Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Happy Friday from our Elkins Park campus on what is starting out as a much more comfortable day than days past. It’s been another busy week on campus with our post-bac students starting their exciting program and new first year students getting in the swing of things around their busy schedules. In addition to this, here are some other items of interest:
FACULTY SALUTE: Salus University welcomed new faculty members and presented tenure and promotions to other faculty members at a recognition ceremony on Aug. 24, 2023, as part of our recent University Development Day. Click here to read more about the event.
MAKING THE TRANSITION: Also, as part of University Development Day, Walter Kimbrough, PhD, presented “Continuing to Work the Mission in a Time of Transition” to our Salus community at The Eye Institute. To read more about Dr. Kimbrough and the message he brought to Salus, click here.
CRISTO REY STUDENTS RETURN: We welcomed our second cohort of four Cristo Rey High School work study students last week with a site visit and breakfast event. The students had an opportunity to meet their department supervisors, receive their Salus badges and take a look around the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, campus. We look forward to providing our Cristo Rey interns with a full and complete Salus experience. If you see any of the Cristo Rey students on campus, introduce yourself and welcome them aboard.
FALL COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Vice Admiral Michael Cowan, former Navy surgeon general, will visit on Thursday, 21 September 2023 with faculty, staff and students ahead of our Fall Commencement in October. Our 2019 white coat ceremony speaker, Admiral Cowan was specifically requested by students to come back. We are thrilled and excited to welcome him!
FINAL THOUGHTS: During our first town-hall meeting of the new semester this week, I noted that the key to the success of our merger with Drexel is sharing information so that there are no surprises once it is finalized.
The questions we’ve been receiving so far mostly fall into several categories: questions asking for more details about the integration process; questions about compensation and benefits; and what I would call process questions, chiefly about timeline and how the integration of our two institutions will roll out. While we don’t yet have answers to some of the specific questions about potential changes in compensation, benefit levels or changes in individual benefits, working with our partners at Drexel we will work hard to get these for you.
I want to reiterate my promise to you that I will continue to share what we know when we know it. As the Integration Council prepares to kick off on 20 September, I want to thank President’s Council members who will serve in leadership roles and others who will serve in ad hoc positions to help make our transition as seamless as possible.
Small group meetings will begin again in the coming weeks so that I can hear from you and respond to your questions more directly. If you have questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to your director, dean, vice president or to me directly. We are eager to hear from you. I’ve asked all deans, directors and vice presidents for their help with this to ensure we’re reaching every member of our Salus community in this important effort.
As you prepare for the weekend, please remember that Covid cases are still on the increase in our region so you could be taking appropriate precautions, especially if you’re going to be around large groups of people. As much as we hate going back to masking, there may be situations where it’s again warranted. Please remember that what you do off campus affects all of us on campus. If you’re feel ill, please stay home and test if symptoms warrant it. If you do test positive, follow CDC guidelines concerning quarantine to help minimize any potential spread.
I attached a photo of our beautiful campus as it shows off the colors of late summer. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!
-Mike
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