Dear Colleagues,
As I have mentioned many times throughout this public health crisis, I am extraordinarily proud of our alumni who have served and continue to serve on the front lines to fight COVID-19. The need for skilled professionals in the STEM and health care fields in our region, which drove Salem State’s efforts to secure funding for SSU BOLD: A Campus Unification and Modernization Project, has certainly increased as a result of the pandemic. Our critical need for modernized science and health care laboratories is even greater than we anticipated when we submitted our application for state funding last December.
Not surprisingly, the Executive Office of Education has recently shared that decisions about funding new capital projects for our public higher education campuses are on hold until the Commonwealth has a better understanding of its FY21 budget. We hope to learn more this fall at the earliest and in spring 2021 at the latest.
Please know that the need and intent on this campus-wide project remains. I’m excited about what moving forward with this project could mean for our entire campus, our enrollment and our culture. I look forward to keeping you informed as we learn more in the months ahead.
Thank you,
John D. Keenan
President