Vol. 17, No. 10	Nov. 6, 1997

UD presents budget request to governor's executive staff

Partnership was the key word Nov. 5 as University of Delaware President David P. Roselle spoke about the University's F.Y. '99 request for state appropriations to the governor's executive staff in Dover.

The University and the state, working together, have "substantially enhanced service to Delaware residents" through such long-standing programs as Cooperative Extension, the Institute for Public Administration, the Center for Community Development and Family Policy and others, Roselle said.

Citing recent initiatives that have expanded on such efforts, Roselle said, "We can all point with pride to a molecular biology/biotechnology initiative, which will place Delaware at the forefront of plant genetic engineering and which further supports the state's poultry industry." He also listed such success stories as a project for dealing with bridge and highway infrastructure replacement and UD work helping elementary and secondary teachers in the areas of math and science education.

Before discussing the University's request, Roselle endorsed the Library in the Schools initiative that is part of the state Department of Education budget. The initiative provides students in public high schools with computer access to electronic data bases housed in the UD Morris Library and provides school libraries with technical assistance in facilitating that access for students. This year, the Department of Education is asking for expanded student access to include middle and junior high schools. "This proposal is simply good sense, and I am happy to lend the University's name in support of it," he said.

The University's request includes additional opportunities for UD-state partnerships to enhance educational opportunities, the economy and the quality of life in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Roselle requested a $200,000 inflationary increase in funding for library materials, which are continuing to increase in cost, far outstripping the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Since 1990, the average price of a periodical has increased by 82 percent, compared to a 21 percent increase in the CPI. "While the University is appalled at this apparent price gouging, it is powerless to control it," Roselle said. "The University will have to spend over $300,000 just to maintain the existing collection-not to expand it, not to improve it-just to maintain it."

The University's other top priority is scholarships. "Access to the University for qualified Delaware residents, regardless of their ability to pay for a college education, is a cornerstone of our admissions and financial aid policy," he said. "Scholarships specifically aimed at Delaware residents enable the state and the University to partner in ensuring that the intellectual and job training needs of the state are met."

The UD request seeks both inflationary increases and enhanced funding of the scholarship line to ensure that no Delaware student is denied an education because of financial constraints.

Scholarship requests include:

• an increase of $157,600 in the Scholarships Special line, which includes $57,600 to cover anticipated increases in tuition and fees and $100,000 specifically targeted for Title IX requirements. This final installment would bring the University into full compliance with federal guidelines;

• an increase of $59,300 in General Scholarship funds to assist Delaware residents in addressing unmet financial need in meeting college costs. This year, the General Scholarships line is serving 859 students;

• an increase of $46,300 in Minority Student Recruitment funds. Roselle said minority student enrollment at UD is at an all-time high, that minority student retention rates exceed those for majority students and that graduate rates are rapidly achieving parity. "This progress is due in no small measure to relief from financial stresses that the Minority Student Recruitment funds afford," he said.

• an increase of $37,100 for Aid to Needy Students, which addresses the problem of unmet need among Delaware resident undergraduates; and

• an increase of $7,300 to the Governor's Scholars Program, which is designed to keep the state's most academically capable students in Delaware.

Other requests included:

• $100,000 in additional funding for the Agricultural Experiment Station to compensate for reductions in federal funding over the past six years;

• an additional $75,000 for the Summer School for Teachers Program, for which state funding has not kept pace with increasing demand;

• $75,000 in expanded funding for the Poultry Diagnostics Laboratory in Georgetown, to provide enhanced service to the state's poultry industry;

• $50,000 to support expanded participating in the work of the Mathematics and Science Education Center, where demand from the state's teachers has far exceeded expectations;

• $100,000 in additional funding for poultry disease research, specifically avian influenza and other diseases posing threats to the poultry industry;

• $70,000 for the Agricultural Education and Research Center in Georgetown, to enable videoconferencing between the center in Georgetown and the Newark campus, significantly increasing the University's capability to deliver educational programs in southern Delaware;

