Additional support for library resources and student scholarships top the University of Delaware's request for state appropriations in the upcoming fiscal year, according to a request presented Nov. 17 by UD President David P. Roselle to members of the governor's executive staff.

The requested state appropriation is within the limitations set by Gov. Thomas Carper.

The request is for $111.7 million, inclusive of debt service, representing an increase of $3.7 million, or 3.4 percent, over the current fiscal year state allocation of $108 million to UD.

Again this year, UD's top priority request is for $200,000 to cover inflationary increases in the cost of library materials. Because of persistent inflationary pressures, UD will have to spend an additional $327,330 this year just to maintain its existing journal collection. That does not take into account additional funds required to acquire new book titles, journals, databases and microforms needed to maintain a first-rate academic library.

Also atop the University's list is a request for $317,300 for scholarship programs. Scholarships enable qualified students to attend UD and also enable those students to continue through graduation without falling prey to financial difficulties. Ongoing state and University support have resulted in record retention and graduation rates.

The additional support for scholarships will help ensure "that no qualified student will be denied access to a University of Delaware education owing to lack of ability to pay for that education," Roselle said.

Other aspects of the University request include:

• $250,000, as the last of four installments to assist in-state students and their families with unmet needs through the General Scholarships and Aid to Needy Students program;
• $54,000 in additional funds for the Delaware Research Scholars Program, which provides in-state undergraduates with opportunities for collaborative research with senior faculty;
• $550,000 in additional funds for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, to support programs in poultry disease research, land use analysis and nutrient management;
• $50,000 in additional funds to support the Institute for Public Administration in the "Strong Towns Initiative," designed to help existing communities to minimize sprawl;
• $100,000 in additional funds for the College of Marine Studies, a Sea Grant college, to bolster outreach efforts;
• $75,000 to fund study abroad opportunities, building on a Starr Foundation grant and continuing the University's leadership in the field. The nation's first study abroad program was founded at UD in the 1920s;
• $150,000 to acquire and maintain the latest in computing technology in teaching laboratories in the College of Engineering;
• * $375,000 in annually recurring funds to assist with the cost of computer software licenses;
• * $150,000 as the first installment toward permanent funding of the Corporate Governance Center in the College of Business and Economics, a center established as a forum to promote progressive changes in corporate structure and management;
• $82,000 to support two women's assistant coaching positions as part of UD's Athletics Gender Equity Plan;
• $200,000 for three faculty positions in mathematics, reading and special education to strengthen middle school teacher education and professional development;
• $150,000 for leadership education and service learning programs administered by the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy;
• $100,000 to support and extend historic preservation research and outreach through the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, which helps communities use their historic resources in support of economic development;
• $100,000 for new faculty positions and teaching assistantships to support a new instructional program that fosters technology-enriched discovery learning programs in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy;
• $100,000 for research on coastal environmental quality; and
• $200,000 to support a geriatric specialist and graduate students in the Delaware Health Services and Research Center.

During the presentation, Roselle said that over the past decade UD has "significantly diversified its revenue base without undue reliance on tuition revenue."

That, he said, "has been due, in no small part, to our successful partnership with the state, and your support for the state's First University."

However, Roselle said UD has not been totally reliant on state support in meeting the increasing costs of higher education. Faculty and professional staff have been "extraordinarily productive" over the last decade and have generated an increase in external funds for instruction, research and service activity from approximately $40 million in FY 1990 to a predicted more than $100 million in FY 2001, he said.

In addition, annual gifts to the University have increased threefold to $44.7 million during that same period, Roselle said.

–Neil Thomas