As I sit at the window of Boner House looking out on Main Street in Old Salem, I can almost hear the winds of change. My title has changed. So has that of Richard Vinson (serving as Interim Vice President and Dean of the College this summer). And, earlier this week, I experienced the bittersweet reminder of change as residential students slowly began to return to campus to pick up possessions from their dorm rooms—items they had left in mid-March when the realities of social distancing began.

I look forward to other changes—as the Academy moves to Babcock, as the College works toward health leadership, and more. All of this is rooted in our history and traditions—and in a future we must build together.

And yet, those are not the only winds of change resonating today as we all yearn to experience other kinds of change. Yes, I yearn to hear winds of change rooted firmly in a refusal of racism. I have heard such yearnings lifted up by SGA and by others across our community. I join my voice with those voices here and in other communications.

As I do so, I think back to what I recently wrote for this newsletter, citing Octavia Butler’s near prophetic fiction. Her work points to the devastating impact of a racist social order and utters a call for change. Her call is not generic. It offers a stark reminder that racism devastates lives and devastates our planet.

Reflecting on the protests against racism taking place across state, nation, and globe, I have been thinking about womanist Kelly Brown Douglas’s book Sexuality and the Black Church. She spoke in the context of an earlier health care crisis (AIDS/HIV) devastating black communities in disproportionate ways. She wrote to show the ongoing reach of centuries of racism as a gendered phenomenon. In a week where we have also seen renewed controversy within and about American religion, in its reinforcement of racism and its centrality to social justice movements, her particular wisdom can help us move beyond listening passively for winds of change.

As we speak the names of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, as we write letters or join protests and work together to respond to COVID-19, we must be that change.

Susan Henking
Interim President

I write with many more questions than answers. I write this with the deep knowledge that I have so much more learning, and so much more listening, to do. And I write with intense curiosity around the intersections between education and power and voice and profession and wellness and justice. How does our education inform us? How do our career paths connect us? And how does our intersectional identity shape and give power to both?

This chapter of life is one of deep learning for me, and hopefully for us as a nation. At my core, COVID-19 has shown me that living lives of isolation in cement cubes will destroy us. People are made to connect, to engage, to share, to challenge, to mourn, to celebrate, together. We will find a cure for this disease at some point, and we will go back to the possibility of connection again. But we have much work to do to find cures for the other diseases that ail us—inequality, injustice, racism, ignorance, hatred, isolation, fear.

Are you angry? Sad? Frustrated? Lonely? Curious? Ready? Are you moved by the complex realities of our nation and the world, inspired to address issues of civil rights and liberties, and health and wellness, on a global scale? Is the world around you right now inspiring you to do the work?

If so, know that we are always here to help you explore opportunities to help continue to make your education journey and your professional journey blend with helping to make the world a more healthy and more just place. We can help you find a summer social justice internship. We can help you register for a virtual conference or workshop around equity and justice. We can connect you with alumnae working around the world to increase equality and access. We are here, always, and we will do everything possible to help you explore how we can all use our education, our work, and our lives, to create our more just and well world.

Collier Lumpkin
Executive Director – Global Leadership and Career Innovation

Emily Brim is the next Fleer Leadership Council President. We hope you will take a moment to read her letter to the Salem Community (shared with her permission).

At the end of the semester, when senior Design students were asked to reflect on the unexpected lessons from the past few months, this is what they had to say:

On Self-Compassion:

“…to be more forgiving with myself” and, “…realizing that it is okay to not always be okay.”

On Resilience:

“…the importance of continuing on even when I don’t want to…”

“…to adjust working through any circumstances and just make the best out of them.”

On Strength:

“…this happened for a reason, and I have full faith we came out of this just as strong and as prepared for the future as we would have been even if we would have had an in-person senior show.”

“I can confidently say working through this pandemic has made all of us stronger and even more capable human beings.”

And, lastly, on Humility:

“Being a part of Salem College’s graduating class of 2020 is a humbling triumph for me.”

Rosa D. Otero
Art, Art History, and Design Department Chair