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4:30 p.m., April 10, 2003--Speaking at the semiannual General Faculty Meeting Monday afternoon, April 7, President David P. Roselle assured the faculty that University gains over the last decade will not be compromised.
“Fundamentally, UD is a strong institution with the prospect of becoming stronger,” Roselle said. He urged his audience to “keep your emphasis on the good that we do, not the needs that we have.”
The challenges include declining state support, diminished endowment value and increasing operational costs, Roselle said, but he said he was confident that University colleagues are “committed to continuing their efforts to make our great institution even better. The problems of schools across the country include freezing salaries (Stanford) and instituting furloughs (Maryland).” In contrast, he said, “UD has not missed a salary increment since 1990.”
Nevertheless, he said, improvements in efficiency and a soft freeze on professional and staff positions will continue, and all programs will need to adopt a “lean” attitude. “We must be aware of the need to handle the budget challenges by a combination of cost reductions and increased tuition and fees, while making all good efforts to minimize the latter.
“Our goal is to continue to fill faculty positions. Doing so will put us in a great position to attract exceptional faculty. You’ll recall that we used this strategy to our advantage in the early 1990s. I’m confident that, as we did then, we will emerge from this current budget problem relatively stronger than before,” Roselle said.
Roselle also cited some “powerful indicators of the good work our colleagues are doing.” UD’s incoming students for fall were selected from almost 22,000 applicants, a 70 percent increase over a decade ago, he said. Early Decision applications have more than doubled since the program began in 1993, and those students offered admission had average SAT scores of 1225—nearly 60 points higher than five years ago. A record-setting 7,000 graduate applications were received as well.
UD’s students are more diverse, both geographically and ethnically, than before, Roselle said, and the incoming class will include more Delawareans than ever before. “We’ve tripled the rate of undergraduate financial aid support in the last decade,” he said. Graduate financial aid has more than doubled over the same period, without taking into account tuition scholarships for teaching and research assistants.
Roselle told the senators that “our students succeed” and they do so because of the interest of our faculty and staff. UD ranks sixth in the nation among study-abroad programs in research institutions and ranks fifth in the nation in successful graduation of African-American students. He congratulated the newest Truman Scholar, Bryan Townsend of Newark, Del., and the successful women’s basketball team.
In the area of faculty strength, the president highlighted that there are now 85 named professors and the newest among them will deliver inaugural lectures on April 24: Antony Beris, Arthur B. Metzner Professor of Chemical Engineering; Steven Brown, Willis F. Harrington Professor of Chemistry; and Mary Donaldson-Evans, Elias Ahuja Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
In addition, he announced, Harry L. Shipman, Annie Jump Cannon Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has just received the NSF Director’s Award, its highest award presented to professors who excel at both undergraduate teaching and scholarship.
Roselle said that sponsored research programs, which now bring in 30 percent more income than the state appropriation, are expected to bring in $130 million this year.
“Our physical campus is already the envy of most other institutions of higher education,” Roselle said, “but we continue to work to improve it.” The Laird Campus will soon function as a regional conference center with the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in the fall, he said, providing housing for campus visitors and a learning laboratory for students in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. UD’s Early Learning Center is expected to open in June.
Other projects include the renovation of Mechanical Hall to house the Paul R. Jones Collection, a humanities complex planned for the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures by joining two former fraternity houses near Old College and renovation or replacement of the Pencader Residence Hall Complex.
“The Campaign for Delaware has reached nearly $350 million in its fifth year,” Roselle said, far exceeding the original five-year goal of $225 million. This campaign has resulted in named faculty positions, additional scholarship and fellowship support and numerous additions to the physical plant. The president said that he was grateful to the many members of the faculty and staff who have contributed to the Campaign for Delaware.
He reminded faculty of upcoming events, including Honors Day on May 9; the Alison Award lecture by UD historian Peter Kolchin, May 12; and spring Commencement, May 31, featuring former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell as speaker.
Memorial tributes presented at the meeting for three professors can be found on the “In Memoriam” section on UDaily. Barbara H. Settles presented the tribute to Tamara K. Hareven; Carolyn Thoroughgood remembered Franklin C. Daiber; and Betty Paulanka memorialized Anna Lee DeHaven.
Article by Cornelia Weil
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