“Abstract and All That: Selected Works from the Paul R. Jones Collection,” an exhibit of 27 artworks by 17 artists important to the abstract movement in America, is on free public display now through Dec. 9 in the Mechanical Hall Galleries at the University of Delaware.

Artists featured in the exhibition include Ellen Banks, Wadsworth Jarell, Alonzo Davis, Michael Ellison, Adger Cowans, Sam Gilliam, Floyd Coleman, Evangeline Montgomery, Hayward Oubre and Leo Twiggs. Included are paintings, prints, constructions, mixed media and batik works.

“This particular examination of images that extend beyond representation are only a part of the broader holdings in the Paul R. Jones Collection and merely scratches the surface of potential investigations of the implications of abstraction as an expressive tool for artists nationally, culturally and individually,” Amalia Amaki, curator of the exhibition and of the Paul R. Jones Collection, says.

“Much can be learned from an objective consideration of the various creative processes applied from the perspective of the personal expressive choices of the artists and as a means to identifying, understanding and interpreting the powerful implications of the work relative to aesthetics of the African Diaspora as well as Euro-America,” she says.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art is among the preeminent collections of works by 20th-Century African American artists. The collection was given to the University in 2001 by Jones, an Atlanta businessman. The first major exhibition from the collection, “A Century of African American Art: The Paul R. Jones Collection,” was on view throughout the 2004-05 academic year in the University Gallery in Old College and the Mechanical Hall Galleries.

Summer hours for “Abstract and All That” are 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays, and 1-4 p.m., Saturdays. The Mechanical Hall galleries will be closed from Aug. 19 to Sept. 9. Mechanical Hall is located behind Old College, off North College Avenue in Newark.

For more information, contact Mechanical Hall Galleries at (302) 831-8088 or visit the web site at [www.museums.udel.edu].

The 800 students who attend the Thomas A. Edison Charter School in Wilmington paid tribute to artists whose work is featured in UD’s Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art, with an exhibition of their own artworks inspired by the collection on June 8 at Arsht Hall on UD’s Wilmington Campus.

At the school’s third annual Art Smart Night, attended by UD Provost Dan Rich and Terry Whittaker, assistant provost for student diversity and success, hundreds of paintings created by the children as an homage to the artists hung from every available wall space in Arsht Hall.

Each year, all 800 students from kindergarten through eighth grade are required to produce art based on an exhibition they’ve seen throughout the year. The first two years of the Art Smart program, the students saw exhibits at the Delaware Museum of Art.

Chuck Hughes, principal of the Edison school, credits his art teachers, Patrika Wellington, Amy O’Brien and Roberta Forwood, for the success of the program. But, they say it was Hughes who began making plans for all 800 students to see the Paul R. Jones Collection as soon as he knew it was coming to UD. “Our demographic is 95 percent African-American. This is a monumental collection of African American artists. This artwork is a living representation of all that can be accomplished,” Hughes said.

He arranged for school buses to take approximately 100 students a day, three days a week over a three-week period to view the collection. After that, the art teachers dedicated class time to studying, researching and reproducing key elements of the collection.

Adolphus, a first-grade student, chose to emulate Rex Goreleigh’s watercolor Red Barn. He said he liked the colors the artist chose and that it reminded him of the artwork he’s done at home. He said the collection is meaningful to him because, just like the artists in it, he puts so much effort into the things he loves to do.  

George Read Hall, a 500-bed residence hall and the first of the three new Laird Campus units will open in August.

Construction on the two new 250-bed units, scheduled for completion in August 2006, will begin after demolition work, also this summer.

The work is part of a $73 million project to replace the motel-style halls with three Georgian-style residence halls.

Also part of the project, a new walkway and footbridge extending from the Ray Street Residence Hall Complex to the Laird Campus Complex will be constructed and the sidewalks on the east side of North College Avenue will be widened to better accommodate foot traffic.

Walk into the foyer of UD’s Computing Center on South Chapel Street and you’re welcomed by a technology tapestry—an aerial view of the campus crisscrossed by streaks of color indicating the computing network that connects all of UD.

