A $200,000 gift from Wells Fargo will provide scholarships to twenty Salem College students during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years through the Wells Fargo Need-Based Scholarship Fund.

The Wells Fargo grant will also support one of Salem’s four priorities in its recently announced Comprehensive Campaign: providing scholarships for highly qualified students. 

“We are not aiming to become a large liberal arts college, just a slightly larger small liberal arts college,” says Dr. D. E. Lorraine Sterritt, president of Salem Academy and College. “We want to maintain our ability to provide students with personal attention, while also attracting students of the highest caliber.” Need-based scholarship funding helps students with high potential to attend Salem.

In 2014, Salem College was ranked on Kiplinger’s list of top private liberal arts colleges for value. The current tuition, room, and board cost is $36,754. Forty percent of the class of 2018 received merit-based scholarships as they began their studies at Salem in the fall of 2014.

“The success of students and young adults is a critical element in keeping our communities strong and prosperous, and Wells Fargo is committed to providing them with every possible opportunity to achieve long-term success," said Leslie Hayes, business banking division manager for Wells Fargo. "We believe education is the most important investment that can be made in our country’s future, and we are proud to support Salem College."

Salem’s $60 million comprehensive campaign, announced in December 2014, was launched at a gala event on March 16, 2015. Other campaign initiatives include capital and technological infrastructure, support for faculty and for academic programs, and annual financial growth.