UD honored for role in higher education planning society

Michael Middaugh, David Roselle and David Hollowell

9:43 a.m., Aug. 29, 2005--The University of Delaware has won the Distinguished Service Award from the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) for its generous and longstanding support of the society. The award was presented to UD President David P. Roselle July 24 during the opening session of the organization’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.

Established in 1965, SCUP is the only association focused on the promotion, advancement and application of effective planning in higher education.

“This Distinguished Service Award is a high compliment to UD, “Roselle said, “coming as it does from an organization dedicated to sound planning to ensure the future of higher education.”

The award recognizes exceptional contributions to the activities and success of SCUP. Recipients are nominated and selected on the basis of their contributions to the society, as well as length of service and commitment to its purposes, goals and activities. Jolene Knapp, executive director of SCUP, said UD earned the award through its “consistent and remarkable” support for the organization.

“During the selection process, I heard people say over and over again that the University of Delaware has always been there for SCUP, through the ups and downs of the economy and the fluctuations of higher education. The most amazing contribution has been the number of people from UD who have assumed leadership positions within SCUP. That is due to the significant support that the University gives its own staff. We could not survive without it,” Knapp said.

SCUP members at UD who have held volunteer leadership positions in the organization are David Hollowell, executive vice president and treasurer; Margaret McDermott, assistant director of facilities planning and construction; Michael Middaugh, assistant vice president for institutional research and planning; and Karen Bauer, formerly with institutional research and planning, now at the University of Georgia.

“The University of Delaware has been most pleased to work with SCUP over the years, lending the leadership and expertise of our staff, and our University has also hosted a Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference and has produced a number of tele-conferences from our campus studios,” Roselle said.

Speaking to more than 1,400 representatives of colleges, universities and corporate supporters from around the world, Roselle said it was “a particular honor to accept the award on behalf of the University of Delaware because I truly believe our institution to be a model of good planning, with goals that are clearly understood by the entire campus community and an impressive record of meeting those goals.”

UD has “reaped countless gains” by meeting four simple goals set 15 years ago, Roselle said:

To provide competitive compensation for faculty and staff;

To increase the number of scholarships and fellowships available to undergraduate and graduate students;

To improve the living and learning environment through new and improved facilities and through overall campus beautification; and

To be a student-centered and student-friendly university.

“By focusing and not wavering on those goals, the University of Delaware has risen to a loftier place among the premiere institutions of higher education in the country,” Roselle said.

He mentioned a few of those accomplishments, which include:

“A campus that features an impressive technology backbone, with residence halls, classrooms, laboratories and office buildings both fully wired and fully wireless, where it makes sense to be wireless.
“A campus completely caught up on deferred maintenance that has added new buildings. We are improving a campus that the Princeton Review has hailed as ‘absolutely the most gorgeous campus anywhere.’
“Within the last several years, we have completed the original plan for The Green, the lovely central portion of our campus, which was developed by the architects Day & Klauder in 1915.
“We have increased the number of endowed professorships from fewer than 10 to more than 100, with David and Kathleen Hollowell themselves helping us reach this milestone with an endowed professorship in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
“The number of applicants for admission has risen to more than 23,000 annually, with nearly 20,000 out-of-state applicants competing for about 2,400 seats. It is a telling statistic that the University of Delaware receives the most out-of-state applications of all publicly assisted universities.”

“I am very grateful for this Distinguished Service Award and accept it on behalf of all my colleagues at the University of Delaware who work every day within UD’s clearly stated plan to continue to achieve our goals,” Roselle said.

Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo courtesy of Society for College and University Planning

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