Exiting the elevator one floor up, you step into a collage of a flower-filled campus in springtime. It’s a prelude to the video-conferencing room on the same floor and its panoramic view of Mentors’ Circle and The Green.

It’s not magic or mirrors, but murals. And, there are more around campus.

Three additional murals of campus scenes also have been installed to brighten the lobby of UD’s Office of Human Resources at 413 Academy St. These murals depict views from The Green and Mentors’ Circle and showcase the University during the seasons of spring, summer and fall.

“Now, the mural-sized photographs of the campus add warmth and a welcoming feel to the entire area,” Maxine Colm, vice president for administration, says.  “I’m delighted with the new look!”

All the murals were designed by Creative Services staff members in the Office of Public Relations: Barbara Broge, assistant director, created the art for the Computing Center foyer mural based on the cover of a special “Technology Tapestry” edition of the Messenger. It represents the role information technology plays in connecting the campus.

The spring-on-campus collage at the center was designed by art director Lane McLaughlin, who said the mural blends spring scenes across campus and uses a view of The Green from a circular window in Mitchell Hall as its focal point.

Monroe Givens, associate director, assembled the video-conferencing room’s panorama from three photos.

“I created the central part by putting together various views of The Green. The 180-degree view includes side panels of Magnolia Circle and the North Green,” Givens says.

Keith Heckert, art director, selected a series of images highlighting the achievements of UD’s football program, including winning the 2003 NCAA I-AA national championship, that now greet Fightin’ Blue Hen football prospects and players in UD’s athletic training facilities.

Images feature Fightin’ Blue Hen football team members in action, including former offensive lineman Jason Nerys and Rick Lavelle holding up the 2003 NCAA I-AA national championship trophy.

Head Coach K.C. Keeler wanted to enhance the football locker rooms while also showing strong student support of the team, Heckert says.   

At the University of Delaware’s 156th Commencement May 28, representatives of the senior class announced that they have collected $47,000 to improve the grassy area behind the Perkins Student Center known as “The Beach.”

The Beach is routinely used by students for recreation and special events. Planned enhancements include landscaped seating areas
with benches.

“This is, by far, the most money raised by a graduating glass, and 50 percent more than the Class of 2004, or $22,000,” UD President David P. Roselle announced at Commencement. “This accomplishment truly displays a great sense of pride in the University of Delaware and a commitment to sustaining its level of excellence. I want to thank the senior class.”

Brian Budd and Dhiren Ponnambalam co-chaired the senior class gift committee.  

The University of Delaware Institutional Repository will make UD’s cutting-edge research more accessible to scholars around the world.

The Institutional Repository was developed by the University of Delaware Library, with Unidel Foundation support.

Five areas, or “communities,” at UD were selected for initial inclusion—the Composite Materials Center, the Department of Food and Resource Economics, the Disaster Research Center, the Institute for Public Administration and the Sea Grant Program in the College of Marine Studies.

“The University of Delaware Institutional Repository will bring increased visibility and access to digitized scholarly resources,” Provost Dan Rich says. “Having one central place on the UD web site where the world may gain access to the products of UD research, ranging from preprints to technical reports to working papers, will benefit the international scholarly community.

“Through the Institutional Repository, the research output of University of Delaware faculty will be available to researchers far into the future,” he says. “Preserving digital research material is important, but extremely difficult. As a preservation archive, the University of Delaware Institutional Repository will ensure long-term access to scholarship.”

The URL [http://dspace.udel. edu:8080/dspace/]is available on the library web site, Susan Brynteson, May Morris Director of Libraries, says. u 

The Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware received a $216,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program to engage 10 undergraduate students in hands-on research training to enhance their understanding of the social science aspects of disasters.

The UD program is funded for a three-year period. Principal investigators are Havidan Rodriguez, director of the Disaster Research Center, and Joanne Nigg, professor of sociology.

