UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 8
October 24, 1996
Dedication recognizes President E.A. Trabant

     As alumni returned to campus for Homecoming Weekend, a
person familiar to many of them received special recognition.
     On the afternoon of Oct. 20, the University's 22nd and 24th
president (and now president emeritus) was honored at the
official dedication of the E.A.Trabant University Center.
     Several hundred guests were welcomed by President David P.
Roselle to the ceremony in the Multipurpose Room of the Trabant
University Center.
     "We welcome particularly Art and Jerry Trabant to this
ceremony and members of their family who are with us today,"
Roselle said. "We are pleased, too, that you are surrounded by so
many friends who are here to help celebrate this occasion."
     Noting that the University is "a place steeped with
tradition, history and beauty," Roselle recounted the
achievements of some of the University's previous leaders, from
Dr. Francis Alison to Walter Hullihen.
     "The University of Delaware has an equally impressive
architectural history, beginning with the first building on our
campus, Old College," he said, noting that such renowned
architects as William Strickland and Frank Furness have helped
shape the campus. The names of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott
Brown, creators of the new University Center, are now added to
that list, he said.
     In recognition of "those individuals who have helped to
engineer our course through history," he particularly celebrated
"our students who have entrusted their education with us at the
University of Delaware."
     One of those students who was influenced by-and has since
made his mark upon the University-is William C. Allen, Delaware
'72.
     As part of the dedication ceremony, Allen was presented the
University's Medal of Distinction in recognition of his
outstanding career as an architectural historian and for his
"significant role in interpreting, maintaining and preserving
America's architectural heritage."
     Robert Rider, a member of the Board of Trustees,
congratulated Allen, one of only 43 individuals to have received
this award since the program was established nearly 20 years ago.
"It gives me great pleasure to present today the University of
Delaware Medal of Distinction to a Delaware native son," Rider
said.
     In his current position in the Office of the Architect of
the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Allen is involved in the
management and restoration of all government building, including
the Capitol, Library of Congress, Congressional Office Buildings
and the Supreme Court Building.
     He also serves as chairperson of the UD Board of Trustees
Architecture Visiting Committee and aided in the selection of the
architects of the Trabant University Center, MBNA America Hall
and Gore Hall.
     "Bill Allen, you have brought to the people of our nation an
understanding and appreciation of history made manifest through
architecture," Rider said. "For your significant role in
interpreting, maintaining and preserving America's architectural
heritage and for your service to your alma mater, we salute you
and present you the University of Delaware Medal of Distinction."
     In accepting his award, Allen congratulated the University
for "embarking on a program of excellence in architecture." He
said the trustee visiting committee's only charge was to reflect
the excellence of the University and he is proud of the new
facility.
     The new center's architect, Robert Venturi said, "Good
architecture requires a good client as well as a good architect,"
and he thanked all those who were involved in the collaborative
effort.
     Roland Smith, vice president for student life, said the new
center enhances the sense of campus community, improves the
quality of life and serves-along with the Perkins Student
Center-as a programming base to help students develop as leaders.
     President of the Delaware Undergraduate Student Congress
Staci Ward called the Trabant University Center the campus'
"newest and most student-friendly building," adding that "the
student body could not be more proud in dedicating their newest
building to Dr. Trabant, who is remembered for his warmth and
inspirational commitment of the student body during his
presidency."
     Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Jr., chairman of the Board of
Trustees, said the Trabant name would become a part of the
University's heritage, along with others presidents who also have
been honored with buildings in their names.
     "The names are, of course, familiar to us as buildings,"
Kirkpatrick said, "but what is most important, the buildings
stand as testimonials to the individuals themselves-former
presidents all, whose contributions to our University and its
predecessor institutions went a long way to bring the University
of Delaware toward the position of prominence it commands today.
     "E. Arthur Trabant, however, played a particularly key role
in getting the University to this position of prominence," he
said.
     Recounting the many achievements of Trabant's tenure,
Kirkpatrick noted that it was "one of the longest presidencies of
a major university in modern times," it was accomplished "during
a period of great national turmoil" and that "pressure upon
college presidents at that time was profound."
     Accomplishments during the Trabant administrations included
a near doubling of the undergraduate enrollment, a proliferation
of academic programs and a dramatic expansion in the physical
campus, with the addition of residence halls, classrooms and
research buildings, he said.
     "After retiring as the University's 22nd president in 1987,
Dr. Trabant responded to its call for further service by
returning as the University's 24th president from 1988 to 1990,"
Kirkpatrick said.
     "And one of the special benefits resulting from his service
as 24th president," Kirkpatrick said, "was the opportunity to
search for and find a successor like Dr. Roselle who provides the
University with the fine administration it enjoys today.
     "Together," Kirkpatrick said, "Art and Jerry and their
synergy have provided the University of Delaware and the state of
Delaware with a unique legacy of integrity, compassion and
understanding that will be memorialized for all time by this
signature building we dedicate today."
     Trabant thanked those in attendance and spoke of the UD
students who have been positive contributors to the campus. He
said, "I am so pleased with this building," which he said he
views as an important room in the larger home of the University,
much like the kitchen of a home where everyone comes together and
feels welcome and comfortable.
     At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests toured the Trabant
University Center.