The Salem Ready, Salem Strong section of our website is the source for all information about our fall plans. Please review the contents of this carefully and regularly in order to understand campus plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salem Academy and College is committed to creating the best possible experience that we can for Salem campus members during this difficult time. Following thoughtful consideration of a wide range of factors—and with the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff always foremost—Salem will facilitate a remote student experience with online classes and activities for fall 2020.
Recent trends locally and nationally have prompted Salem to make the hard choice to move to fully remote learning. We made this decision due to ongoing and heightened concerns about the risks of exposure and transmission of COVID-19 in a residential campus setting, as well as local, state, and national efforts to control the virus and its spread. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of all members of our Salem community.
Salem Academy and College has been a leader since our founding nearly 250 years ago. We believe our decision once again demonstrates moral and educational leadership. The Academy and College educates students on the importance of leadership—leadership wrestles with complex problems in robust and inclusive ways and makes its choices grounded in information and in ethical responsibility.
As we approach our 250th anniversary, we know that one of those complex problems is health and health leadership. As an institution, we must walk the talk. Based on our commitments to excellence in education, to moral and educational leadership, and to health, we are joining the growing number of educational institutions that like Salem, have shifted all classes online for the fall semester.
Our decision is also grounded in our commitment to excellence in education, and Salem is fully equipped to provide a high-quality online education. We know that the best education is an education that is responsive to complex realities shaping our world. Our virtual programming and events will continue to build on the connections that we treasure here at Salem.
For now, the Salem community must continue to be physically apart, but you will remain close in our hearts. While it is hard for each of us, this is the best way to remain forever Salem Strong!