Through the grant, the Disaster Research Center will hold a nine-week research training institute each summer to provide students with the necessary academic background, training and relevant research experiences to prepare them to function as relatively independent research scholars.

This summer, the students are working under the guidance of UD faculty mentors Tricia Wachtendorf, assistant professor of sociology, and Benigno Aguirre, professor of sociology, in addition to Rodriguez, Nigg and Disaster Research Center graduate and undergraduate students.

Students are being exposed to several course modules, including research methodology most frequently used in the study of hazards and disasters, theoretical social science approaches to understanding the causes and consequences of disasters, and the ethical implications of the research process. They are working with leading scholars and researchers on projects that focus on issues such as disaster mitigation, warnings and technology, disaster vulnerability and preparedness, response and recovery.

Also as part of the grant, a national and multidisciplinary group of leading disaster researchers and practitioners will participate in a speaker series to emphasize the contributions that other disciplines bring to this field, and a series of professional development and social-cultural activities will complement the trainees’ overall education and training.

Rodriguez and Nigg said they believe the students will develop a clear understanding of the societal and organizational factors that affect disasters, not only through a variety of academic and intellectual activities but also through hands-on research experiences in innovative, timely and leading-edge research projects.

As part of the experience, students will develop a research proposal and engage in independent research projects under the guidance of the faculty mentors and will develop research papers based on the selected projects. Students also will present the papers at regional or national scientific conferences, and the papers will be made available to researchers and the public at-large through the DRC web site and its resource collection.

Students also participated in the Natural Hazards Center’s 30th annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in July in Boulder, Colo., and will attend the National Research Council’s Disasters Roundtable to be held this fall in Washington, D.C.

The University of Delaware has received a Gold Award of Excellence from America’s Blood Centers for its continuing support of community blood-drive initiatives.

America’s Blood Centers, North America’s largest network of nonprofit, community-based blood centers, serves more than 150 million individuals through its efforts at 600-plus collection sites in the United States and Canada.

Sponsored blood drives, such as the 12 held during UD’s academic year, help to ensure an adequate blood supply for more than 4.5 million patients annually.

UD also has won the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) “Have A Heart” Blood Challenge annually since its inception three years.

UD’s 2004 “Have A Heart” Blood Challenge attracted 857 potential donors, and more than 558 units of blood were collected by staffers from the Blood Bank of Delmarva. This year’s challenge turned out to be the largest single-day event in Blood Bank of Delmarva’s history.

Blood Drive awards also were given in May to student groups that have had the best turnout for campus blood drives. Honorees included Alpha Phi; Gamma Sigma Sigma national service sorority, HOLA, Kappa Alpha; Kappa Alpha Theta; Kappa Delta Rho; Lambda Chi Alpha; Phi Sigma Pi national honor fraternity, Phi Sigma Sigma, Resident Student Association; Sigma Chi and the Student Nurses Organization.

The officers of the Delaware Undergraduate Student Congress (DUSC) want to see more student involvement in student government and more input from a wider range of students on issues that directly affect them.

That vision has taken the form of a new student senate, the Delaware Undergraduate Student Senate (DUSS), which will serve as the legislative arm while DUSC functions as the executive branch of student government.

DUSS senators will be expected to submit resolutions that, once acted upon, “will produce proactive, progressive change demanded by the student body,” DUSC President John Cordrey, a senior from Georgetown, Del., said.

When fully operational, the senate could involve up to 400-plus representatives of Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), including all fraternities and sororities.

Kaitlin Hoffman, a senior from London, England, was selected by the members of DUSC’s elected executive board to serve as first speaker of the senate. Other leadership positions include vice speaker, recording secretary and senate parliamentarian.

The senate meets on the first Wednesday of each month to share ideas and feedback from students for bettering the student experience. Suggestions will come from various student leaders, and Cordrey said he hopes the relationships between various organizations will be strengthened as they come together to voice similar ideas and concerns.

The first meeting of the DUSS was held in March. For further information, visit the DUSC web site at [www.udel.edu/dusc/].

