On April 20, I had the opportunity to sit down with Interim President Dr. Daynes to reflect on his time at Salem, and discuss what he envisions for Salem’s future as he moves onto his next chapter.
Dr. Daynes has spent his career in both history and consulting, starting off as a history professor teaching service learning courses, before transitioning into working as a college administrator. Dr. Daynes then became the Vice President of three different small colleges, before going into consulting full time. Early in his consulting career, Dr. Daynes knew he wanted to work with small organizations that “knew what they stood for.” He believes he has gotten the opportunity to do so at Salem College.
Dr. Daynes’ background in both history and consulting makes for an interesting perspective, as Dr. Daynes noted, “History helps you pay attention to context and it makes you want to know the story.” Here at Salem College, at a campus rich in history and stories, the context always matters.
When asked about the value he sees in institutions offering an education solely to women, he stated, “I think that it is true that organizations need to know who they serve best.” Dr. Daynes has gotten the opportunity to interact with many other leaders at all women’s colleges and universities across the country during his time as Interim President, and he has reflected on these leader’s “wisdom and power and force for good.” Dr. Daynes also noted that our world would be “much worse off if they weren’t women’s colleges.”
As a consultant, Dr. Daynes is no stranger to the unique challenges Salem College faces as a small institution. When asked about one lesson he believes Salem should be mindful of when approaching the next fifty years of operation, Dr. Daynes urged Salem to “not be ashamed of who you are.” He described how Salem College exists within an ecosystem, and when certain players in our ecosystem are struggling, we as an institution struggle too.
At Founder’s Day Convocation on April 17, Dr. Daynes was awarded an honorary doctorate as a token of appreciation for his presence and impact made at Salem over the past five and a half years. In some brief remarks, Dr. Daynes settled the crowd with a few earnest and deeply moving words, saying, “Salem somehow sneaks deep into your soul when you’re not looking, and it lingers there, and it grows, and before you know it, you’re a different, somehow better person than you were before, and certainly a better person than you deserve to be.”
As Salem leaves its mark on Dr. Daynes, we as a community have also been made better, by his leadership, vision, and values. On behalf of The Salemite, we offer up our gratitude to Dr. Daynes for his time here, and we wish him well as he departs come July.
