Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning and Happy Friday! It’s been a busy and exciting week as we celebrate our agreement to merge with Drexel, welcome students in our BLVS Summer Camp, spend time learning with our Thai students and conduct classes, labs and clinics.
We are delighted to share:
HISTORIC AGREEMENT: Salus University and Drexel University have ceremoniously tied the knot. Our two renowned institutions have formalized a merger agreement following approval from the Board of Trustees at each university. The signing ceremony, held Tuesday in the Anthony J. Drexel Picture Gallery on Drexel's campus, included an enthusiastic gathering of board members, faculty, staff and students from both universities. Read more about this important and historic milestone here.
AUDIOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES: The Master of Science in Clinical Audiology (MSCA) degree program at Salus is offered for international audiology practitioners to advance their knowledge and skills in audiologic care and to experience specialized training within a specific content area. Read more here about our latest group of international students.
A PERFECT FIT: Brandy Scombordi-Raghu, OD ‘98, Resident ‘99, grew up in a small town in northeast Pennsylvania. Historically a coal mining area, her school district was one of the lowest performing in the state. Unbeknownst to her at the time, a seemingly insignificant job in high school planted a seed for her future career in optometry. Read more about Dr. Scombordi-Raghu’s journey here.
ETHICS ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: As a former English teacher with significant writing experience, Luke Damiani MS ‘23, thought he might do pretty well in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Student Ethics Essay Award (SEEA) competition. And he did -- well enough to take the top prize. Read more here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: As noted earlier, on Tuesday at a wonderful celebration hosted by Drexel University, President John Fry and I signed an agreement for our two universities to merge. Here is a link to some of the media coverage from the event.
This partnership charts an ambitious and innovative future for all of our programs. It significantly enhances and improves our student experience through expanded programs, new clinical opportunities, and a potential wealth of options for research collaboration and grant funding.
For our faculty, the merger provides enhanced professional development opportunities, research support, and of course, access to Drexel’s state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the opportunity to teach with the benefit of Drexel’s incredible technology infrastructure.
Our partnership preserves our endowment for our programs and the time-honored reputation for excellence that is the hallmark of The Pennsylvania College of Optometry, the Osborne College of Audiology and the programs within the College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation: Blindness and Low Vision Studies, Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Orthotics and Prosthetics, Biomedicine and Post-baccalaureate.
While the merger won’t become final for months as we secure the necessary regulatory and accreditation approvals, President Fry and I have already established a solid foundation of shared trust, integrity and drive for excellence that are fundamental to innovation and growth. I look forward to working with President Fry and his team as we form the Integration Council that will guide our efforts over the next year and beyond.
Thanks to so many here at Salus collaborating with their counterparts at Drexel, we have achieved all of the objectives that we prioritized during the course of our own strategic and scenario planning more than a year ago. I could not be more excited to begin the next phase of our collaboration.
During Tuesday’s signing ceremony, I presented President Fry with a FOX flag, a symbol we have used over many years of commencements when we launch our graduates into the world. The flag is a symbol of our shared excitement at Salus and Drexel. As we enter this exciting phase of integration, the flag says it all. Get ready: we’re preparing to launch!
As you head into the long weekend, keep in mind the significance and origin of the Juneteenth holiday we will observe on Monday. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared a formal end to slavery in the United States. However, slavery was not totally abolished across the country. On June 19th, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas learned from Union army troops that they were free, almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Juneteenth represents a celebration of freedom and recognition of the perseverance and spirit of Black people in America.
Our colleagues at Cabrini University will host a celebration of Juneteenth from noon to 4 p.m. on Monday, June 19th.
Enjoy your weekend – please be safe, look out for one another, wear plenty of sunscreen when your outside, drink lots of water and come back SALUS STRONG next week!
-Mike
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