When Hurricane Isabel visited Newark in the fall of 2003, several century-old linden trees along the Diamond Walkway in front of Old College were toppled and destroyed.

Only two large linden trees were left standing, but because of their susceptibility to storms and their proximity to utility wires, Main Street and Recitation Hall, it was decided to remove them along with some smaller trees that had been randomly planted in the area. The Class of 2004 designated its senior class gift of $25,600 for landscaping of the area.

This summer, the tree replacement and landscaping project is under way. An allee of 10 swamp white oak trees was planted on either side of the Diamond Walkway.

Tom Taylor, UD landscape engineer, said he has seen a mature allee of such oaks, and they presented a stately appearance in keeping with the Old College grounds.

Renaming one of the University’s seven colleges and reorganizing of departments were some of the actions approved by UD’s Board of Trustees at its semiannual meeting May 25 in the Trabant University Center.

The trustees approved a name change for the College of Health and Nursing Sciences, which is now the College of Health Sciences. Its Department of Nursing became the School of Nursing.

In the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, the undergraduate major and minor in leadership were moved from the Department of Consumer Studies to the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, and the Department of Consumer Studies changed its name to the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies.

All these changes took effect July 1.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Bartol Research Institute merged into a single unit under the name Department of Physics and Astronomy, also effective July 1.

More than 450 UD students braved rainy weather in late April to participate in a community clean-up effort that included several city parks and a state park along the Delaware River.

Members of UD’s Wildlife Conservation Club hauled plastic debris, tires and remnants of barriers left over from last November’s oil spill from the shoreline at Fox Point State Park in Wilmington, and members from 12 fraternities and sororities collected more than 200 bags of trash from Newark parks in a community service project that coincided with Earth Day.

Organized by Matt Lenno, assistant director of Student Centers, the Greek clean-up effort drew approximately a fourth of all members of UD fraternities and sororities and covered all Newark parks except for one on Cleveland Avenue currently under construction.

Teams were divided into north and south task forces, and all members pitched in for transportation costs, bags, gloves and snacks. “We began these clean-up efforts last semester, and we’ve found they’ve been appreciated. It’s a great way to give back and make a difference in the community,” Lenno said.

Kristin Comolli, a co-president of the Wildlife Conservation Club, said that clean-up efforts at Fox Point State Park made a similar positive impact. In the project, sponsored by Conectiv and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, club members collected piles of trash from the beach and marsh grasses along the Delaware River.

“We collected a lot of random debris,” Comolli, a senior wildlife conservation major from West Chester, Pa., said. “The club has been doing this for the past few years, and it’s always good to know that the effort helps.” 

The University of Delaware’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management and Marnie Old, a leading sommelier and wine educator from Philadelphia, have joined forces to offer a new online course covering the fundamentals of wine.

The course is well-timed, with interest in wine on the rise following the release of the award-winning movie Sideways.

With funding provided by the E. & J. Gallo Winery of California, the course is designed to enhance understanding of wine tasting, worldwide wine production and the selection of wines to fit various menus and foods, according to Fred J. DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management at UD.

“UD Wine Online is an innovative educational product and a substantive supplement for our hotel, restaurant and institutional management students to teach them about pairing wine with food and cuisine, and selling and serving wine to maximize revenue,” DeMicco says.

He adds that the course dovetails with the Copeland Vinotek and the Darden Bistro, both located within UD’s Vita Nova restaurant in the Trabant University Center.

DeMicco says the course “will also be beneficial to servers in restaurants and will prove an effective and affordable online and computer-based training tool for the restaurant and food service industry.”

To learn more, visit [www.continuingstudies.udel.edu/udonline/wine/description.html].

The University of Delaware has joined Apple’s iTunes on Campus program, providing students a legal option for downloading music from the Internet at a reasonable price.

Both Windows and Macintosh users can visit Apple’s music store, which contains more than a million tracks from all four major recording companies and more than 600 leading independent labels.           

