Quality academic programs key to UD's success

The most obvious changes at the University in the 17 years of David P. Roselle’s presidency are the many expansions and improvements to the physical campus itself—frequently cited as one of the most attractive in the country.

As the college selection season got under way last fall, anxious high school seniors began sending out their required applications, transcripts, essays and letters of recommendation. By the time the process concluded, 23,115 of them had requested admission to UD’s Class of 2011.

The volume of applications set an all-time record for the University and also was remarkable for the number—more than 20,000—that came from outside Delaware. Those totals, President Roselle recently told a general faculty meeting, are a clear indication of UD’s popularity and of its ever-growing reputation for educational quality and value. It is also telling that more than 40 percent of the applicants listed UD as their first choice.

High academic rankings and outstanding programs for undergraduate and graduate students are just one indication of the University’s progress during Roselle’s 17-year presidency. As UD steadily has earned more recognition for its academic quality, more and more talented students have chosen to enroll, and the institution’s quality has been further enhanced by their abilities.

“Today, [the University] is highly regarded for its educational quality, cutting-edge research, extensive service throughout the First State, sound management, attention to the undergraduate experience and the quality of life of its students,” U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware said at a recent statewide event honoring David and Louise Roselle for their accomplishments since arriving in Delaware in May 1990.

Freshman statistics tell some of the story. In 1991, applications for admission to the freshman class totaled 12,875, only about 55 percent of the number of students who applied this year. Of those who ultimately enrolled, the 1991 freshman class had average SAT scores of 1121, compared with an average 1206 in 2005. (Beginning in 2006, the SAT scores include an additional, separate writing component, making numerical comparisons with previous years difficult.)

At the same time that the University has been growing in popularity and recognition for its undergraduate programs, its graduate studies also have expanded. The number of graduate students was 2,673 in 1990, compared with 3,446 this year.

During Roselle’s tenure, UD also has been counted among the nation’s leading institutions of higher education according to a variety of surveys and publications that assess colleges and universities. Most recently, those include U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 “America’s Best Colleges” issue, its Best Graduate Schools book and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s list of the 100 best values among public institutions of higher education.

Kiplinger’s 2007 listings rank the University No. 10 nationally in best values for out-of-state students among four-year public colleges and universities that combine outstanding economic value with a first-class education.

For details about UD’s highly ranked graduate programs in the current Best Graduate Schools book, as well as the recognition given the Lerner College of Business and Economics by a Business Week review of undergraduate programs, see page 22 of this Messenger.

“The University of Delaware is a very different place than it was when David Roselle became president,” Howard E. Cosgrove, chairman of the UD Board of Trustees, said recently. “He has transformed the University from a good-quality regional public university into a national leader.”

Individual students have received national recognition for their work as well, with UD producing four Rhodes Scholars during Roselle’s presidency. In 2005, the University was named a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution—joining only 49 other institutions receiving the honor in the scholarship foundation’s 30-year history—in recognition of the number of UD students who have earned Truman Scholarships for graduate study. That number now totals 16, more than many prestigious universities throughout the U.S.

Specific academic programs at the University have attracted national attention and increased student interest in recent years. These include the Honors Program, undergraduate research and study abroad.

The Honors Program, designed to nurture a community of scholars through challenging classroom experiences and other organized enrichment activities, this year admitted a record number of incoming freshmen, with 470 accepted into the program. In addition to those students formally enrolled in the program, other talented students also can take honors courses. In all, the program directly serves about 14 percent of the student body.

Indirectly, however, the program benefits the entire campus. Numerous academic innovations at UD began as successful pilot projects in the Honors Program and then expanded to other classes and programs.

The widely praised Undergraduate Research Program, which began as part of the Honors Program in 1980 with a handful of participants, now attracts hundreds of students each year. At any given time, between 600 and 700 students are actively engaged in research that involves nearly every academic department. Two-thirds of the faculty, and more than 90 percent of the science and engineering faculty, regularly work with undergraduates in research. The program has added enhancements over the years, including a Summer Scholars Program that gives selected undergraduates financial support to conduct full-time research during the summer.

The success of undergraduate research at the University has drawn national attention from other institutions of higher education. In 2003, for example, the director of The Reinvention Center at the State University of New York in Stony Brook—established to improve undergraduate education at research institutions nationwide—called UD’s program “one of the best in the country.”

The program also works closely with the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which prepares low-income, first-generation college students and underrepresented students for doctoral study. UD’s McNair Scholars, who learn to do research as undergraduates, have a 100 percent acceptance rate into graduate school.

Yet another University program that has significantly expanded during Roselle’s time at UD is study abroad. Today, almost 43 percent of students participate in study abroad at least once during their undergraduate years, compared with slightly less than 12 percent in 1990. Participation in such programs is partly supported by need-based and academic scholarships that were unavailable in 1990.

The Institute of International Education recently ranked UD in the top 20—and the only public institution on the list—in study-abroad participation by undergraduates at doctoral/research institutions.

The institute also gave UD its Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in the category of “internationalizing the campus.”