By Miriam McPhail

Staff Writer

    This spring, the nation’s oldest educational institution for women, Salem College, will celebrate its 254th anniversary. Since its founding in 1772 by German Moravian settlers, the school has

been at the forefront of empowering women through education, a legacy that continues to be built upon today.

    “As early as the 1600s, Moravians were arguing that women had a right to be educated and had the ability to be educated in the way that men did,” Historian and Salem Academy Teacher Michelle Lawrence said. “For more than 250 years, Salem College has stayed true to that belief.” 

    With only 474 undergraduates and a 57-acre campus, Salem is a close-knit community. 

    “Nobody is ever just a face in the crowd,” math professor Wade Mattox said. “Faculty and staff take a genuine interest in every student as an individual and are passionate about helping students find their path and develop their potential.”

    Beyond small sizes, the all-women’s environment fosters a unique, empowering atmosphere that enhances both social connection and academic success.

    “Girls and women in a single-sex classroom are not shy about being in charge because they don’t have to take a backseat,” Lawrence said. “They take more chances, more risks, and more challenges.” 

    Throughout Salem College’s history, it has pushed the boundaries of what women were thought to be capable of. In the 1880s, a time when most of the few women attending college were limited to becoming schoolteachers, Salem College began teaching business, accounting, and secretarial skills that prepared women for jobs in an office.

    “Leadership is an essential part of the mission of the college,” Lawrence said. “From the beginning, it was women doing the business, running the classes, and planning for the growth of this institution. You’re coming in here not just to be educated in the field you’re interested in, but you are being prepared to be a leader in the world.” 

    Salem College continues to innovate education and open doors for women today with its focus on health leadership. Although many women work in the healthcare field, they make up only 25% of senior roles according to the World Health Organization. This means that their voices are underrepresented in decision-making. 

    Salem’s RISE Program prepares students for health leadership positions through experiential learning, communication, teamwork skills, and access to additional classes at Wake Forest University for no extra cost. 

    Student leadership and advocacy are not just taught at Salem College, they’re lived. In April of 2017, students organized a multi-day-long protest calling for a more inclusive campus and for the administration to address the school’s full history, including slavery, and not omit negative aspects from the founding narrative. 

    “It all started with the students,” Lawrence said. “They did a true traditional sit-in. They occupied the administration building. They sat in the hallways. They hung a banner of protests outside Main Hall on Church Street. They wanted to know the history of slavery at Salem.” 

    In order to address these issues, the History Committee was formed with Lawrence as the co-chair. This committee recommended the creation of a permanent standing group called the Anna Maria Samuel Project to investigate the history of slavery and segregation at the school and in the town. The Project was named after Anna Maria Samuel, an enslaved eleven-year-old girl, who moved into the Single Sisters House in 1793. Jessi Bowman, a Salem College Senior at the time, put together a visual timeline for the website using her own research. Nine years later, the Anna Maria Samuel Project continues to educate the community by organizing panels, exhibits, online information, and partnering with Bethabara Parks.

    Salem College takes pride in its commitment to affordability and supporting first-generation college students, ranking second in The New York Time’s 2023 economic diversity ranking. In addition to several full-ride scholarships, Salem College offers both merit and financial need-based scholarships.

    “Students with a wide array of backgrounds and personalities can be successful at Salem,” Mattox said. “I know that our financial aid staff puts just as much care into helping our students as I do in the classroom.” Mattox said.     “I think we’re one of the best-kept secrets of Winston Salem,” Lawrence said. “You can walk the campus anytime, but come and spend a day in our classrooms and see what we’re all about, because I think we have a lot to offer.”