Forum showcases passion for discovery

From alternative energy to public education, the arts and humanities to corporate governance, the inaugural UD Forum in May featured discussions on a wide range of topical issues with which the University is involved.

In addition to 10 panels moderated by faculty members and joined by leaders from business, government, the University and the community, the daylong event included an opening keynote speech by China’s ambassador to the U.S., entertainment and an international food fair on the South Green.

It also offered alumni the opportunity to reunite with old friends, reconnect with their alma mater and explore the passion for discovery, learning and achievement that have become hallmarks of the University.

Howard Cosgrove, chairman of the UD Board of Trustees, called the Forum “a momentous day.” Welcoming his fellow alumni in particular, he said, “It’s always exciting to come back and re-experience this vibrant campus.”

The Forum opened with a speech by Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, who focused on globalization, which he called “an irreversible historical trend.” He told an overflow audience in Mitchell Hall that continuing a spirit of constructive cooperation between the United States and China will benefit not only the two nations but also the entire world.

With the two nations having such different histories and cultures, Zhou said, “It is only natural that we may sometimes see things differently.” But, he added, “Our economies have so much to offer each other. There is every reason for us to join hands.”

Zhou was introduced by University President Patrick Harker, who pointed out the ties between UD and China, including more than 330 current Chinese undergraduate and graduate students, many Chinese faculty members and a growing East Asian Studies program. In addition, the University has formal exchange agreements with Beijing Normal University, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Xiamen University and Nanjing University.

China is marking 30 years since it began its own economic reforms and the process of implementing full diplomatic ties with the United States, Zhou noted. In the intervening years, the country has emerged as an economic powerhouse and what the ambassador called “an engine for Asian-Pacific economic growth.”

“Every move in our economy affects the world economic growth,” he said. “The world needs China if it is to attain economic prosperity and stability.”

Zhou also encouraged continuing and expanding educational partnerships and exchanges, such as the Confucius Institutes housed at more than 40 locations in the United States. The institutes are a network of educational centers supported by grants from the Chinese government to teach elementary, high school and college students about Chinese culture and language.

Before Zhou’s speech, Alan Fox, associate professor of philosophy and president of the University’s Faculty Senate, welcomed the audience to the Forum. Fox, whose specialty is Chinese thought, called the ambassador’s presence “a perfect example” of the kinds of global partnerships the University is promoting. He also praised the work of the committee and community members who helped with the University’s recent strategic planning process.

“We are so much a better University than we were 20 years ago” when he joined the faculty, Fox said. In building on that progress to advance still further, he urged UD to remember its commitment “to excellence, to open-minded discourse and, most importantly, to our students.”

Other highlights of the UD Forum were two sets of panels held in the morning and afternoon. In addition to the traditional discussions, panels showcased some of UD’s innovative programs, including the new Exelon Trading Center and the student group Engineers Without Borders.

So many Forum attendees signed up for the demonstration Playing Wall Street: Demonstrating UD’s New Exelon Trading Center that the presenters had to offer two sessions instead of one. The center allows simulated stock market trading, with an emphasis on energy and other commodities, and gives UD students access to a type of facility that is available in less than 5 percent of U.S. business schools.

In Building Hope Across the Globe: Engineers Without Borders, members of the UD student organization related how their professional and personal lives have been enriched by their efforts to bring safe, affordable drinking water to a village in Cameroon, West Africa. “I will never forget the smiles on the faces of the kids in the village who wanted to help us,” said project manager Julie M. Trick, who helped establish the UD chapter of the group in 2006.

Participants in the panel Challenges and Opportunities in Alternative Energy agreed that expanding the world’s energy supplies while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the face of global warming will take a combination of sources and approaches, not to mention innovative research, new energy policies and public will. Such alternative energy sources as new biofuels, photovoltaics, wind power and hydrogen fuel cells were discussed.

Another panel, From Kuala Lumpur to Katrina: Arts and Humanities Education in the 21st Century, consisted of UD faculty members from a variety of disciplines. It showcased the University’s leadership initiatives and excellence in musical and theatrical performance, service learning, global education and humanities research.

“These initiatives are already heading us well down the path toward greater prominence in the arts and humanities,” moderator Ann Ardis, professor of English and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, said. “They make the classroom more exciting, play a key role in the globalization of this campus and help bring the world home to Delaware.”

The panel on The Future of Public Education gave educators, public officials and faculty members the opportunity to discuss the challenges involved in implementing reforms at the classroom level.

While reform efforts tend to favor bold policy solutions to educational problems, educators are often more reluctant to embrace sweeping moves that they consider to be “from the top down,” said Nancy Brickhouse, professor and director of UD’s School of Education. “This is with good reason, because history has shown that ‘from the top down’ policies rarely reach the [classroom] in ways that substantially and sustainably improve outcomes of students.”

She described UD as “committed to the improvement of public education” and also to preparing future teachers, with about 10 percent of its undergraduates enrolled in the teacher education program and about 650 graduate-level students.

Another look into the challenges of the future came from the panel Beyond Science: The Future of Health Care, America and the Life Sciences at UD. Participants said that forging stronger partnerships between hospitals and academia to advance workforce training and collaborative research will be a key to the delivery of quality care.

In the Company of Women: Women Leaders in American Business featured presentations by four Delaware women at the top of their fields, who told an overflow crowd how they succeeded despite the gender bias they encountered along the way.

The panelists represented careers in business, law and entrepreneurship and included three UD alumnae—Claire DeMatteis, AS ’87, partner in the Stradley Ronon law firm; Linda J. Myrick, EG ’77, vice president and general manager of Air Liquide Healthcare America Corp.-Scott Medical Products; and Sue M. Sears, BE ’78, vice president of global market development for Kimberly-Clark Corp.—as well as Michele Rollins, chairperson of Rollins Jamaica Ltd.

Other panels at the Forum addressed the topics Climate Change: New Thinking for New Weather, in which environmental experts and policymakers shared their ideas on sustainability measures that might be taken to stem the adverse effects of global warming; Corporate Governance: Where We Have Been, Where We Are Going, which featured panelists discussing the past and future of governance, which is the processes and policies by which companies administer and control themselves; and An Uncertain Future: Public and Private Asset Management and Retirement Planning, focusing on the future of the Social Security system and personal investment options.

The Forum concluded with a keynote address by Harker, “Charting Our Path to Prominence,” which previewed plans for UD’s future (see pages 1-3), and performances by the University of Delaware Chorale, led by Paul Head, associate professor of music, and the student jazz ensemble, and a closing reception.

For full coverage of the University of Delaware Forum, including podcasts of speeches and panel discussions, visit [www.udel.edu/forum].