UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 1, Page 1                                
September 3, 1992                                              
Golden anniversary grads participate in Convocation            
                                                               
     University of Delaware officials welcomed more than 3,000 members        
of the Class of 1996 to campus Monday in traditional New Student     
Convocation ceremonies held outdoors on the Mall.                    
     Speaking from the steps of Memorial Hall, University President  
David P. Roselle welcomed incoming freshmen, more than half of them  
women. Some of the more than 650 transfer students also were in the  
audience.                                                            
     The average grade point index of incoming students is 3.09,     
Roselle said, and this class has the largest numbers of first-year   
students ever enrolled in the University's Honors Program.           
     While most members of the incoming class are from Delaware and  
six surrounding states, Roselle noted that one member of the class is
from Hawaii.                                                         
     He advised other classmates to get to know this class member in 
hopes of getting a spring break invitation.                          
     Roselle also noted that more than 40 percent of the class was      
involved in volunteer activities prior to coming to campus, and he   
urged them to continue that tradition of volunteerism while at the   
University.                                                          
     "Much of what is truly important to our nation depends on our own        
individual willingness to volunteer assistance to our fellow         
citizens," he said.                                                  
     At the ceremony, Kenneth M. Lomax, associate professor of       
agricultural engineering and president of the Faculty Senate,        
presented the 1992 Francis Alison Award to Burnaby Munson, professor 
of chemistry and biochemistry. (See story on page 3.)                
     The Alison Award is presented annually to the faculty member    
judged by his or her peers to have made the most significant         
contribution to his or her field of study.                           
     It is named for Francis Alison, the founder of the New London   
Academy, the school which eventually became the University of        
Delaware. The recipient is presented a check for $5,000.             
     Lomax called Munson's teaching "legendary" and said, "Those of     
you enrolled in his class this fall are in for a treat, but I should 
warn you that you are also in for a challenge. Many chemistry majors 
have gone to graduate school carrying with them the enthusiasm that  
Prof. Munson instilled."                                             
     Lomax also cited Munson's research in the filed of spectroscopy.
     Also taking part in Convocation were Gloria Moat Bradley and    
Annabelle Prettyman Wollaston, both members of the Class of 1946, who
presented the class flag to Elizabeth W. Zimny, a member of the Class
of 1996.                                                             
     When the Class of '46 began its studies at the University in the
early 1940s, the institution had only male students. Coeducation went
into effect in 1945, and 120 students-71 women and 49 men-graduated in        
1946.                                                                
     Zimny, selected to represent the class of 1996, is a graduate of
McKean High School where she was a tutor, a member of the yearbook   
staff, president of the AFS and a member of the math league.         
     At the University, she plans to major in chemistry and foreign     
languages and is one of 11 Eugene du Pont Memorial Distinguished     
scholars.                                                            
     Also participating in the ceremony were Russell S. Porter,      
president of the Delaware Undergraduate Student Congress (DUSC), the 
University's student government, and Regina H. McCann, a member of the        
Class of 1994 who led the singing of the alma mater.                 
     Music was provided by the Devon Brass Quintet.                  
                                        -Beth Thomas