8/3/2019 Salem College - President Susan Pauly

1/1

JANUARY 6-12, 2012

Scurg s fuurWinSton-Salem One year or a school

with a history dating back to the Revolution-

ary War may seem insignifcant. But 2012

will be an important one or the uture o Sa-

lem College and its president, Susan Pauly.

It will have one ewer

ellow historic womens col-

lege, or one thing. Ater 150

years, Peace College in Ra-

leigh announced last summer

that it would begin accepting men this year,as other womens colleges have done in an e-

ort to broaden their educational missions and

applicant pools. But Pauly has been adamant

that thats not in Salems plans, this year or

any other.

Instead, 2012 will be about making sure

Salem College has the strategy, strength and

size to continue on its path o the past 240

years. That its classes and campus are getting

more and more crowded is evidence that path

is necessary, she says.

Every institution is unique, but certainly

at Salem I can tell you that with our largestentering classes in 39 years, our chie chal-

lenge is how to grow, she says. Were eel-

ing very blessed and excited or our uture as

a womens college.

In 2011 Salem laid the outlines or its

uture physical growth, centered on property

that is now the Winston-Salem City Yard

next door, which could add about 25 acres to

Salems current 60-acre campus.

It will take more than one year along

with quite a bit o undraising and negotia-

tion to accomplish that, but in 2012 several

steps will be taken toward that goal, and the

broader need to prepare Salem or the uture.

As The Business Journal reported in

December, one dramatic step may be the

construction o a new student center in the

center o the existing campus, the frst new

building at the school in hal a century. Archi-

tects are working on plans now, and a ormal

announcement o the project may come in the

spring.

Also, the process o updating the schools

strategic plan is getting under way, Pauly

says. That will help outline the educational

and fnancial actors to be considered as the

school reckons with uture growth.

The current strategic plan goes to 2013,

but the aculty, sta, student and community

engagement needs to start now with the goal

o adopting the next plan by April o next

year.

The growth plan will surely cost money,

and Pauly says a capital campaign is in the

near uture as well. That would help pay or

land acquisition, building construction and

renovations to the many historic buildings

already on campus.

We havent set a campaign dollar amount

yet, but were very energetically preparing

or the quiet phase that will be launching very

soon, she says.

Pauly added that since student housing is

currently about maxed out, that issue will

need to be addressed soon too. Tha

could involve some changes to the

current mandatory residence require

ment or traditional-age students

or new housing. Space and time are

tight, but she says current techniques

such as modular construction could

come into play.But it will be critical that what

ever we do speaks to our architectura

heritage, she says. Well never pu

up something that doesnt do that.

Academically, Pauly says Salem

will be seeking ways to add to the

science and technology opportunities i

oers students. Its uture physical expan

sion allow closer ties to the Piedmont Triad

Research Park, but Pauly says its importan

to keep prioritizing science and technology

in the meantime.

The plans both or the near and long terms

are exciting to Gwynne Stephens Taylor, a

Salem alumnae and local historic preser-

vationist who chairs the colleges board o

trustees.

Pauly has shown hersel to be a visionary

leader, she says, and is well-positioned to

help usher in a uture or Salem College tha

honors its historic past.

The (ounding) Moravians never stood

still, they were really very progressive in

many ways, though people tend to orge

that, she says.

Julie Knight / the business Journal

Susan Pauly, president o Salem College in Winston-

Salem, will be guiding the historic school through a

new growth plan, which includes the construction o

a student center, the frst new building on the campus

in hal a century.

ByMatt Evans The Business Journal

Reprinted for web use with permission fromThe Business Journal

. 2012, all rights reserved. Reprinted by Scoop ReprintSource 1-800-767-3263.

10toWatch