Incoming freshman and transfer students attending DelaWorld 101 orientation sessions this summer received a UD Bookstore canvas tote bag emblazoned with the legend “iTunes: Download it Now!” and containing an iTunes CD package.

Sponsored by Apple Computer and Coca-Cola, the iTunes CD and packaging introduced new students to the University’s policies on downloading music and included software for students to become iTunes users and to learn about responsible computing on campus. Decorated with a dancing YoUDee listening to an iPod, the iTunes package, also allows new students to download two free songs from the Internet.

In May, two top officials from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) visited the University of Delaware campus to speak with students and UD officials about piracy of entertainment products on college campuses.

James Spertus, vice president of the MPAA and director of its U.S. anti-piracy efforts, and Richard L. Taylor, MPAA senior vice president of external affairs and education, took part in an open conversation with students to raise their awareness of copyright piracy.

UD has been actively working to quell entertainment piracy through its responsible computing program and the Code of the Web educational effort.

“The primary message I hope to deliver during my visit to UD is that it is important to protect copyrights,” Spertus said. “As you are aware, the problem of unauthorized peer-to-peer, or P2P, file swapping of copyrighted music, movies, software and other material continues to grow on many college and university campuses, and it is a widespread problem that extends well beyond campuses.”

Students can go to [www.udel.edu/itunes] to download free iTunes software and to visit UD’s Apple Store.  Students also may purchase iPods at special academic discounts.  

Recipes from Vita Nova, the fine-dining  restaurant run by students in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, will be available for the first time this fall in a cookbook. 

The recipes are from executive chef Joe DiGregorio, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and sous chef Debbie Ellingworth.

Designed by Molly Chappell of UD’s Office of Public Relations, the cookbook will have sections on appetizers, soups, salads, meats, fish, poultry, pasta, breads and desserts.

Photography of the various foods is by Jon Cox, a part-time faculty member in the Department of Fine Arts and Visual Communications.

Watch for details on the University Bookstore web site.  

UD’s graduate program in chemical engineering is again rated among the 10 best in the nation, the criminology doctoral program is ranked 14th and graduate teacher education at UD has moved higher in the top ranks in the 2006 edition of U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”

The new ratings also include graduate programs in other engineering disciplines, as well as the departments of English, history and psychology.

Overall, UD’s College of Engineering was ranked 47th in graduate education, tied with Arizona State University. Other UD graduate engineering disciplines ranked this year are the:

• Department of Chemical Engineering, at 10th;
  
  
• Department of Mechanical Engineering, at 47th;
  
  
• Department of Materials Science and Engineering, at 50th;
  
  
• Department of Civil Engineering, at 62nd; and
  
  
• Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at 73rd.

In UD’s College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, the School of Education’s graduate program was ranked at 40.

Four Ph.D. programs in the College of Arts and Sciences are ranked this year: Criminology is ranked at 14; English is ranked at 61; History is ranked at 68; and Psychology (research) is ranked at 123.

“Faculty and students should be pleased by this national recognition of these graduate programs,” Provost Dan Rich says. “The University has many other graduate programs that are recognized to be among the best in their fields but were not included in this rating report.”

The University of Delaware currently has nearly 3,400 students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in 118 degree programs across all seven
colleges.  

A new series of photographic images and collages that celebrate the UD Marching Band and its spirited student musical performance are helping to spread the Fightin’ Blue Hen school spirit both at home and on the road.

Designed by Keith Heckert, an art director in UD’s Office of Public Relations, the larger-than-life murals can be found on the back and sides of the new UD Marching Band truck.

Heidi Sarver, director of the UD Marching Band, said that the colorful wrap, which measures 8-feet by 24-feet on each side and 8-feet by 8-feet across the back, was made possible by a $5,000 gift from the UD Alumni Association.

“I love it. It is extremely colorful and presents the UD Marching Band very positively,” Sarver said. “My favorite panel is the back door. It was President Roselle’s idea to put a photo of the interlocking UD formation from our pregame performance on the back door. It turned out great.

“The best reaction [to the truck] so far has been from people driving down the highway,” Sarver says.

