At a student-
centered University,
people make
the difference
 hen
the University publicized a national search for a new academic provost in 1993, Camilla ("Kay") Morris was promptly nominated for the job. A cashier in the Student Service
s Building, Morris had won the heart of student Rob Wherry, who sang her praises in an editorial published by The Review. "For two weeks every semester, this woman is flooded with thousands of students who need to pay bills, sign their financia
l aid checks and take care of many other nagging things," Wherry wrote, yet "the smile is always there, always."
With her hair-trigger smile and soft North Carolina accent, Morris exemplifies the spirit of a student-centered University. "When someone comes to my window as a customer, I try to put myself in their place," says Morris. "I think about my own childr
en. They were college students, too, and I would want people to treat them well. Freshmen are sometimes frightened to be so far from home. It's up to us to help them feel at ease."
Working in the University's centralized Student Services Building requires patience and a sincere commitment to students, Morris and others say. The facility was completed in 1992 to provide students with "one-stop shopping."
To staff the Student Services Building, the University trained a team of "generalists" who answer a broad range of questions. If she's stumped by a student's question, Linda Diehl picks up a telephone to track down an answer. Student questions definit
ely keep Diehl on her toes. "One student came in because his mom had ordered sheets for his bed," she recalls, with a laugh. "He wanted to know where to go and pick them up because he wanted to go to bed that night and he didn't have any sheets. We tracke
d down the information for him. It's all part of the job."
UD faculty are equally committed to students. At many other institutions, senior faculty members often delegate teaching responsibilities to graduate students, and freshmen rarely encounter veteran professors. At Delaware, however, two out of every t
hree undergraduate student credit hours are taught by tenured or tenure-eligible faculty. Internationally renowned senior scholars like T.W. Fraser Russell are proud to teach entry-level courses.
"I get fresh ideas by working with the younger students," says Russell, who serves as the Allan P. Colburn Professor of Chemical Engineering.
Wayne Craven, Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Professor of Art History, enjoys teaching freshmen, despite his credentials as a widely respected scholar, curator and former chairperson o
f the board of the Delaware State Arts Council. "The rewards of teaching freshman and introductory courses are very special, even after 35 years of doing it," Craven says. "To a teacher, it's nothing short of wonderful to be discussing the Sistine Chapel
ceiling or Chartres cathedral, and discover in the class a face here and there that expresses the awe of discovery of something that you know will be a joy and enrichment to them for the rest of their lives."
The University isn't just paying lip service to the concept of a student-centered University, either.
In a study of 62 universities, the University of Delaware ranked 10th smallest in educational budgets but ranked 30th largest in expenditures on instruction. Clearly, the University has placed instruction as a much higher priority than have our compe
titive institutions.
"The University has maintained a strong emphasis on undergraduate programs and faculty teaching," notes Provost Mel Schiavelli. "We don't overuse graduate students for teaching purposes. That's unusual in the current climate of higher education. It m
akes a Delaware education a better value than that offered by certain competing institutions."
UD Expenditures on Undergraduate
Scholarships by Funding Source |
Source
| F.Y. 1990
| F.Y. 1996 | Percent Change
|
| UD/Private | 4,458,639 | 10,700,900 | 138.0% |
| State | 3,869,000 | 4,964,900 |
28.3% |
| Other | 2,169,602 | 2,400,200 |
10.6% |
| Total | $10,497,421 | $18,066,000 |
72.1% |
Total estimated for F.Y. 1997 = $19.7M, representing
an 88 percent increase compared to F.Y. 1990 |
|
