The College Environment
The sense of community at the College provides a setting in
which students are readily recognized for their
accomplishments and are encouraged to realize their fullest
potential. Students are also able to enjoy the security and the
support that can be engendered only by personal
relationships. Classes, clubs, societies, sports, and performing
arts groups are small enough to assure participation.The
College furnishes an opportunity for a fuller self-awareness
and for achieving a responsible knowledge of society.
The majority of students - after Virginia residents - name
Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, or
Pennsylvania as home, with other points in New England and
the South being well represented.While most of our students
come from about 40 states, the presence of international
students on the campus helps diversify our student body.
Most students find friends from cultures both similar to and
divergent from their own.
The campus lies in the center of the city of Salem, in south
western Virginia.The city of Salem, along with the entire
Roanoke Valley, was recognized in 1988 as an All-American
Community. Salem is situated just off Interstate 81, a few
miles north of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. Roanoke
Regional Airport is an hour's flight from New York or
Atlanta and only 35 minutes from Washington, DC, and
Charlotte, North Carolina.
With a population of about 25,000, Salem is a city of
diversified industry and business. Adjoining Salem to the east
is a metropolitan area of 250,000, which includes the city of
Roanoke and Roanoke County.
The campus opens onto Main Street in Salem and merges
with the town in common streets and sidewalks.The
College's buildings are a genial mixture of historic and
modern architecture.The Administration Building (which
houses the offices for the President and the Vice-
President/Dean of the College, as well as the Office of the
Registrar and Office of International Education) was
constructed in 1847; together with Miller Hall,Trout Hall,
and Bittle Hall that flank it, the Administration Building is
registered as a Virginia and National Historic Landmark.
The recently renovated and expanded Fintel Library has a
collection containing over 203,000 volumes, over 720 journal
subscriptions, as well as microfilm collections and numerous
audio-visual materials. Additionally, the library has access to
10,000 periodicals and newspapers, full text online. It is a
selective depository library for United States Government
Documents.