Careers of alumni provide a means for measuring the quality education offered by Roanoke. Return to the top of this Page Factual Capsule Founded in 1842, Roanoke is the second oldest Lutheran related college in America. Over 80 student organizations including service fraternities, social fraternities and sororities, environmental groups, student religious life organizations, student government, social programming board, and 3 student publications. Henry H. Fowler Public Affairs Lecture Series includes such visiting professors as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, and Jeane Kirkpatrick for classroom sessions and public lectures. While most of our students come from 39 states, the presence of international students on the campus provides the opportunity for all of our students to become acquainted with various cultural backgrounds as well.
Most students find friends among cultures both similar and divergent from their own.
The campus lies in the center of the city of Salem, seat of Roanoke County, in southwestern Virginia. The city of Salem, along with the entire Roanoke Valley, was recognized in 1988 as an All-American Community. Salem is situated a few miles north of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. Interstate Highway 81 is less than a mile from the campus. With a population of about 25,000, Salem is a city of diversified industry and business.