Vol. 19, No. 10	Nov. 4, 1999

Faculty Senate approves accelerated nursing degree

In its first academic action of the fall semester, the University Faculty Senate Monday voted to give permanent status to an accelerated degree program in nursing.

Approved by the senate in 1993, the accelerated program leading to a bachelor of science in nursing is intended for returning adult students with a bachelor's degree in another major. Since the program was initiated, 122 students have been admitted, 111 students have graduated and 103 have successfully passed the national licensing examination for registered nurses.

According to information provided the senators, the curriculum for the accelerated students is hour-for-hour identical to the traditional four-year program, but allows some videotaped lectures with discussion groups and use of winter and summer sessions. Most common degrees held by the accelerated students are in biology, psychology, nutrition, chemistry and marketing and economics.

Earlier in the meeting, Provost Mel Schiavelli described the ongoing creation of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, a collaborative effort by the state, industry and three Delaware educational institutions to engage in "leading edge" scientific research and develop jobs based on biotechnology and the life sciences. The other academic partners are Delaware State University and Delaware Technical and Community College.

"The investment is substantial," Schiavelli said, "but the payoff is significant." An $80 million initiative over the next five years, Schiavelli said, will "provide research opportunities for students and inject new blood into the science and engineering faculty at the University."

Schiavelli said core research at the institute, which will be housed in a $13.8 million building in Delaware Technology Park, will be in plant/cell biology, animal genetics, computational biology, proteomics or protein structure, biochemistry and biosystems engineering. The 65,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be completed by summer, will include 30 laboratories, office and conference rooms, graduate student space and 12,000 square feet available for rent to start-up companies.

The provost told the senators that 21 University faculty will be associated with the institute. Thirteen new faculty will be hired, including three faculty who will be recruited to fill named professorships. More than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are expected to be involved with research at the center, which is expected to be self-sustaining after a five year start-up period.

In response to a question from Sen. John Bulkowski, chemistry and biochemistry, the provost said faculty assigned to the institute will have regular teaching loads and responsibilities. "Their salaries will be funded by the state and, in all respects, they will be regular faculty," he said. "The overhead they generate from grants and contracts will go first to their colleges and then to the institute."

Sen. Jay Hildebrandt, music, asked Schiavelli if the intellectual property agreements at the institute will be the same as for the rest of the University. "Possibly," Schiavelli said. "Each partner will have to make separate arrangements. What we don't know now is the kind of research that will be going on, especially with the start-up companies."

Further information about the institute can be found at its web site at <www.dbi.udel.edu>.

-Cornelia Weil