LIST: Inaugural Salem Academy and College Hall of Fame inductees

1. Jane Barkman Brown (Salem College, ’74)

Brown won three National Championships — one in 1965 and two in 1968 — and at 17 represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and later at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, received a gold medal as a member of the winning US team in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay in both competitions. In Munich, Brown served as a tri-captain and later as a torchbearer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

2. Chuck Blixt

Blixt served as Chair of the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees from 2012-14, after serving on the Board from 2001-14 and the Board of Visitors from 1997-2014. Among other notable contributions, he established the Blixt Athletic Fields for Salem Academy and College’s athletic teams.

3. Dianne Dailey (Salem College, ’71)

Dailey retired this year after 30 years as head women’s golf coach at Wake Forest University where she led the Demon Deacons to win 30 team titles, 39 individual titles and four ACC Championships. Her four ACC Coach of the Year titles rank second in the history of ACC women’s golf coaches. Dailey has served as the president of the National Golf Coaches Association as well as a chair of the NCAA Golf Committee.

4. Sarah (Sally) Colhoun Engram (Salem Academy, ’75)

Engram played most of the organized sports available to girls in the mid-1970s, lettering several times in varsity tennis and basketball during competitions against other independent schools and invitational tournaments before playing tennis at Sweet Briar College and UNC Chapel Hill. In 2005, she returned to her alma mater to coach the junior varsity tennis team.

5. Robert Esleeck

Esleeck is a former business faculty member at Salem College who is credited with securing Salem College Athletics’ admission into the NCAA as a Division III member institution and for aiding in the enhancement of Salem Academy and College’s athletic fields and facilities.

6. Laura Sides Watson (Salem Academy, ’94 and Salem College, ’99)

An accomplished student athlete at both the Academy and College, Watson was a three-year letter-winner in field hockey and soccer at Salem Academy where she also served as basketball team manager from 1992–1994 and as president of the Athletic Council. She then played field hockey for Bucknell University but transferred to Salem College for her sophomore year where she played three years of field hockey and soccer while also coaching JV and varsity field hockey at Salem Academy. Watson has served on the Salem Academy Alumnae Board and the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees.