UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 28, Page 1
April 21, 1994
Officials present state with $7 million request

     University of Delaware officials urged legislators on April 19 to
support the University's $7 million capital request, in support of new,
state-of-the-art construction of engineering and business facilities and
building renewal and renovation projects across the campus.
     "The University is an exemplary steward of its physical resources as
it has reallocated funds for facility maintenance and renewal as a priority
in difficult economic times," President David P. Roselle said.
     "We are also unique among state-related agencies in our ability to
leverage funds provided by the state with both University and private
resources," he said.
     The University's capital request, submitted last November and fully
supported in the Governor's recommended budget, is for three projects:

        * $4 million for an addition to and renovation of Colburn
          Laboratory, home of the world-renowned Department of Chemical
          Engineering, which is a primary source of external research
          support at the University;
        * $1 million for facilities renewal and renovation projects; and
        * $2 million to begin an addition to and renovation of Purnell
          Hall, home of the College of Business and Economics, the
          University's second largest college.

     This marks the second of four requests the University will make for
Colburn Laboratory. The state appropriated $3 million in FY 1994 to begin
the project.
     There has been no significant enhancement to this facility since it
was built 27 years ago, Roselle told the legislators.
     "Expansion and enhancement of the laboratory space in Colburn
Laboratory is both timely and consistent with the mission and direction of
the chemical engineering department, which is consistently ranked among the
top 10 departments in the nation," Roselle said.
     "As the University continues to attract highly qualified faculty and
students to the chemical engineering program, state-of-the-art facilities
are essential," he said.
     "The return on investment in such facilities is evident in the track
record of productivity in the department in securing external research
support," he said.
     The request for facilities renewal and renovation cites as examples
needs in Evans Hall, Brown Laboratory, Memorial Hall and Recitation Hall,
all built between 1892 and 1936.
     The campus physical plant is a major asset, Roselle said, and funds
being requested would be invested to preserve that asset.
     The state appropriated $800,000 in FY 1994 for facilities renewal and
renovation.
     The third request is for an addition to and renovation of Purnell
Hall. This $2 million, the first installment of $11 million to be requested
over four years, would be used to add much-needed classroom and faculty
office space, as well as student computing laboratory facilities.
     Built in 1972, Purnell Hall is today significantly overcrowded and
insufficient to meet the full range of space needs for the college. Since
Purnell Hall was built, the number of degrees awarded by the college has
more than doubled, the number of student credit hours taught has increased
by more than 60 percent and the number of full-time faculty has increased
from 48 to 87. Enrollment stands at 1,775 undergraduate student majors and
505 graduate student majors, and the college provides a wide range of
service courses to the other nine colleges of the University.
     "With the number of full-time MBA students projected to double over
the next three years and part-time MBA students to grow by 25 percent, the
pressure on an already crowded facility will be enormous," Roselle said.
     Should additional funds become available, Roselle also offered some
additional possibilities for support from the state, including funding over
and above the requested levels for Colburn Lab and Purnell Hall, which
would help reduce future requests. Several facilities renewal and
renovation projects also could be accelerated with an infusion of one-time
funds, Roselle said.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure