UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 20, Page 1
February 18, 1993
Roselle tells legislators that U.D. is 'genuine resource'
The University of Delaware is a genuine resource and source of pride
to the people of this state," President David P. Roselle yesterday told
members of the General Assembly's Joint Finance Committee, and "a healthy
and vital University of Delaware is a major contributor to the intellectual
and economic well-being of the state and region.
"Funds appropriated to the University are a demonstrably solid
investment in the state's future," Roselle said.
"Although Delaware is small with respect to its geographical size and
population, your state University stands tall with other major land-grant
universities throughout the nation in the quality and breadth of its
undergraduate and graduate programs, its research and public service
activities and its capacity to improve the general quality of life for
Delaware residents," he said.
Roselle urged legislators to carefully consider the positive impact of
the University on the state's economy when deciding on its level of support
for the upcoming fiscal year.
"There is a substantial return to Delaware on each state dollar
invested in the University," he said, citing a recent economic impact
study, which "demonstrates that each dollar invested by the state in the
University has a strong multiplier effect leading to the creation of jobs
and additional revenues to the state."
According to that study:
* Total spending by University employees in the state and region is
estimated at $107 million per year, supporting 3,900 jobs outside
of the University and $58 million in associated taxable wages.
* The University's employee benefits package supports an additional
730 jobs outside of the University and $14 million in associated
taxable wages.
* University students spend $78 million annually off-campus, over
and above tuition and on-campus room and aboard, thus supporting
1,600 jobs outside of the University and $22 million in
associated taxable wages, or, put another way, Roselle said,
"University of Delaware students annually invest more in the
local economy than the University receives in its entire state
appropriation."
* Of all the bachelor's degrees awarded by Delaware higher education
institutions in 1991-92, 79 percent were University of Delaware
degrees; and the University awarded 62 percent of all master's
degrees and 100 percent of Ph.D.s.
* Follow-up surveys of classes graduating from the University show
that one in four out-of-state students remain in Delaware as
productive employees and taxpayers.
* Of the $337.4 million in total resources available to the
University in FY 1992, only 20 percent came from the state
appropriation.
The president said "any reduction to the current level of state
funding proposed by the governor would have severe consequences with
respect to the University's ability to continue to offer a broad range of
programs and services to the citizens of Delaware.
"The University, like the state," he said, "has had to cope with
extraordinary fiscal pressures growing out of the national recession. We
have balanced our budgets over the past several years by eliminating over
$28 million in items in our basic operations, including approximately 300
personnel positions.
"These reductions have been very painful and have tested the limits of
our capability to continue to provide a full range of programs and
services," Roselle said.
In his presentation, Roselle expressed appreciation that Gov. Castle's
recommended budget includes restoration of a 1 percent originally proposed
reduction from last year's appropriation as well as $100,000 in additional
support for the Delaware Scholars Award Program, which recognizes superior
academic talent in the state's public and private high schools and keeps
that talent in Delaware, and he asked for additional support of several
financial aid and other programs, as well as increased funding to meet the
inflationary costs of library books and periodicals.
"Access to the University of Delaware for all qualified students,
regardless of their ability to pay tuition and other costs, is a
cornerstone of our admissions policy," Roselle said, outlining a request
for additional aid for needy students, for minority students and for
varsity athletes.
The support for library books and periodicals will help stop recent
cuts to the library's collection, Roselle said, to ensure that the quality
of the highly regarded facility is not eroded.
Roselle also asked for supplemental funding for the Small Business
Development Center to establish satellite offices at Delaware State College
and on the Georgetown campus of Delaware Technical and Community College
and to add an additional counselor in New Castle County.
In his presentation before the legislators, the president also
requested:
* one-time funding to equip undergraduate laboratories,
* support of faculty positions in the area of health education and
soil sciences; an assistant coach for women's basketball,
ensuring compliance with Title IX guidelines for equity in men's
and women's athletics;
* funds to create a Delaware Principals' Leadership Academy,
replicating a successful national program held on the campus last
summer and designed to reinforce Delaware's position as a
national leader in educational reform,
* support for instructional activities and equipment repair and
replacement for the Medical Technology Program, and
* funds to assist with staff and other operating costs in the
internationally known Center for Composite Materials.
Roselle said he was pleased by the agreement of the state's budget
director, Michael Ferguson, that the University of Delaware had been the
most cooperative state agency in dealing with the fiscal problems
experienced by Delaware during recent years.
He noted that the request being made of the legislature, if fully
funded, would result in a 2.5 percent increase beyond last year's
appropriation to the University. "This should be seen as clear evidence
that the University of Delaware intends to continue its record of careful
management and responsible budget requests," Roselle said.
Roselle also stressed to the legislators that the University is
seeking "equitable treatment with respect to other state-assisted higher
education institutions and with respect to the total state budget."
The rate of growth for the University appropriation from fiscal years
1988 to 1994 is 14.7 percent, Roselle said, a rate of growth "substantially
below that for the appropriations to the other two state-assisted
institutions and to Delaware higher education as a whole, and a rate
roughly half that of the total state budget."
In fact, he said, "the University's appropriation growth rate over
that five-year period is 12 percentage points below the Consumer Price
Index, while growth in the state budget kept pace with the CPI.
"If the aggregate state budget is growing at a rate faster than the
University's appropriation, then clearly the University is losing ground as
a proportion of that total state budget," Roselle said.