority hail from North Carolina and the surrounding states, many come from as far away as Texas and Florida. The international student population is also large, with students from Nepal and Ethiopia predominating. The majority of many classes is composed of adult continuing education students, giving many Salem classes the feel of a community college or a continuing education institution rather than a conventional four-year college.

Outside of classes, life at Salem for on-campus students more closely resembles a traditional Southern finishing school than a community college or a conventional four-year college. Students are subject to strict regulations governing social life which are claimed to be based in Moravian tradition. Regulations govern many aspects of the residence hall students' lives, including visitation (particularly of males), dress, hairstyles, cleanliness of residence hall rooms, types of music, borrowing, off-campus employment, and internet access. The lack of easily-accessible transportation, both public and school-funded, and the mandate that traditional-age students may only live on Salem's campus or with their immediate family, makes Salem's unique approach to college life all-consuming. Also unusually among American colleges, students and professors can often be seen in full academic regalia. This contributes to the "time warp" feel of Salem's campus. Though Salem is a closed society that is largely unconcerned with social norms on the outside, many students consider the regulations archaic and a committee to change Salem's visitation policy has recently been formed.

Salem College shares its campus with Salem Academy, a residential high school for young women. They formerly shared buildings, but the Academy was given its own buildings in the early 1900's.

Salem students participate in many unique traditional events including Fall Fest, Sophomore Surprise (defunct for liability reasons as of 2006), the Sophomore/Senior banquet and Founders' Day. Every Sunday, a mandatory formal dinner for students and faculty is held in Salem's refectory. Students are required to attend one formal Student Government Association meeting per month and several formal convocations per year.

The atmosphere at Salem is meant to feel like "one big sorority." Indeed, all Salem students are automatically considered members of a special Salem sorority. Its only qualification is being a Salem student, as there are no special meetings or initiations. Among Salem students there is a considerable debate concerning the sorority's name, either Kappa Gamma Delta or Gamma Kappa Delta. The controversy first arose due to confusion over the intended order of the Greek letters in Salem's crest.

Salem's retention rate for freshmen is currently 50%. Many students transfer to other colleges and universities after one or two years at Salem. Popular choices for transfer schools include the universities of the University of North Carolina system.

Academics

Salem College offers a variety of majors to its students. Currently, Accounting, American Studies, Art, Art History, Arts Management, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Communication, Creative Writing, Economics, English, French, German, History, Interior Design, International Business, International Relations, Mathematics, Music, Music Education, Not-for-profit Management, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Sociology, and Spanish are all offered as majors. Additional minors are offered in Dance, Marketing, Theater, Political Science, and Women's Studies. Also offered is an Honors Program. Programs in Pre-Engineering, Pre-Law, and Pre-Med exist, but within existing majors, not as majors unto themselves. The Not-for-Profit major was added in 2006, and is the only not-for-profit major program in North Carolina. Students also take classes as part of the Salem Signature program. Both community service and an internship are required for graduation.

Salem College has a relationship with Wake Forest University, in which Salem students are allowed to cross-register to take classes at Wake Forest. Several Salem students are also members of Wake Forest's marching band.

Athletics

In 2005 Salem began the process of joining the NCAA Division III. Currently, basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball exist on campus as NCAA varsity sports. Equestrian and Field Hockey are club sports.

Alumnae

Among its alumnae is Sarah Childress Polk, wife of U.S. President James Knox Polk. Dolley Madison, wife of U.S. President and Founding Father James Madison, also attended Salem College. The daughter of Chief John Ross, head of the Cherokee Indian Tribe, was attending Salem College prior to her withdrawal to accompany her family on the Trail of Tears.

Recent Salem alums include actress Celia Weston and Sarah Fulcher, the first woman and third person to complete a 2700 mile run around Australia.

Trivia

Oprah Winfrey spoke at Salem's graduation ceremony in May 2000.

External links

Official website