Lecture "75 Years of Growth and Survival"  Sept. 20  

SALISBURY, MD -- Salisbury State’s historian, Sylvia Bradley will present a lecture, "75 Years of Survival and Growth," on Wednesday, September 20, in the Great Hall of Holloway Hall at

7 p.m. Followed by a reception, the presentation will highlight the struggles and growth that SSU has seen in its first 75 years. The lecture, free and open to the public, is in conjunction with SSU’s year long 75th Anniversary Celebration.

A professor at SSU for nearly 35 years, Bradley is currently putting the finishing touches on a detailed history of Salisbury State. From her research she learned that in its 75 years the institution of higher education at Salisbury has faced threats from national depression, wars, inadequate funding, enlightened bureaucrats, too little growth, too much growth, narrow vision, Vision II, Vision III, and no vision.

Through all these changes not only did the school survive, it prospered. The key to that success seems to lay in several factors. Not the least of them was the special role played by its first seven presidents. Although they came from different backgrounds, had different philosophies and faced different kinds of problems, each came to Salisbury at a crucial time and each became a major factor in the school’s survival and growth. A second element was the community. On more than one occasion civic leaders, parents, alumni and friends came to the rescue. No less significant were the students. Society changed, styles changed and "student life" certainly changed, but in many ways, the students of 1925 or 1955 or 1995 were very much alike. A fourth, and especially important factor, was a faculty that never seemed to lose a dedication to teaching, a zest for creative innovation and adaptation, and an esprit de corps that so often was expressed simply as "family."

After 7 ½ decades, Salisbury has gone through major shifts in mission and institutional philosophy. "The result is an institution that continues to look forward, not backward, that broadens, not narrows, its horizons, and has established a foundation stable and solid enough to lead into the next 75," said Bradley.