“Recently, our color guard performed in the Philadelphia area, and people at the show were asking if we were going to be there. Suddenly, the truck pulled into the parking lot, and there were no more questions after that. They knew we were there!”

President David P. Roselle was given high marks for his administration of the University of Delaware by James Engell, co-author of the book Saving Higher Education in the Age of Money, in an interview that appeared in May on the web-based news site Inside Higher Ed.

Engell, a professor of English and comparative literature at Harvard University, cowrote the book, published this spring by the University of Virginia Press, with Anthony Dangerfield.

Early in the interview, Inside Higher Ed noted that the book is very critical of college administrators and asked Engell, “As you survey the scene in higher education, are there presidents you respect?”

“Certainly there are excellent presidents,” Engell replied, citing Roselle along with Ruth J. Simmons of Brown University, Richard Brodhead of Duke University, Anthony Marx of Amherst College and Lee Pelton of Willamette University.

Later, Engell explained his selection of Roselle in the top category of leaders, based on the fact that Roselle “articulates the multiple goals of the university well.” Among Roselle’s goals the author cited are “liberal arts and sciences, professional training, Land-Grant functions, scientific research, serving the citizens of Delaware, yet also serving a larger constituency.

“He understands that a balance and integration of these goals is vital,” Engell said. “One goal can’t drive out the others.”

Also, he said, under Roselle’s leadership, UD has made efforts “to insure personal attention in teaching” and its “connections with government and business appear to be to the advantage of the University’s missions rather than jeopardizing those missions.”

Engell also praised Roselle for his encouragement of a “technologically committed and networked campus,” support of “a vital library and its print as well as electronic collections,” the “continued excellence” of the University of Delaware Press and the appointment of “other fine administrative officers.”  

The 60-member UD Chorale won the esteem of more than 10,000 choir directors from around the world at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) national conference, held Feb. 2-5, in Los Angeles.

Directed by Paul Head, associate professor of music, and accompanied on the non-a cappella selections by Betsy Kent, longtime UD Chorale piano accompanist, the Chorale performed three times throughout the convention, each time showcasing eight selections that included compositions by Benjamin Britten, William Byrd, Johannes Brahms, Cary John Franklin, Joan Szymko and Jetse Bremer.

 “Just to be invited to the convention is an honor, and this group understood the status of the task,” Head said. Besides directing the UD Chorale and Schola Cantorum, Head also teaches choral methods, literature and conducting at UD.

Attended by approximately 10,000 choir directors from around the world and including performances by a mix of 100 high school, church, community and college choirs from across the United States, as well as a guest choir from another country, the biennial national ACDA convention is a highly selective event.

For the UD Chorale to be considered for participation, Head first had to submit recordings of performances from the past three years that were then judged by three tiers of judges.

 “Choir directors were coming up to talk to members of the chorale and sending e-mails afterwards saying that our performance was a highlight of the convention, and I think that was a real affirmation to the group,” Head said.

The Chorale also performed at a black-tie reception for West Coast UD alumni.

Both CDs and DVDs of the 2005 ACDA national convention can be purchased at [www.viamediaavpro.com/].

CDs featuring the UD Chorale can be purchased through the Department of Music by calling (302) 831-2577.

Freshmen entering the University of Delaware in the fall have reached new academic levels–with average SAT scores above 1200 and with grade point averages (GPAs) of 3.56.

“This is the first year when the average entering freshman at UD has SATs above 1200,” Lou Hirsh, director of admissions, said. “This also is the first year when more than 500 of our entering freshmen have high school reported GPAs of 4.00 or above.”

Hirsh also said that the number of freshmen with SATs over 1400 broke the 200 mark for the first time, with 261 members of the Class of 2009 arriving at UD with scores of 1400 or above. Two members of the Class of 2009 have perfect SAT scores.

The average Honors Program enrollees are in the top 5 percent of their high school class, with 43 percent graduating with 4.00 GPAs, Hirsh said.

