Salem State University
Salem State University began in 1854 as Salem Normal School, then Salem State College a teaching college for women. It changed to university status in 2011.
The land at the corner of Lafayette Street and Loring Avenue that the new college buildings were built on was the former Osgood farm, purchased in 1893.
In 1990, the Bates complex opened. In 1997, the former Sylvania plant was acquired by the school to become Central Campus.
Salem State enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing 27 states and 57 foreign countries, and is one of the largest state universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Salem State occupies 115 acres on five campuses less than a mile from downtown Salem.
The university is home to: Approximately 2,000 undergraduate resident students in three residence halls and two residential complexes.
Approximately 5,725 undergraduate commuter students.
A new library is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2012.
Top Ten Most Popular majors are:
Business Administration
Nursing
Education
Criminal Justice
Biology
Psychology
Communications
Sport and Movement Science
English
History
The Salem State University Speaker Series was founded in 1982 as one of the first high-profile speaker series in the country. Former President Gerald Ford was its first speaker.
In Sept. of 2021, Salem State's Central Campus was officially renamed the "Nancy D. Harrington Campus" in honor of the former president, who died in December of 2020 at age 81.
In 2026, the university received a $6.37M gift to establish a Multilingual Student Services Endowment. This donation will be used in support of a full time multilingual student services coach and strengthen multilingual outreach for the school among other things. The donation was from Salem State alumna Kim Gasset-Schiller ('83) and her husband, Apple Fellow Philip Schiller.
The university opened an on-campus food pantry called Feed a Viking Market in 2026 to combat food insecurity among students. While there was a pantry on-campus previously, this market will be larger and self-serve
Former President Barrack Obama visited the school on September 21, 2026 as part of their Salem State Series which has brought over 100 leaders, artists, and other public figures to speak at the campus. The Former President spoke about the importance of hope and the fight against the polarization that has been going on politically among other topics.
Construction began in 2026 at the site of the former South Campus for 500 apartments. The apartments will be a mix of senior and low income housing options including standard apartment rentals.
See Also
Vertical File in Salem Collection - Salem State College
- Salem State University website
- History of Salem State University SSU website
- "Salem State: $6.4M grant expands language services" The Salem News, Feb. 05, 2026, p. 1
- "Salem State Opens 'Feed A Viking Market' On-Campus Student Food Pantry" Patch, Sept 10, 2026
- "Obama speaks to nation's need to bridge divisions" The Salem News, Sept. 23, 2026, p. A01
- "South Campus housing redevelopment project breaks ground" The Salem News, Oct 7, 2026, p. A01
