By now you may have heard that our alumni family soon will be expanding. As I announced over the summer, Salus University and Drexel are moving forward with a merger that will allow us to grow our portfolio of academic programs and to create new opportunities for both institutions in the health professions.
Through this merger we’re executing on our Strategic Plan to promote institutional effectiveness, excellence and impact through powerful partnerships. Two decades ago, we took responsibility for the predecessors of the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Professions. More recently, we entered into historic affiliations with the Academy of Natural Sciences, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and the Atwater Kent Collection. Each combination has enriched our teaching and research and advanced our civic mission.
Salus operates renowned graduate degree programs in optometry, audiology, blindness and low-vision studies, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, orthotics and prosthetics, and more — all of which complement the programs that Drexel offers. With professionals in the health sciences projected to remain in high and ever rising demand over the next decade, our merger with Salus will offer our students an even wider array of career pathways to pursue.
Like Drexel, Salus also has a distinguished history of innovation with a proud legacy of firsts. Founded as the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry in 1919, it was the first institution to confer a doctor of optometry degree and to develop a comprehensive, off-campus externship program. It was also the first to develop an interdisciplinary clinical facility and first independent school of optometry to affiliate with a medical school when it partnered with Drexel’s predecessor institution Hahnemann University School of Medicine in 1988. And, it was the first professional school to establish a doctor of audiology degree.
Today about 1,200 graduate students train at its beautiful campus in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
As we pursue final approvals toward completing the merger in summer 2024, both institutions are working to ensure effective coordination among operational units and seamless consolidation of combined academic programs.
I hope you share my excitement as we welcome Salus University faculty, students and professional staff into our Drexel family. Together we’ll become the go-to place for training the interprofessional health sciences practitioners and leaders of tomorrow.
Sincerely,
John Fry / President