SSU BOLD $10 MILLION

By modernizing our facilities and unifying our campus, SSU BOLD represents a dramatic leap forward for our campus and our university.

SSU BOLD will consolidate Salem State’s campus footprint and provide for state-of-the-art laboratories that will energize our curriculum and enhance the career preparation we offer. These efforts embody our vision for a Salem State that is more collaborative, more student-centered and better positioned to prepare our students for success.

Salem State enrolls more students in biological and biomedical sciences, physical sciences, health professions, and related programs than any other state university in the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, our students are at a disadvantage compared to their peers at other institutions that possess significantly stronger science facilities. Salem State’s current science labs within Meier Hall, built in the 1960s, are inadequate for today’s curriculum.

SSU BOLD seeks to level the playing field by renovating the now-vacant Horace Mann Building to house South Campus programming and constructing a state-of-the-art addition to Meier Hall to house much needed, modernized, flexible high-intensity teaching labs, helping us recruit the next generation of highly qualified students and prepare them to thrive in a 21st-century economy.

SSU BOLD will also centralize our residential and academic programs, improving students’ class scheduling and access to critical spaces and services, such as the Frederick E. Berry and Learning Commons, the Student Navigation Center and the Ellison Campus Center. Unifying the campus will create new opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and foster a stronger sense of community and connection. Relocating programs previously housed on South Campus will further increase collaboration among faculty members by bringing diverse disciplines from management and nursing to criminal justice and computer science into much closer proximity.

7,700

9,300

A Unifying Moment

When Mary (Midge) DeSimone ’76 and her husband Tom began looking at areas within the Meet the Moment ™ campaign that could benefit from their support, they immediately gravitated to the BOLD initiative. “BOLD is something we needed yesterday,” says Midge, who currently serves as a campaign steering committee co-chair. “This is our moment to unify the campus in ways that support the success of students, faculty and staff.”

Midge’s experiences as a Salem State student also influenced the couple’s decision. “The distance between North Campus and South Campus was always an issue,” she recalls. “The travel time between the two campuses was often a factor when you were deciding which courses to take. Eliminating that distance and unifying our campus will create new opportunities for cross-pollination at Salem State both across academic disciplines and through human interactions among the university community.”

While Midge and Tom’s gift supports enhancements to facilities at Salem State, what happens within those buildings is what matters most to them. “New labs, classrooms and community spaces will enable our students to carry out more sophisticated experiments, participate in real-life simulations and convene with faculty members,” she notes. “The skills they gain from those experiences will not only set them up for professional success, but also strengthen the economy of the entire North Shore.”

“As a lifelong educator, I know that the only way to make our society stronger is to educate our young people because they are tomorrow’s leaders. I support Salem State University because of the experience I had as a student, and because I believe in its mission. We need to ensure that the students who attend Salem State University today have the opportunities they deserve, just as I did when I was an undergraduate.”

Your generous support for the Meet the Moment™ campaign will play an essential role in helping them realize their full potential.

This landmark initiative represents a huge step forward for the institution we love and affirms our commitment to educate future generations of learners and leaders who will make vast contributions to our unique corner of the world.

We have always helped our students meet moments of challenge, exhilaration, transformation, excitement, and opportunity. We hope you will partner with us in meeting this moment.

“During my sophomore through senior years at Salem State, I was fortunate to have an internship that launched my career. Even though the company I worked for was an hour and a half away in Taunton, I commuted there three days a week during school and full time during the summers. Through that internship, I not only gained experience and important skills—I also built confidence and self-esteem. Internships funded through the Meet the Moment ™ campaign will enable our ambitious, resilient students to develop the expertise and resilience they need to succeed in the real world.”

ELLIOT M. KATZMAN

Co-Chair, Campaign Steering Committee