UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 12, Page 2
November 17, 1994
UD presents its FY '96 request for state support
University of Delaware President David P. Roselle Nov. 10 asked
the Delaware state budget director for an increase of $3 million in
state support for the next fiscal year, including special support for
scholarships and innovative teacher-training programs.
Roselle asked for an increase of $409,500 in support of
scholarship lines in the budget. In addition, he asked the state to
fund a new, $250,000 "extremely important initiative," an Inservice
Training for Teachers Program, designed to affect not only what
teachers teach, but how they teach it. This program would complement
activities initiated by the state Department of Public Instruction to
enhance teacher training and professional development, Roselle said.
The proposed new program would represent a partnership among
faculty in disciplines across the campus and their counterparts in
Delaware's elementary and secondary schools, he said.
"The University already has made significant investments in
teacher education programs within the colleges of Arts and Science and
Education," Roselle said, "and this new initiative will enable the
University to be a vital resource for educational reform and
innovation for practicing teachers."
The requested funding would be used for staffing and programming
of such activities as summer internships for teachers, creation of
teacher development workshops and short courses to be offered in
schools throughout the state and use of the University's
telecommunications technologies to offer the widest possible access to
the program.
"The University is committed to being a major force in
educational reform at the elementary and secondary levels," Roselle
told the budget director. "Your support for this cross-college, cross-
disciplinary initiative to enrich our state's teaching activities and
strategies is essential to that reform."
The president also asked for increased support for two extremely
successful University programs-the graduate-degree Nurse Practitioner
Program, which prepares nurses to provide primary health care to
clients of all ages, and the Delaware Research Partnership, which
involves the state, the University and industry in a program that has
attracted high-technology research to Delaware.
Nationally, there are six job openings awaiting every graduate of
a nurse practitioner program, Roselle said. "Without the requested
funds from the state," he noted, "students will face a two- to three-
year waiting period for admission to the program."
Another new initiative for which the University seeks support
from the state is in the Center for Composite Materials, Roselle said,
to further develop industrial support and applications in such areas
as composite interfaces and syntheses, advanced manufacturing, metal
and concrete structure replacement and recycling/reuse of composite
materials. The requested support of $200,000 will enable the
University to leverage federal and private support.
Since the University is again confronted with "extraordinary
inflationary increases in the cost of library materials," Roselle told
the governor's budget staff, $121,900 in state funds is sought to
maintain the quality of the University's collection-a genuine asset to
the state and the campus.
The president also outlined requests for the programmatic
activities of several colleges, programs and centers. Included among
these requests are poultry disease research and Cooperative Extension,
as well as technology and equipment upgrades.
At the hearing, University officials also presented an $8.5
million capital request for three projects:
* $4 million for the third of four installments of $15 million
in state support for an addition to and renovation of
Colburn Laboratory;
* $3 million for the second installment toward a state
commitment of $11 million for an addition to and renovation
of Purnell Hall-home of the College of Business and
Economics, the second largest college; and
* $1.5 million for facilities renewal and renovation across
the campus.
Colburn Laboratory is the home of the University's world-renowned
Department of Chemical Engineering, which is consistently ranked among
the top 10 departments nationally and which is a primary source of
external research support for the University. The building has seen no
significant enhancement of its facilities since it was built 28 years
ago.
"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," Roselle 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 added that this project is on schedule with the addition
scheduled to be completed next summer and the renovations by the fall
of 1996.
The addition to and renovation of Purnell Hall will add much
needed classroom and faculty office space for the College of Business
and Economics, as well as student computing laboratory facilities,
Roselle said.
Since it was built in 1972, the number of degrees awarded by the
College of Business and Economics has more than doubled to 590. The
number of student credit hours has increased by roughly 60 percent,
and full-time faculty have increased from 48 to 86, he said.
The number of full-time MBA students is expected to double in the
next three years, while the number of part-time students pursuing that
degree is expected to increase by 25 percent. At the same time, the
number of master's degree students in economics has increased by a
third in the past two years, and additional students are enrolling in
the new Ph.D. program in economics.
State funding for facilities renewal and renovation for FY 1994,
1995 and two-thirds of those funds requested for FY 1996 are being
directed at the Recitation Hall/Recitation Annex and Taylor Gym
Renewal Project for facilities that date from the turn of this
century. This project, which will improve the functioning and cost
effectiveness of the Department of Art, includes new mechanical
systems, interior partitioning and exterior upgrades to all three
buildings. New elevators will be installed to provide accessibility.
"The University has already renovated over 90 percent of its
central classroom inventory at a cost approaching $2 million," Roselle
said. "This funding will enable the University to complete the
classroom renovation process more quickly than would otherwise be
possible."