Hirsh said that UD expects to welcome an entering class of 3,450 freshmen and some 525 transfer students to its Newark campus this fall.

Approximately one-third (1,125) of the freshmen and 45 percent of the transfer students are Delaware residents. The fall arrivals also will include students from 35 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and nine foreign countries.

The average Delawarean joining UD this fall will bring a GPA of 3.43 on a 4-point scale, with an average SAT of 1155. Two-thirds of Delaware applicants were admitted to UD’s Newark campus, while one-fourth will participate in the Associate in Arts Program, now in its second year, Hirsh said.

On Top of the World in Machu Picchu, the third-place winner in a study-abroad photo contest, was shot by Marguerite Innes, a senior from Towanda, Pa., who took an anthropology course in Peru. 

A photo caption in the last issue of the Messenger incorrectly identified one of the students pictured here, accompanying an article about the College of Arts and Sciences’ Access-to-Science Initiatives. The students are Karyn Gatling, CHS ’07 (left), and Shaila Parker, AS ’07. 

Two UD students have been named 2005 Truman Scholars, placing the University among the top 10 percent of colleges and universities with students who have received the prestigious award since it was founded three decades ago.

Dalit Gulak, a senior foreign languages and literatures major, and Thomas Isherwood, a senior international relations major, are among 75 students from 65 U.S. colleges and universities who received the awards during a formal ceremony on May 22, at the Truman Library in Independence, Mo.

The students were joined at the awards ceremony by Katharine Kerrane, senior associate director of UD’s Honors Program, who was honored along with 15 other scholarship advisers for their efforts and success in preparing Truman Scholars.

Last year, UD was one of only three institutions that were recognized as a Truman Foundation Honor Institution, joining a select group of 49 institutions that have received the honor in the foundation’s 30-year history. Past recipients include Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities.

The scholarship provides $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

Recipients must be U.S. citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector.

“Being selected a Truman Scholar is an incredible honor,” Gulak, from Harpswell, Maine, says. “I am proud to be a representative of not only my state, Maine, where I won it, but of the University of Delaware, as well.”

Gulak, who also is a Dean’s Scholar in Hispanic culture and medicine, spent the fall semester in the Dominican Republic and has been studying in preparation for medical school.

“My goals are to go to medical school and work in public health to address issues both domestically and abroad,” Gulak says. “My experiences, passions and career goals are focused on Hispanic health care, both within the United States as well as in Latin America.”

Isherwood, from Wichita, Kan., who spent the spring semester in Cairo, Egypt, researching accountability in humanitarian organizations, says he was humbled and excited by the news. “Scholarships like this are so competitive that there is always a lot of luck in winning them,” he says.

Isherwood, who worked with Barbara Harrell-Bond, the former director of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford, spends his free time in Cairo taking Arabic lessons, teaching English at a school for refugees and training for the Dead Sea Marathon in Jordan.

“The application process took about as much time as a 3-credit course,” Isherwood says. “The process consisted of an application, a number of essays and interview preparation. Thankfully, there is an incredible support structure in place at UD for people applying for the Truman Scholarship.”

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd president. Since the first awards were made in 1977, there have been 2,328 Truman Scholars selected. The total number of UD recipients is 15.

The University of Delaware’s research fleet, stationed at the College of Marine Studies’ Sharp Campus, in Lewes, is about to enter the exciting world of 21st-Century oceanographic vessel technology when its newest research vessel becomes operational next year.

The new, 146-foot ship, to be called the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, was designed by Bay Marine Inc., in Barrington, R.I., and was built by Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash. The company has been in business since 1975 and specializes in the construction and repair of steel and aluminum ships, ranging from fishing and recovery vessels to ferries and barges.

The total cost of constructing the vessel and outfitting it with scientific instrumentation and communications systems is estimated at $18.6 million. Funding for the new ship will be provided by the University of Delaware, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Office of Naval Research and private donations.

“The new ship will greatly strengthen the research opportunities available to faculty and students in the College of Marine Studies, as well as researchers from other universities,” Provost Dan Rich says.

