When I first arrived at Salem nearly 25 years ago, I never imagined that Salem would transition toward a Health Leadership focus, nor that I would be the co-chair for the Health Leadership Team that would spearhead this initiative so many years later. But it makes sense. While the Board of Trustees chose this focus before the pandemic upended our whole world, the pandemic has clarified the vital importance of this focus. What we have learned this year is the breadth and depth of what Health Leadership is. Health Leadership is the doctors and nurses on the front lines and the public health officials helping coordinate the response across our community. It is the artists who found new stages through social media to bring connection and inspiration in the loneliness of isolation. It is the scientists who developed a vaccine in record time. It is the businesses who produced the vaccine, the government employees who wrote legislation, and we cannot forget the teachers who in the face of it all, educated our children the ultimate source of a healthy community.

We can see that Health Leadership is not confined to a single sector, which is why this is so right for Salem College. What I love most about Salem is our community where faculty and staff work together across disciplines to offer our students the best education possible, which is exactly what we are doing now as we re-envision our future. President Henking purposefully asked a professor of Religion and a professor of Biology to co-chair this adventure of collaboration with key administration, staff, and faculty to make this change a fully immersive experience for our students—both in and out of the classroom. The process of leaning into our new focus has compelled us to confirm our commitment to integrating Salem into our local, state, and national communities as well as the world, and to reassert our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We will continue to produce our amazing Salem graduates now in Health Leadership as we honor our commitment to a liberal arts education.

Dr. Ariel Logan Rost, C’13, Doctor of Medicine

As both a primary care doctor and a public health professional, I am ecstatic to see my alma mater move towards fostering the leadership of women in healthcare and related fields. Some of my biggest life lessons that have allowed me to be a better doctor came from the people I studied alongside while at Salem—I would not be able to do my job so well without having met them. The world is in such need of those passionate about health and all its myriad facets.

Dr. Sawyer Ferguson, C’15, Doctor of Dental Surgery

I was excited to hear that the women that attend Salem College will be encouraged to pursue a career fostering healthcare. I knew attending Salem College would set me apart from others applying to a healthcare specialty upon graduation. Very few students can say that they attended one of the oldest all-women’s colleges in the nation or that their class size was an average of around 15 students. Rather than generic letters of recommendation, I received ones that came from personal, heartfelt relationships that developed during my time as an undergrad. I was accepted into dental school my senior year, and I can truthfully say that the ability to get one-on-one help with any professor any day of the week made that possible. The incredible availability of the many student groups throughout the college, helped me have a resume packed with extracurricular activities. Also, if I hadn’t had very understanding and caring professors and coaches, I wouldn’t have been able to balance my love for soccer and track, with a heavy academic course load, while keeping my grades up.

Attending Salem College was the beginning of my journey as a female healthcare professional. Because of the leadership skills the College focuses on, it has helped me reach my personal and career goals and has put me at the forefront of dentistry.

I am happy and proud to say that I am a female dentist who graduated from Salem College.

Dr. Cristi Magracia, C’15, Doctor of Physical Therapy

Salem College’s new focus on fostering women’s health leadership is just as exciting for me as an alumna as I am sure it is for prospective students. Developing leaders in health-related fields is more important than ever as the world continues to work together in overcoming this global pandemic, and Salem College is uniquely suited to developing strong women leaders.

As one of my mentors once said, great leadership is ensuring that the next generation can continue and build on what is already being accomplished today. At Salem College, we have traditions like Fall Fest and Big-Little Sisterhood that are passed down from class to class, growing and evolving with every year. Becoming a student at Salem also means joining a tradition of community, a lifelong bond with past, present, and future members of the Salem community that has become ever stronger and easier to access with modern technology.

Being a part of these traditions has shown me the joy of achieving a common goal after many weeks of hard work, the value of delegation and relying on your team members, and the importance of paying forward all of the support and goodwill I have received from others. I bring all of these with me into my work as a physical therapist, and Salem will foster strengths like these for other aspiring women leaders in health as well.

Sammi Werts, C’19, PhD candidate at University of Arizona

There are many ways for Salem graduates to become involved in healthcare today, many ways which I did not know were options when I was a student. Salem College has always been a forerunner in the development of leaders in any career field, so I am excited that there will now be a focus on Health Leadership. Healthcare today is not only related to direct patient care. Healthcare careers are expansive. They include biostatisticians analyzing patient outcomes in clinical trials, public health professionals implementing lifestyle interventions in their communities to reduce chronic disease burden, and administration officials organizing policies and procedures for their clinic. There is no one single path that students will have to take when graduating with training in Health Leadership and Salem’s focus in this area will allow students to be adaptable, flexible, and successful in an ever-changing world. I am confident that future Salem graduates will be empowered and effective leaders in any healthcare field, and I am excited to see this transition.

If any students reading this are interested in public health or health research, I am working on quite a few projects right now and have a large number of connections around the country. I would be happy to talk with students or help facilitate internship searches if they are interested.