Dear Salem State University Colleagues,
As I welcome you to the 2020-2021 academic year, I do so knowing that our campus has not slowed down since March. Preparing for a safe repopulation that upholds our academic strength, student services and student activities has been a monumental task. It disappoints me to not even be able to thank you in person with a welcome back breakfast this year. Please know how grateful I am, every day, for the dedication you bring to delivering the best possible experience for our students.
I recognize that COVID-19 may have touched your life in ways that reach beyond the workplace. This pandemic has caused so many people to lose friends and family members, fall ill themselves, and face countless other personal hardships. You have my support and understanding as we navigate these challenging times together. I have been moved by how members of our campus community have been there for each other. We must remember that we are all going through a difficult time, and it’s important to be kind to one another and ourselves.
As a team, we have quite a bit to be proud of right now, including the below numbers.
- Our preliminary 2020 graduation rate is 59 percent, an increase of 22 percentage points since 2007.
- For the first time in years, we are seeing increases in retention for full-time freshmen and transfer students. This leads us to believe that cross-campus collaborations, particularly the use of Navigate, have been effective. Thank you for helping to make this happen, whether by implementing Navigate, using its reporting tool, or encouraging students to download the application.
- Our readjusted enrollment numbers are strong in light of the pandemic. Although we are down overall by more than 400 undergraduate students compared to last year, we are on target to approaching the best-case scenario for the enrollment reductions that we projected as a result of COVID-19.
- We have seen credit hour increases this year in graduate enrollment as well as strong enrollments in continuing education. I look forward to what’s ahead for the School of Graduate Studies as we enter the academic year with the new leadership of Dean Stephanie Bellar.
These successes have come from diligent work on the part of our faculty, staff and students. Thank you again for all that you do to move the needle in these crucial ways. It’s exciting to think about how bright the future will look—for both Salem State and our students—if we keep up these efforts.
Our work and future plans will be aided by the self-study report being done for our regional accrediting body, the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), as part of our 10-year evaluation to assure Salem State’s quality and foster improvement. I want to thank the more than 70 faculty and staff volunteers who have served on working committees and contributed to our 125-page draft report. Moving into the fall, we will share this draft with you and seek feedback before submitting the final report in January 2021. Please save the dates for April 11-14, 2021, when NECHE’s accreditor site visits will be held either virtually or in person.
Recently, we received some positive preliminary feedback from another accrediting body—AACSB. As the Bertolon School of Business moves closer to its accreditation goal, we await the AACSB’s virtual visit, scheduled for November. I am pleased to have the leadership of newly appointed Interim Dean Raminder Luther as we continue to strive for AACSB accreditation.
These accreditation processes help us reflect on the strength of our academic programs, student experience, financial sustainability, and more. I think often about how Salem State can best serve the region not only for generations to come, but also in the next five, 10 and 15 years ahead. I want us to continue being an accessible option for upward mobility, a place where students can come to prepare for a fulfilling career that allows them to build the life they desire.
This need has driven the recent difficult decision to implement furloughs to close the remainder of the $26 million budget gap caused by COVID-19 in FY21. As I have said before, this is not how I wanted to thank you for your exceptional efforts over the past few months, but it was necessary in order to balance our budget and preserve jobs for FY21. I remain grateful to the AFSCME and APA unions for coming to the bargaining table and accepting our furlough proposal. The financial impact of COVID-19 is expected to last for multiple years, and we must be financially prudent. For this reason, it would not be wise to close this year’s COVID-19 budget gap using the university’s limited financial reserves, as some have suggested. Things are still very fluid and we must be prudent with our resources. For example, in early August we had a wait list for our limited fall housing and now we have nearly 300 beds available, which translates to millions of dollars in lost revenue.
As we work to keep Salem State financially sustainable so that we can serve the students who need us most, we must also maintain our ability to prepare them for the careers they seek. Currently, our science and health care laboratories are outdated beyond repair. While these programs are academically strong, we must offer students laboratory space and equipment that reflects what is used in the field, which we seek to accomplish through SSU BOLD. Currently, Salem State is awaiting notice from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as to whether state funding will be available for this project. Understandably, the Commonwealth has delayed decisions about funding such projects until revenue projections can be more certain.
SSU BOLD is not just about science laboratories, however; it is designed to benefit our entire campus. Selling South Campus and making use of the vacant Horace Mann Building will physically unite our campus, while also ridding the university of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs. I trust that it will again be safe to gather by the time such a project is complete, allowing us to enjoy a more physically cohesive campus community. This includes plans to relocate my office to the heart of campus.
As we commit to continuous growth in the way we serve students, we must also work to make Salem State accessible to as many students as possible. Recent partnerships have helped to advance this objective. This spring, 20 Salem High School students graduated from the first cohort of the Forten Scholars Early College Program, a collaboration with the city of Salem, having completed 12 college credits. All of these students are heading to college, five to Salem State. This fall, we begin a similar partnership with Lynn Public Schools. Our Seamless Pathways Partnership with North Shore Community College (NSCC) has eased the transfer process and allowed NSCC students to live in our residence halls.
To serve all students well, we must continue working to be as inclusive and welcoming of a campus community as possible. The protests that have swept the nation following the horrific murder of George Floyd have created momentum that must be seized on our campus. I am appreciative of the work that faculty, staff, and students have done but crucial work remains. Our future rests on the commitment of every member of this community.
Often, to appreciate the path forward, we must look back. I want to thank members of the President's Advisory Committee on Diversity, Affirmative Action, Equity and Social Justice (PAC-D), Employee Resource Groups, and the many offices that have launched efforts in recent years to examine how their work as teams and individuals can contribute to confronting racism.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Sean Bennett, who joined us in June, will focus on two new initiatives this fall: (1) Envisioning and charging a new advisory committee for diversity and inclusion (under advisement from PAC-D) to address the challenges of inclusive excellence post-COVID-19, and (2) creating a process for assessing the equity of campus policies, including those that affect faculty, staff and students.
In addition to ongoing community building and professional development activities provided through our National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and Cultural Heritage Month Collaborative programs, new initiatives relevant to the systemic injustices we see today will be offered by Director of Education and Training Nikki Pelonia and Professor Keja Valens, who serves as faculty fellow for diversity and inclusion. Please engage in these opportunities to reflect, learn and act.
Finally, I also have not let this pandemic deter us from launching the largest philanthropic campaign in Salem State history. Indeed, I believe the pandemic has only heightened and hastened the needs of our students. This is more important today than even just months ago when the campaign was approved pre-pandemic. This transformational campaign will combine a deep investment in our students with the revitalization of our campus. Recent events have exacerbated financial challenges for students throughout the Commonwealth. In response, our community came together in support of our Student Emergency Fund, which provides critical aid in moments of unexpected need—whether due to the loss of a job, difficulties related to remote learning, or a family illness. This fund has helped 214 students cover unexpected costs resulting from COVID-19’s health and economic impact. This success again demonstrates the depth of commitment to supporting our students.
The past several months have laid bare some of our weaknesses as a country: poverty, lack of equal access to health care, and racial inequities in education, housing, and criminal justice. What has become clear is just how much the world needs our graduates—and by extension, us. The work we do to help our students succeed reverberates throughout our communities and beyond. As the state of local, national and international affairs makes this work more challenging, it becomes all the more important. Thank you for all that you do as we meet this moment together.
Sincerely,
John D. Keenan
President