UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 20, Page 1
February 16, 1995
Roselle requests increased state support at hearing

     If we are to sustain our role as an educational cornerstone and
economic force in this state," University of Delaware President David
P. Roselle told members of the Joint Finance Committee Feb. 14, the
University "must be provided with a state appropriation that grows at
a rate commensurate with other state agencies."
     Roselle asked the legislators for an increase of $2.4 million in
state support over the governor's recommended $76.8 million for the
next fiscal year, including special support for scholarships and
innovative teacher-training programs.
     The University's request, which also includes $700,000 in one-
time-only support for special initiatives, represents a 3 percent
increase over the total recommended in the executive budget.
     "The University of Delaware plays a central role as it partners
with the state to serve the needs of Delaware citizens," Roselle said.
"This would be a very different state were it not for the depth and
breadth of the educational services that the University provides to
Delawareans, from New Castle to Sussex counties."
     The president told the legislators that, "despite the
University's full cooperation in assisting the state through difficult
economic times in the early 1990s and despite submitting carefully
planned and tempered budget requests each fiscal year, the
University's appropriation grew at a significantly slower rate than
the overall state budget and the budgets of other higher education
institutions from FY 1990 to 1993."
     Roselle said he had hoped that trend had ended with the last
fiscal year, but "the current recommended appropriations show a growth
rate that disadvantages the University," he said.
     "In the long run, this can only diminish our capability to
sustain the University's academic quality," Roselle said. "A quality
institution cannot shrink into excellence!" he stressed.
     In his presentation, Roselle said the University's top priority
is for additional support for scholarships, and he requested a total
of $258,800 for a number of scholarship programs either underfunded or
not funded in the executive budget, including support for minority
student recruitment and funds to bring scholarship support for women's
sports proportionately equivalent to that for men's sports.
     "Access to higher education, regardless of a student's financial
circumstances, is a cornerstone of the admissions policy at the
University of Delaware," Roselle said.
     Related to scholarship support is the request for funding of a
women's soccer coach, he said, representing "one of the most pressing
needs in meeting federal gender equity requirements in intercollegiate
athletics at Delaware."
     In addition, Roselle asked the legislators to fund a new,
$250,000 "extremely important initiative," an Inservice Training for
Teachers Program, designed to affect both what teachers teach and how
they teach it. This program would complement activities initiated by
the state Department of Public Instruction to enhance teacher training
and professional development, he 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 Joint Finance Committee members. "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 the extremely
successful, graduate-level Nurse Practitioner Program, which prepares
nurses to provide primary health care to clients of all ages.
     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."
     The president also detailed priorities for the programmatic
activities of several colleges, programs and centers, including
requests for poultry disease research and Cooperative Extension, as
well as technology and equipment upgrades.
     The University's request also includes:
        * support for an instructional TV technician position, to
          enhance instructional service provided in Sussex County;
        * more funding for library materials, to meet the
          extraordinary inflationary increases in cost and to maintain
          the quality of the University's collection;
        * an increase in the state subsidy for the Summer School for
          Teachers Program, to cover tuition revenues waived by the
          University;
        * support for the Center for Composite Materials, to leverage
          federal and private support and 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; and
        * support for the highly successful Research Partnership
          Program involving the state, the University and industry.