2:11 p.m., March 7, 2008--“Creating a Livable Delaware: Pathways for Enhancing Prosperity and Quality of Life” will be the focus of a daylong conference on Tuesday, March 25, at the University of Delaware's Clayton Hall Conference Center in Newark.

The conference will feature a keynote address by William B. Chandler III, chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, on “Posing the Challenge of Creating a Livable Delaware,” and a luncheon address by Richard E. Killingsworth, executive director of The Harvest Foundation, on “Creating a Healthy Delaware.”

The day also will include panel discussions on “Strengthening Local Economies,” “Enhancing Delaware's Heritage” and “Building and Financing Delaware's Infrastructure.”

The conference also will be broadcast live at UD's Carvel Research and Education Center, 16483 County Seat Highway, in Georgetown, Del.

Second in a series of programs, the conference will look at the continued growth of Delaware and the surrounding region, as well as the emerging trends and strategies that will impact economic prosperity and the quality of life. The series aims to engage university, government and business leaders in the challenges and opportunities for partnership and to highlight opportunities for enhanced future partnerships.

The first conference in the series, “Creating Knowledge-Based Partnerships: Challenges and Opportunities,” on Friday, Nov. 2, 2007, drew more than 400 leaders from the state of Delaware, representing the triumvirate of higher education, business and government.

The conference will begin at 8 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast. UD President Patrick T. Harker will make welcome remarks at 9 a.m., and Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner will discuss the foundations of a livable Delaware. Chandler will speak at 9:30 a.m.

John Taylor, executive director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute, will moderate responses to Chandler's presentation by panelists Thomas Morr, president and CEO of Select Greater Philadelphia; Michael Scuse, secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture; Michael Riska, executive director of the Delaware Nature Society; Preston Schell, president of the Ocean Atlantic Companies; and Richard Heffron, senior vice president for government affairs at the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.

Dick Christopher, vice chairman of Nemours Foundation Board of Directors, will introduce Killingsworth, who is nationally recognized for his pioneering efforts in cultivating the emerging domains of placemaking and active living which considers the impacts of the built and natural environment on everyday life, especially health.

Responses to Killingsworth's luncheon speech will be given by panelists Jaime (Gus) Rivera, director of the Division of Public Health in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services; Marianne Carter, director of the Delaware Center for Health Promotion, University of Delaware; and Karyl Rattay, senior policy and program analyst at Nemours Health and Prevention Services. Gwen Angelet, director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Program Integration at Nemours Health and Prevention Services, will moderate the panel.

Mayor James Baker of Wilmington, Del., will moderate a panel discussion on a presentation, “Strengthening Local Economies” by Jesse L. White, Jr., director of the Office of Economic and Business Development at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The panelists will be Joseph DiPinto, director of the Wilmington Office of Economic Development; James Hutchison, assistant vice president at Commerce Bank; and Judy McKinney-Cherry, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office.

Nancy Targett, dean of UD's College of Marine and Earth Studies, will moderate a panel discussion on “Enhancing Delaware's Heritage” by David Ames, director of UD's Center for Historic Architecture and Design; Ed Kee, extension specialist in UD's Cooperative Extension; Laura Scanlan, former director of the Delaware Division of the Arts; Constance Holland, director of the Office of State Planning Coordination; and Dennis Forney, publisher of the Cape Gazette and chairman of the Greater Lewes Foundation.

Delaware State University President Allen Sessoms will moderate the final panel discussion of the day, “Building and Financing Delaware's Infrastructure” by Sue McNeil, UD professor of civil and environmental engineering; Jeffrey Bullock, chief administrative officer of New Castle County, Del.; Carolann Wicks, secretary of the Delaware Department of Transportation; Mike Jackson, director of budget development, planning and administration in the Delaware Office of Management and Budget; and Nicholas DiPasquale, senior consultant at Duffield Associates Inc.

Cost of this conference is $50, and registration is open on a space-available basis until March 17. Additional conference information and online registration are available at [www.udel.edu/partnerships].

The broadcast in Georgetown is free and open to the public, and lunch will be available for $15.

The conference is sponsored by UD, the Office of the Governor, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Delaware Public Policy Institute, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical and Community College, First State Innovation, Select Greater Philadelphia, Nemours health and Prevention Services and the News Journal.

Article by Martin Mbugua