Salem University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

for-profit university Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...

Salem, West Virginia Salem is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,485 at the 2020 census. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia Route 23; the North Bend Rail Trail passes through the city.DeLorme ( ...

. It has about 250 students on campus and about 600 online students that are enrolled in undergraduate as well as graduate programs. The university was founded by the Seventh Day Baptist Church in 1888.

History

The school was founded after the Eastern Seventh Day Baptist Association decided to build an academy in the city of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

. The state granted a permit in December 1888 to build what was called the Academy of Salem, specifying that the institution was subject to the regulations and decisions of the Society of Seventh Day Baptist Education. The charter required the institution to make a college as soon as possible, which occurred in 1890. Over the next 100 years, the school continued as a liberal arts, teacher education, and nursing college. In 1989, Salem formed an alliance with Teikyo University of

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, which changed the focus of the school to one of education of international students. Salem College was renamed Salem-Teikyo University. The alliance with Teikyo ended in 2000, when the school was purchased by investors from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. At that time, the school changed its name to Salem International University. Salem International University was acquired by Salem Education LLC in June 2005. The school was renamed Salem University in September 2017.

SALEM COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, HARRISON COUNTY, WV;

The

Salem College Administration Building Salem College Administration Building is a historic school administration building located on the campus of Salem University at Salem, Harrison County, West Virginia. It was built in 1909–1910, and is 2 1/2-story, stone and brick building with ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1989.

Academics

Salem is regionally accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. The university offers a variety of undergraduate degrees including the

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

Associate of Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, and

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

. The School of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (a degree-completion program for registered nurses), and an Associate of Science in Nursing that prepares students to become Registered Nurses. At the graduate level, Salem offers a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, a Master of Education, and a Master of Science in Nursing. Teachers may take courses in the School of Education as non-degree students to renew their licenses. A post-master's certificate in Educational Leadership is offered that leads to advanced licensure and a certificate in Special Education Leadership is also offered. All programs, including distance education programs, are delivered in a monthly format allowing students to complete their degrees more quickly than their counterparts at other traditional or online universities. This attracts non-traditional students conscious of time and accessibility. Since classes are four weeks long, the MBA or M.Ed. can be completed in 12 months or fewer, a Bachelor's in 40 months, or an Associate's in only 20 months, if a student were to start college studies without any prior college credits.

Athletics

The Salem athletic teams are called the Tigers. The university is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing as an NCAA D-II Independent for most of its sports since the 2016–17 academic year (which they were a member on a previous stint from 2010–11 to 2012–13); while being an associate member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) for some of its sports. The Tigers previously competed as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) from 2013–14 to 2015–16; as well as a charter member of the defunct West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1924–25 to 2009–10. Salem competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and water polo; while women's sports basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo.

G-MAC tenure

Salem is one of four West Virginia schools that joined the G-MAC in July 2013. The other three schools were former WVIAC colleagues of Salem that had been cast adrift in the breakup of the WVIAC. Salem left the G-MAC at the end of the 2015–16 season. According to an official statement issued by the G-MAC: “Salem International will be conducting a final year of (G-MAC) affiliation in 2015-2016. The institution is exploring alternate Division II conference membership options beginning with the 2016–17 season.” As of the 2022–23 school year, Salem remains an independent NCAA Division II institution with no conference affiliation in basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer. The Salem men's and women's swimming programs compete as an affiliate member in

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisio ...

Water polo

Salem's women's water polo team faced Marist in the opening round of the

2021 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship The 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 19th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament was held Ma ...

, in a losing effort 9–8.

Notable alumni

* John Abramovic, former

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA)

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Terry Bowden Terry Wilson Bowden (; born February 24, 1956) is an American college football coach, currently the head coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Bowden was previously head coach at Salem University (1983–1985), Samford University (1987 ...

, former football coach at Salem,

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, and

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, the University of North Alabama, the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

and current football coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe * Mike Carey, head coach of the women's basketball team at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

Jack Deloplaine Jack A. Deloplaine (April 21, 1954 – August 2, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, and ...

, former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

* Larry J. Edgell, member of the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the ...

* Dave Ewart,

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

coach *

Jimbo Fisher John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies Football, Texas A&M Aggies. Previously, Fisher was the head coach at Florida State Seminol ...

, former quarterback (1985–86) and head football coach at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

* Scott Hilton, former NFL player *

Rush Holt Sr. Rush Dew Holt Sr. (June 19, 1905 – February 8, 1955) was an American politician who was a United States Senator from West Virginia (1935–1941) and a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1931–1935, 1942–1950, 1954& ...

, former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

* Monty Hunter, former NFL player *

Arthur Katalayi Arthur Kalala Katalayi (; born May 10, 1982), nicknamed "The Katalyst", is a French businessperson, businessman, podcaster, consultant and entrepreneur based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A former senior advisor to the chairperson, chairm ...

, senior advisor and global ambassador at

Giving Back to Africa Giving Back to Africa is a 501(c)(3) Bloomington, Indiana-based non-profit organization dedicated to the long-term mission of educating young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with local Congolese educational institutions ...

* Dennis Knight, retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

* Orson Mobley, former NFL player *

Matthew M. Neely Matthew Mansfield Neely (November 9, 1874January 18, 1958) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from West Virginia. He is the only West Virginian to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and as the ...

, politician who served in both houses of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and as Governor of West Virginia * Brian Pederson, American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player playing for Rochester Thunder * Jennings Randolph, former United States Representative (1933–1947) and United States Senator (1958–1985) * Jess Rodriguez, former NFL player * Rich Rodriguez, football coach at Salem, West Virginia University, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Joseph Rosier Joseph Rosier (January 24, 1870October 7, 1951) was a United States senator from West Virginia. Born in Wilsonburg, West Virginia, he attended the public schools and graduated from Salem, West Virginia, Salem College in 1895. In 1890, Rosier was ...

, former

from

Archie Talley Archie Talley (born c. 1953) is an American basketball player and motivational speaker. Talley is a Washington, D.C. native, where he became a Central High School legend. He holds a baccalaureate in human relations and a Master of Arts in Educati ...

, all-American basketball player who led the nation in scoring (1976). Played professionally for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

, and in Europe. Currently a motivational speaker. * Cecil Underwood, former Governor of West Virginia *

Michael B. Surbaugh Michael B. Surbaugh was the 13th Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), having succeeded the retiring Wayne Brock on October 1, 2015. He was previously Group Director of HR, Innovation, Exploring and Learning for Life for the ...

Chief Scout Executive The Chief Scout Executive is the top professional of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In most similar non-profit organizations, this is equivalent to the position of CEO, national executive director or secretary general. Roger ...

Boy Scouts of America.

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in West Virginia Education in Harrison County, West Virginia Educational institutions established in 1888 For-profit universities and colleges in the United States 1888 establishments in West Virginia Seventh Day Baptists