1996
Salem College establishes The Center for Women Writers under the leadership of Dean of the College, Annette Allen
2004
Salem purchases 7.5 acres of Central Park, and in 2005, the Blixt Fields begin to be used for Academy and College athletics.
2007 April 22
The public re-dedication of Single Sisters, the oldest building on any college campus in North Carolina, is held to mark the completion of its restoration. The restoration includes the creation of a museum that chronicles the history of Salem Academy and College.
2012
The SIDE Chair Library is established. A collaborative effort between the Sutton Initiative for Design Education (S.I.D.E.) and Salem College is a unique resource that no other college or university in the country has assembled. Students can touch, sit, sketch, photograph, study, and be inspired by the collection. Located in the Robert E. Elberson Fine Arts
Center, The library houses 45 chairs considered iconic by designers and furniture historians alike. Named in honor of Martha Allene Stevens Sutton and the Salem Academy Class of 1971. Visit: chairlibrary.com
2018 April 26
Salem Academy and College “apologizes with profound remorse for the use of enslaved labor at the school.” This statement is made after months of research into Salem’s relationship with slavery. The school joins Universities Studying Slavery and begins the work of the Anna Maria Samuel Project: Race, Remembrance, and Reconciliation.
2018 Sept
The Lucy Rose Center for Global Leadership and Career Innovation opens. It is named for Lucy Rose C’76.
2019 Feb 9
Salem Academy and College Athletic Hall of Fame inducts its first class. The inductees are Jane Barkman Brown C’74, Charles Blixt, Dianne Dailey C’71, Sarah “Sally” Colhoun Engram A’75, Robert E. Esleeck, and Laura Sides Watson A’94, C’99.
2019 Dec 10
Salem College’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, announces that Salem College fully complies with all of its standards and lifts financial probation. Salem College remained accredited, but was placed on financial probation in June of 2018 due to financial concerns. Alumnae, former parents, friends, and foundations joined forces to raise a record-breaking $13.8 million, which resulted in probation being lifted in December of 2019.
2020 March
Board of Trustees announces that the Academy will return to Church Street.
Academy and College students return home for online classes for
the remainder of spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencements are held virtually.
2020 Aug
Academy and College start the 2020-21 fall semester with students studying remotely. All classes are offered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