• $130,000 for agricultural environmental quality, to develop a holistic approach to environmental quality and orient management with regard to environmental issues confronting the poultry industry;

• an additional $50,000 for the Center for Community Development and Family Policy, to broaden its services that address the needs of low and moderate income family households, neighborhoods and communities;

• an additional $50,000 for local government assistance, allowing the Institute for Public Administration to expand training and applied research and to provide technical assistance to local governments;

• an additional $50,000 for crop extension, supporting research and outreach activity in working with farmers to minimize harmful environmental impacts;

• $135,000 in expanded Cooperative Extension funding to broaden the activities associated with the statewide 4-H program; and

• $60,000 in additional funds through soil testing and pesticide control, to allow for expansion of the Master Gardeners Program.

The request also includes, if state resources allow:
• $30,000 to assist in supporting personnel costs associated with a new position for an assistant field hockey coach;

• $300,000, the first of two requests to support a new Advanced Electronics and Materials Initiative, with the funds used to support a cooperative venture between the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Materials Science Department in the College of Engineering;

• $80,000 in recurring funds for upgrades to instructional laboratories in the Department of Mathematical Sciences;

• $150,000, the first of two requests to support an expanded area of partnership through a new Delaware Center for Teacher Education aimed at providing an innovative approach to strengthening K-12 education in the state;

• $100,000 in long-term support for the Delaware Education Research and Development Center, in support of educational reform in the state;

• $96,000 in recurring funding to specifically target undergraduate research activity of Delaware residents in UD's nationally recognized Undergraduate Research Program;

• $150,000 to provide continuous research and public service on school finance issues, extending the work of the Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research and the Institute for Public Administration, working in partnership with the Department of Education and school districts;

• $65,000 in recurring funds and $200,000 in one-time funds to expand the University's servicing of health-care needs in southern Delaware by upgrading the University's delivery of interactive instructional services and increasing educational opportunities for health-care professionals in Kent and Sussex counties;

• $40,000 for support of an ITV technical position responsible for the operation and repair of all video equipment at the ITV sites in Lewes and Georgetown, as well as providing support on the Newark campus;

• $100,000 for the Center for Disabilities Studies to improve the quality, quantity and range of public and private services to individuals with disabilities and their families;

• $195,000 to support an Interdisciplinary Center for Health Research, a collaborative project with the College of Health and Nursing Sciences, the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy, the state Division of Public Health and local hospitals. The center will identify major health-care issues, appropriate intervention strategies and pilot test identified options designed to reduce the need for expensive health services.

Top building priorities

The renovation of two well-known University of Delaware buildings form the core of the University's capital budget request, as outlined Nov. 5 by President David P. Roselle to members of the governor's executive staff in Dover.

The University requested $3.5 million as the final installment in a total $8 million appropriation for renovation of Memorial Hall, and $4 million as the initial phase of a total $11 million request to renovate Townsend Hall.

One of the campus' signature buildings, Memorial Hall was built in 1923 and stands as the anchor of the University Mall. Roselle called it "visible and significant, both historically and architecturally."

Memorial Hall was last renovated in the 1960s, and its infrastructure is outdated. The project will focus on renovation of all classrooms and offices and replacement of windows; updating mechanical, electrical and communications systems; and addressing safety codes.

The project also will include in-filling the courtyards to provide additional square footage for classroom and office space and reopening of the north/south central corridor for improved circulation. Scheduled to begin in February, the project is expected to be completed in the spring of 1999.

Townsend Hall, built in 1950, accommodates the offices and laboratories of the College of Agricultural Sciences. The building has not been renovated since 1967, and its infrastructure is outdated.

The Townsend Hall project will focus on renovation of all offices and laboratories to meet the expanding needs of the college. Mechanical, electrical and communication systems will be updated, and handicapped accessibility and safety code issues will be addressed.

In other capital requests, the University asked for support of facilities renewal and renovation, equipment and minor capital improvements and preliminary planning for other campus renovations, as well as other renovation and improvement projects.

-Ed Okonowicz