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President seeks renewed funding commitment from lawmakers
“Let me say at the outset that we have carefully reviewed the governor's recommended budget, and that we are very appreciative of the support from the executive branch on many of the items for which we requested funding last October,” Roselle said. “There are, however, a number of items that we feel are crucial to serving our students and the citizens of Delaware and the region, for which there was no funding recommended in the governor's budget.” Roselle made his requests while presenting UD's FY2007 state operating budget to members of the Joint Finance Committee of the Delaware General Assembly in Dover. Among the requests was restoration of $1 million in minor capital improvement funds initially included in the state's operating appropriation to the University. The $1 million appropriation was moved to the capital budget by the state budget office in the FY2005 request and was funded for a year before being eliminated from that budget, Roselle said. “It does not appear that the FY2007 capital budget will support this standing request for $1 million for minor capital improvement funds,” Roselle said. “These funds are absolutely essential to supporting capital needs associated with new and ongoing teaching and research initiatives.” Cancer research center at UD Specific budget requests for FY2007 include $360,000 for a cooperative cancer research effort between the University and Christiana Care Health System. “Delaware has one of the highest rates of cancer occurrence in the nation,” Roselle said. “The University has established close working relationship with Christiana Care Health System, a relationship that is increasingly deserving of the title, 'a medical school without walls.' We also want to enlarge upon this relationship by seeking $360,000 to assist in funding a Center for Translational Cancer Research at the University of Delaware.” The proposed center, to be located in the Delaware Biotechnology Institute in Newark, will serve as focal point for continuing success in biomedical research and provide infrastructure and support for collaborative and interdisciplinary cancer research among researchers at UD, Christiana Care's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and other area institutions, Roselle said. “The center will provide core services and research training experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, clinical residents and practicing oncologists, as well as faculty members actively engaged or wanting to establish new programs in cancer research,” Roselle said. “The center also will work to identify new multi-investigator, extramural funding opportunities and training grants to support cancer research in our region.” Initial and recurring funds would provide technical support and the addition of two new faculty lines in the life sciences to expand basic research expertise in the molecular aspects of lung, breast and colon cancer and mechanisms of their metastases, Roselle said. Student Collaborative Multimedia Center Roselle also requested $200,000 to support salary and benefits for one position each in Morris Library and in Information Technologies. Funding also would cover computing updates and maintenance costs for a new multimedia center to be located in the lower level of Morris Library. “The University is establishing a Student Collaborative Multimedia Center for students to create and edit multimedia-enriched course projects individually and in groups and to work with other students and faculty to develop communication skills involving the use of multimedia,” Roselle said. Additional staffing costs for renovation of the space, video cameras, recording equipment, projectors, computer upgrades and startup will be covered by the University, Roselle said. Coastal Community Development Center The University also requested $300,000 for the establishment of a Coastal Community Development Center. The center will function as a clearinghouse and resource center, offering analysis of and solutions for the issues surrounding coastal community development, while bringing together University-wide expertise in this area, Roselle said. “Population growth in Kent and Sussex Counties has been at historic high levels over the past two decades, resulting in threats to both our coastal and inland ecosystems,” Roselle said. “Our intention is to enhance current coastal community development efforts by creating a more extensive infrastructure that can more broadly serve Delaware's coastal communities.” Funding would be used to hire a community development specialist who would focus on local economic development, natural resource management and land use. “This individual will work with local community leaders, developers and others to demonstrate new planning and design techniques that can help protect and preserve our coastal natural resources, while still allowing for economic growth,” Roselle said. The request also includes funding for a half-time staff member to develop and maintain a web site that would be used as an interactive planning tool for local communities, as well as support for the center's operation, Roselle said. Transportation infrastructure research Roselle also requested $200,000 to continue the partnership between UD and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) in helping to address the state's transportation problems. Innovative solutions to the problem of repairing and replacing the state's transportation infrastructure would incorporate the Federal Highway Administration's “get in, get out, stay out” strategy, which involves the use of prefabricated systems to make construction safer and less disruptive to the traveling public and the environment, Roselle said. Other transportation-related challenges include projects such as the Tyler McConnell Bridge over the Brandywine River, in an area that is not only environmentally sensitive but also historically important, Roselle said. “Resources at the University of Delaware are already supporting the effort to address the state's transportation challenges,” Roselle said. “The University's ability to expand this contribution is currently limited by the number of faculty in the program. A new faculty line in this area would enable the University to make an even more significant contribution to helping the state address its critical transportation issues. Roselle said UD looks forward to working with the new Delaware Secretary of Transportation, Carolann Wicks. “In addition to [her] superb experience with DelDOT, Ms. Wicks holds both a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in public administration from UD,” Roselle said. “We are proud to be working with such a distinguished alumnus”. Recent achievement and initiatives at UD While presenting UD's 2007 state operating budget, Roselle brought legislators up to speed on recent UD honors and the status of several large-scale additions to UD's physical plant, including:
"The cost of these facilities is approximately $162 million," Roselle said. "We believe in helping ourselves, and we believe that, with your assistance, we can continue the University's ascendancy to the status of one of the nation's premier institutions of higher education. Our citizens deserve nothing less." Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has ranked UD 13th among its 100 best values in public colleges, a ranking 11 spots higher than UD's position of 24th two years ago, Roselle said. “The magazine lauds the University's ability to hold down costs at a time when state colleges and universities across the country are raising rates in response to the sluggish economy, the faltering stock market and increased costs in energy and health care,” Roselle said. “However, it is significant that the Kiplinger's rating is based one-third on cost and two-thirds on academic quality. The Kiplinger's ranking is one more data point in support of the already-mentioned premier status of the University of Delaware.” Roselle also noted that UD is serving more Delawareans than ever, and that this year there were 341 more Delawareans entering UD as first-time freshman than in the fall of 1991, shortly after he arrived at UD. At the conclusion of the presentation, Roselle responded to legislators' questions on a variety of topics, including:
Article by Jerry Rhodes |
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