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9:30 p.m., Dec. 12, 2002--A series of special presentations highlighted the University of Delaware’s Board of Trustees semiannual meeting, Dec. 12, in the Trabant University Center.
Beginning with a series of photographs of UD residence halls and some of the students who live in them, Cynthia Cummings, associate vice president for campus life, talked about the intensive training program and interview process prospective resident assistants (RAs) must complete before being considered for one of the 182 positions at UD.
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| From left, Kevin Tressler, Cynthia Cummings, Lysandra Cheatham and Kara Sylvis |
Cummings noted that these resident assistants are supported by a team of 13 professional staff members, six salaried staff members, and 33 hall directors responsible for 7,200 students in eight residential complexes on campus.
Three RAs were on hand to talk about challenges and rewards associated with the residence life position, including crisis management, personal and social support and administrative and facilities support.
Making presentations were Kara M. Sylvis, a junior business administration major from Amherst, N.Y.; Lysandra R. Cheatham, a junior psychology major from Newark; and Kevin E. Tressler, a junior mass communication major from Philadelphia.
The resident assistants talked about the importance of encouraging others to become proactive, the need to deal with difficult situations and the professional and leadership skills gained as part of the RA experience at UD.
Robert F. Rider, chair of the Trustee Committee on Grounds and Buildings, introduced a special video presentation created by members of UD Media Services that celebrates the vision of Pierre S. du Pont, industrialist and philanthropist and one of UD’s greatest benefactors. Contributing to the video effort from Information Technologies/University Media Services were Lonnie Hearn, director; Robert DiIorio, video producer; Micah Fegley, graphic designer II; and Kyle Chappell, video producer. Kathleen Pirkl-Tague of the theatre department also was recognized for her contribution to the video.
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| Dan Rich |
In a separate presentation on faculty achievement, Provost Dan Rich noted the important role named professors play in setting standards for academic excellence and serving as models for the entire faculty.
“Their teaching, scholarship and public service define what excellence means at the University of Delaware,” Rich said.
Rich said that the Campaign for Delaware’s success, attracting support from alumni and friends of the University, has resulted in growth in the number of named professorships. There were less than 10 a decade ago and 82 today, he said, introducing recent named professors and other honorees. They include Peter Kolchin, Henry Clay Reed Professor of History and the recipient of UD’s highest faculty award, the 2002 Francis Alison Award. All the faculty were asked to stand and be recognized.
The provost also introduced Amalia Amaki, curator of the Paul R. Jones Collection, and the art collector and benefactor Paul Jones.
“My final portrait is of UD benefactor Paul Jones at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on the evening of Oct. 5,” Rich said. “He is accepting the James Van Der Zee Award for lifetime contributions to the arts. In addition to the coveted award, the Brandywine Workshop announced to President Roselle that evening that it would donate from its collection fine art prints valued at $350,000 to the Paul R. Jones Collection to further its mission and enhance its unique partnership with the University of Delaware.
“Jones chose to donate the collection to the University of Delaware,” Rich said, “because of our institution’s outstanding programs in art, art history, art conservation and related fields and because he wanted a home where African-American art could be woven into the very fabric of American art. He said to all of us assembled that evening: ‘I donated my art on behalf of all of you. Enjoy it, learn from it, share it, develop a love for it and for each other.’”
In his remarks, President David P. Roselle reviewed UD’s current budget situation, noting that the University had returned $3.1 million to the state of Delaware to meet projected state budget shortfalls.
Roselle said UD receives about $100 million from the state, or about 18 percent of its total operating budget of $566 million. He detailed the various other sources of funds for the budget, including tuition and grants and contracts secured by UD faculty.
In the area of admissions, he said there were more than 20,000 applicants for the Class of 2006, a number that is likely to increase in the next year. Eighty-five percent of Delaware residents who applied to UD were granted admission, he said, with 70 percent admitted to the Newark campus and 15 percent admitted to UD through the Parallel Program.
The president also spoke about UD’s recent recognition as a leader in the field of innovative instruction by being named “the” national model by the Reinvention Center, which is attempting to reinvent the way undergraduate education is carried out at major research universities.
Roselle also told trustees UD is ranked sixth in study abroad participation among research universities and first among public research universities. One in four UD students takes part in study abroad.
Several benefactors also were recognized by the trustees, including:
- William L. Friend, a member of the Class of 1958, who has pledged $300,000 to create the William L. Friend Professorship in Chemical Engineering;
- Lawrence R. Buchalter and his wife, Robin M. Buchalter, both members of the Class of 1981, who have pledged $500,000 to establish a scholarship endowment for students from New Jersey to be known as the Lawrence R. and Robin M. Buchalter Scholarship Fund;
- Aletta Laird Downes, who donated $500,000 to name the clean room in P.S. du Pont Hall in memory of her uncle, industrialist Pierre S. du Pont, one of UD’s greatest benefactors; and
- Louisa Copeland Duemling, who gave $250,000 to name the dean’s suite in DuPont Hall in memory of her uncle, P.S. du Pont. The building was dedicated on Sept. 22, 2002.
In other action, the Board of Trustees elected R.R.M. Carpenter III to another six-year term. He chairs the Trustee Committee on Student Life and Athletics. The Dec. 12 meeting was the first full board meeting for three trustees: Lauren B. Brohawn, James P. Neal and Everett C. Toomey.
At the start of the meeting, trustees chairman Howard E. Cosgrove asked attendees to join in a moment of silence in memory of J. Bruce Bredin, former chairman of the board and a generous UD benefactor who died Nov. 12.
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