With an “endurance” or maximum length of time at sea of approximately 20 days and a range of 3,000 nautical miles, the ship will replace the Cape Henlopen, UD’s current flagship research vessel that has served the oceanographic research community faithfully for nearly 30 years.

Like its predecessor, the R/V Hugh R. Sharp will draw only 10 feet of water, something that will allow it to operate in the shallow waters of the mid-Atlantic coastal zone.

With 30 tons of carrying capacity, the ship will provide accommodations for 22 scientists, as well as housing a pair of portable lab vans.

At its semiannual meeting in May, UD’s Board of Trustees decided to name the new ship in honor of Mr. Sharp, who served on UD’s Board of Trustees from 1969-88 and was a long-time supporter of the College of Marine Studies. He played a leadership role in helping the University acquire the R/V Cape Henlopen, and he was the founding president of the Marine Associates, a group of individuals interested in helping UD develop one of the nation’s leading marine programs.

On June 13, Newark Police announced that they had arrested a suspect in the murder of UD student Lindsey M. Bonistall, a 20-year-old sophomore English/journalism major from White Plains, N.Y. Ms. Bonistall was murdered May 1 in her off-campus apartment, which was then set on fire.

The 34-year-old suspect, James Edward Cooke Jr., who lived near Ms. Bonistall’s apartment complex in Newark, was charged with murder, burglary, rape, arson and reckless endangerment, all in the first degree. In the news conference announcing his arrest, police described the crime as “totally random.” After a preliminary hearing June 22, the case was moved to Delaware Superior Court.

In the days after Ms. Bonistall’s murder, University Police worked closely with Newark Police, and additional police patrols were added on the campus and in the surrounding Newark community, and members of the University community were advised to take extra care about their safety. Student life personnel offered comfort and support to Ms. Bonistall’s family, friends and fellow students. The University also added $15,000 to the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

A week before the suspect was arrested, the Bonistall family shared a letter with the members of the University community thanking them for many kindnesses. It read, in part, “Your outpouring of concern and support has meant a great deal to us. We realize in a very personal way that the ‘UD Family’ motto is not simply a catch phrase; it is indeed a reflection of core values espoused and expressed by your campus community.”
To read the letter, visit [www.udel.edu/Lindsey Bonistall/].

In May, President David P. Roselle announced the establishment of the Lindsey Marie Bonistall Memorial Scholarship, with initial gifts of $50,000 donated by friends of the University to an endowment.

“It is appropriate to honor the life of this exceptionally talented, warm and outgoing young woman who loved to write with a scholarship that will be awarded annually to an outstanding rising senior student of journalism,” Roselle said. The scholarship will perpetuate her memory at the University “in tribute to the many ways in which she enriched our campus,” he said.

Contributions to the scholarship endowment may be sent to: Office of University Development, 109 Hullihen Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716. Checks should be made payable to the University of Delaware, with a notation “In memory of Lindsey Bonistall.” 

A new three-year contract between the University and the UD chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which was ratified overwhelmingly by faculty in May, was formally signed June 14.

The new faculty collective bargaining agreement with UD is effective from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2008. Some 93 percent of those voting—365 faculty members—voted to ratify the contract.

UD’s Windows on The Green video profiles series, posted at [www.udel.edu/PR/ windows/], presents video snapshots of faculty members who enrich the intellectual life of the University.

It was initiated to mark the endowment of UD’s 100th named professorship earlier this year. An endowed chair is one of the highest honors a faculty member can receive and one of the most important gifts a donor can make to the University.

Information Technologies-University Media Services and the Office of Public Relations are producing additional profiles for the series.

MBNA, which issues the University of Delaware affinity card, announced June 30 that it will merge with Bank of America by the end of the year.

This transaction will have no immediate impact on the way an individual account is managed. In the long run, the consolidation of two of the nation’s top financial institutions will result in an even stronger menu of product offerings for University of Delaware members and a continued single-minded focus on customer satisfaction.