The University of Delaware has grown from a small private academy founded by the Rev. Francis Alison in 1743 to a major university. Throughout its many stages of growth, one guiding principle has never changed—an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Growth
The Rev. Alison’s first class was a most remarkable one, possibly the most distinguished in terms of the later achievements of its members—taken as a whole—of any class in any school in America. Some became distinguished statesmen—governors, congressmen, doctors, merchants and scholars of reputation. Signers of the Declaration of Independence included George Read, Thomas McKean and James Smith, and Read also signed the Constitution.

Today, the University has grown to become one of the premier institutions of higher education in the nation those students helped found. It is a land-grand, sea-grant, space-grant and urban-grant institution with an enrollment of 14,859 undergraduate and 2,197 graduate students and an international reputation in several fields, notably chemical engineering.

Ratings
U.S. News and World Report, in the "2000 College Rankings," rates the University of Delaware 22nd among the nation’s public institutions. Delaware jumped four places from 26th in 1998. One of the categories used in rating the colleges is alumni giving, which is viewed as a measure of alumni satisfaction.

According to University officials, the Class of 2003 is comprised of the most academically gifted students in the institution’s history. The average SAT scores was 1145, up from 1138 in 1998. The class includes 40 valedictorians, 31 salutatorians and 200 students with high school grade point averages of 4.00.

Achievers
The University recently celebrated the selection of its ninth Rhodes Scholar, Douglas Mauro de Lorenzo, a 1998 graduate who also was named to USA Today’s 1998 All-USA College Academic First Team. He was one of just 20 students chosen for the honor from 1,194 applicants from across the country and was Delaware’s second Rhodes Scholar of the decade. Leonard P. Stark of the Class of 1991 also was selected.

In addition, University graduates are back-to-back winners of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s MacArthur Fellowships, which are popularly known as the "Genius Awards." Chuck Lewis, a 1975 University graduate and founder of the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., was a 1998 fellow and Jacqueline Jones, a 1970 graduate and noted social historian at Brandeis University, was honored in 1999.