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President Roselle asks lawmakers for increased support

UD President David Roselle addresses members of the Joint Finance Committee of the Delaware General Assembly in Dover.
2:29 p.m., Feb. 26, 2004--While thanking state lawmakers for their support over the long term, University of Delaware President David P. Roselle also told them that state support for UD has been declining in recent years.

“Higher education in general, and the University of Delaware in particular, appears to be a diminishing priority for the state government,” Roselle said.

Roselle made his remarks to members of the Joint Finance Committee of the Delaware General Assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Dover.

In his talk, Roselle noted that in 1990, the state operating appropriation for UD was 5.9 percent of the state budget, but that proportion had declined to 4.2 percent for FY 2004.

Since 1990, Roselle told legislators, the state’s total operating budget has grown 6 percent on average, while the comparable growth rate for the state appropriation for UD increased only 3 percent.

“The impact of such a decline on UD resources is significant,” Roselle said.

Roselle said the state operating appropriation represented 23.2 percent of UD’s total budget in 1990, but is only 17.1 percent of the University’s total budget for this fiscal year.

“The proportional decline in state support for the University of Delaware means that we have had to cultivate and rely on nonstate revenue streams, including tuition and fees, to a greater extent than in the past,” Roselle said.

“UD has made significant strides in self-support, including a capital campaign that has raised in excess of $390 million, but state support continues to be important to our ability to fully serve the citizens of Delaware,” Roselle said.

The president also noted that UD faculty and staff brought in nearly $125 million in external funding for instruction, research and service during the last fiscal year, nearly 25 percent more than the $100.1 million it received in state operating funds.

“These external funds support significant outreach activity, ranging from improved professional development for Delaware’s teachers, to extension activity in support of Delaware’s agribusiness to work meeting the special needs of the state’s communities,” Roselle said. “We are the best bargain the state has.”

Besides generating external funding in excess of the appropriations received from the state, Roselle said, members of the UD community spent more than $300 million in Delaware, creating an economic impact that supported nearly 11,000 jobs in the state, according to an economic impact study conducted in 1999.

Roselle said that declining state support seems to be part of a national trend caused by a variety of factors, including budget constraints faced by state governments during times of economic downturns.

“There are a lot of societal needs, as well as the belief that government should do more things for people than they have done in the past,” Roselle said. “We are truly grateful for the support you are giving us. We just wanted to let you know that we are getting less of the pie.”

Legislators commend UD for its efforts in combating avian flu

At the hearing, legislators expressed appreciation for the role played by UD during the recent avian flu crisis in Delaware and the region.

“Late in the afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 5, Dr. Mariano Salem, director of the Poultry Diagnostic Center at the Research and Education Center in Georgetown, discovered that a broiler from a flock of chickens housed near Harrington had died from avian flu,” Roselle said. “Salem knew that he would have to act fast to prevent this highly contagious respiratory poultry disease from spreading to other farms and flocks.”

Poultry specialists at the center, which is housed in the Lasher Laboratory at UD’s Research and Education Center, worked round the clock to test commercial flocks within a five-mile radius of the initial infected flock, Roselle said.

In that testing, the center identified a second infected flock in Greenwood, located in northern Sussex County.

Since the only way to stop the spread of avian flu is to contain and kill the chickens, the two infected flocks were destroyed and disposed of by poultry professionals according to biosecurity standards.

“UD Cooperative Extension poultry specialist George Malone volunteered to oversee the process of the destruction of 82,000 broilers,” Roselle said. “As a result of the efforts of UD scientists, poultry specialists and volunteers, the loss so far has been kept to two farms and those 82,000 chickens, thus averting what could have been an economic disaster for the state.” There are approximately 50 commercial flocks in the region.

“Your investment in agricultural special [budget] lines makes this possible,” Roselle told the legislators.

After the initial outbreak, UD has participated in efforts to contain the virus along with poultry scientists at the University of Maryland, the Delaware Department of Agriculture, the Delmarva Poultry Industry and USDA Veterinary Services, he said.

“UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has helped avert a crisis in state and regional poultry operations through its long and vital connection to state agriculture authorities, the Delmarva Poultry Industry, and farmers and colleagues in other states,” Roselle said. “In this collaborative effort, the skill of University scientists and the know-how of extension specialists have helped prevent an outbreak of avian flu that had the potential to economically devastate Delmarva’s $1.5 billion broiler industry.”

Funding for Early Learning Center

Lawmakers expressed interest in the University’s request for $300,000 in state funds to support development of the Early Learning Center.

The model child-care facility, which will provide technical assistance and professional development for early-care education in Delaware, will be housed in the former Girls Inc. building on Wyoming Road in Newark.

“Sixty-five percent of children under age 5 in Delaware are in child care,” Roselle said. “The quality of early care that children receive is a significant factor in later academic and social success.”

Roselle also cited a UD study that found that children living in poverty who received high-quality early education were twice as likely to pass the state’s third-grade standards test and five times less likely to be retained in grade during their first four years of school.

By specifically targeting those children with risk factors, including poverty, foster care and disabilities, Roselle said the Early Learning Center will provide exemplary infant, toddler and preschool care to a diverse population of children.

First-year goals for the new center cited by Roselle include:

  • 250 children directly served;
  • 400 UD undergraduate and graduate students trained;
  • 200 practicing early childhood educators served; and
  • More than 2,100 children throughout the state indirectly affected.

    “The center will provide important clinical education experience for UD students in early childhood education, family services education and nursing,” Roselle said. “The center also will provide outreach throughout the state, especially to those caregivers serving families in poverty, and to those providers who need training and technical assistance in order to meet state standards.”

    Roselle noted that UD already has made a significant investment in the center and has allocated $6 million in capital and operating expenditures, including $2 million to purchase the building and $4 million for renovation.

    “The funds requested from the state will be used to support salaries, service programs for children and their families, and professional development training for early-care and education providers,” Roselle said. This new initiative was not included in the governor’s recommended budget, Roselle said, but “the University asks that the state share in this commitment to Delaware’s children at the requested level of support.”

    Associate in arts degree program

    In his presentation to the Joint Finance Committee, Roselle also requested $270,000 for the Associate in Arts Degree Program, a partnership program with Delaware Technical and Community College that will begin in September.

    Under the partnership, Roselle said that students at Del Tech, following a prescribed curriculum that includes courses forming the foundation of a traditional liberal arts education, will be awarded a UD associate in arts degree and will be guaranteed eligibility to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UD’s Newark campus.

    “The funding will support personnel needed to foster student success,” Roselle said. “The new associate in arts program will enable more Delawareans to benefit from a University of Delaware education and to obtain a UD degree.”

    Roselle noted that, while $50,000 for the program was included in the governor’s recommended budget, UD is asking for the full amount requested—$270,000.

    “We need to do more so that these young people can succeed,” Roselle said. “With this program, they will be motivated to go on with their educations.”

    Article by Jerry Rhodes
    Photo by Duane Perry

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