UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 33, Page 1
May 26, 1994
Lewes campus named in honor of Hugh R. Sharp

   Friends and family of the late Hugh R. Sharp gathered with
University trustees, administrators and faculty in Lewes May 18 to
salute the man who helped build the University's College of Marine
Studies (CMS).
   In a brief ceremony, the University's Lewes campus was officially
renamed and dedicated as the Hugh R. Sharp Campus, in honor of the
University trustee (1969-88) and longtime supporter of the College of
Marine Studies.
   University President David P. Roselle welcomed guests to the
ceremony by noting that the Sharp family's generosity to the
University parallels that of other philanthropists and schools, such
as John D. Rockefeller and the University of Chicago and Walter
Annenberg and the University of Pennsylvania.
   "As the support of the University's growth and development of the
Newark campus can largely be attributed to Hugh Sharp's father, H.
Rodney Sharp, so too can the development of the marine studies program
be attributed to Hugh Sharp," Roselle said.
   Carolyn Thoroughgood, dean of the College of Marine Studies,
characterized Sharp's impact on the college as "broad-based," noting
that he "touched all members of the CMS family in one way or another....
   "His leadership was instrumental in our obtaining our coastal
oceanographic research vessel, the R/V Cape Henlopen. With a cadre of
other supporters, he instituted the 'Plank Owners,' a group committed
to raising funds to acquire the vessel," she said. "When this group
evolved into the Marine Associates, Hugh served as its first chair.
Through Hugh's leadership, the Marine Associates had a very positive
influence on the evolution of our college."
   Thoroughgood called the College of Marine Studies "a living tribute
to Hugh's impact on the University of Delaware.... Perhaps of all of
Hugh's contributions to us, his most valuable assistance came through
recruiting new friends for our college. Many of you are here today
because Hugh said, 'Come with me and let me show you what's going on
in Lewes.'...
   "We recognize that our success is due in large part to the result
of informed support and involvement by true friends like Hugh Rodney
Sharp Jr.," Thoroughgood said. "So often throughout the growth of our
college, we benefited from Hugh Sharp's immense generosity and
inspiration. I am so pleased today to be part of this fitting
commemoration of his guiding spirit that remains with us still."
   William M. W. Sharp, Sharp's son and a current member of the Board
of Trustees, spoke on behalf of the Sharp family.
   Recalling his father, Sharp said, "He loved to come here to see
what new and exciting things were going on. Sometimes the subject
matter was a bit over his head but that didn't faze him one bit. He'd
just keep asking questions until he understood. And once he understood
what was going on, he was a great ambassador for the college."
   "He had a great way of making you understand in layman's terms a
very complex subject. And, by the time he was finished, you not only
understood what he was talking about, without realizing it, you also
understood how important the work going on here at the college was....
   His enthusiasm was contagious, and it was because he really had fun
here at the College of Marine Studies."
   Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Jr., chairman of the University's Board of
Trustees, said, "In honoring Hugh Sharp today, we honor a legacy of
support and commitment to the University of Delaware extended by the
Sharp family for more than 90 years."
   He then officially dedicated the Hugh R. Sharp Campus "to the
memory of a treasured University friend and an outstanding
Delawarean."
   At the conclusion of the ceremony, Sharp family members unveiled
the campus' new sign on Pilottown Road in Lewes.