3:49 p.m., May 13, 2009----With more than 3,800 freshmen having accepted offers of admission, the Class of 2013 is poised to be the largest in the history of the University of Delaware.

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A profile of the freshman class, which will include a record number of Delawareans, was presented by Lou Hirsh, director of admissions, to members of the UD Board of Trustees during the board's semiannual meeting, held Tuesday, May 12, in the Trabant University Center.

“As of this morning, 3,858 freshmen have accepted our offers of admissions for the Newark campus,” Hirsh said. “That's a difference of 363 more Blue Hens who have decided to entrust their futures to a University of Delaware education. I see this as a stunning vote of confidence in our University.”

The largest percentage of increase is among First State residents, with 1,202 choosing to attend UD, a 27.3 percent increase over last year, Hirsh said.

The number of out-of-state enrollees increased by 4.1 percent, from 2,656, compared to 2,551 the previous year, Hirsh said.

Colleges seeing the biggest increases are Engineering (22.6 percent), Arts and Sciences (20.4 percent), Education and Public Policy (19.5 percent), and Agriculture and Natural Resources (18.5 percent).

Hirsh noted that students of color will comprise 17.4 percent of the Class of 2013, compared to 16.8 in last year's freshman class, while the number of students accepting offers of admission to the Associate in Arts Program in Dover, Georgetown and Wilmington campuses is rising from 352 last year to 383 for fall 2009.

While the size of the Class of 2013 is impressive, so are the academic credentials they will bring to UD this fall, Hirsh said.

“When they graduate from their high schools this spring, our Newark campus freshmen will have an average high school GPA of 3.54 on a 4-point scale, and 61 of them will be either the valedictorian or the salutatorian of their class,” Hirsh said. “Over 500 of them will graduate with a 4.00 high school GPA, and over 300 will have combined SATs of 1400 or higher.”

About two-thirds of the Newark freshmen (2,539) indicated that UD was their first-choice college, while 477 members have parents who are Double Dels, Hirsh said.

In his remarks, Hirsh thanked members of the Admissions Committee who read and evaluated 24,563 freshman applications, as well as the efforts of the staff members in Enrollment Services, the Office of Financial Aid and Associate Provost Joe DiMartile.

“Through this long process my staff and I have also enjoyed the unflagging support of our remarkable provost, Dan Rich, who is one of the wisest and most compassionate human beings I have ever known, and a very great credit to a very great University,” Hirsh said.

Student and faculty recognition

Provost Dan Rich, who is resigning as provost at the end of June, presented the trustees with a report highlighting the achievements of UD students and faculty who have won special recognition during the 2008-09 academic year.

Faculty recently appointed as named professors, Rich noted, include:

• Dion Vlachos, Elizabeth Inez Professor of Chemical Engineering; and
• Cathy Wu, Edward G. Jefferson Chair of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Faculty who received special recognition include Lynn Snyder-Mackler, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy, who was recently named the recipient of the 2009 Francis Alison Scholars Award, which is the University's highest faculty honor.

He also cited three faculty members who have received National Science Foundation Early Career Development Awards:

• Matthew Doty, assistant professor of materials science and engineering;
• Christopher Meehan, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; and
• Jingyi Yu, assistant professor of computer and information sciences.

He also recognized Joshua Zide, associate professor of materials science and engineering, who has received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.

Recipients of Excellence in Teaching Awards include:

• Mark Bambach, instructor in marketing;
• David Barlow, associate professor of health sciences;
• Cihan Cobanoglu, associate professor of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management; and
• Terrence Harvey, assistant professor of computer information sciences.

Excellence in advising and mentoring awards recipients include:

• Deborah Bieler, assistant professor of English;
• Anthony Middlebrooks, assistant professor of Urban Affairs and Public Policy;
• Peter Rees, associate professor of geography; and April Veness, associate professor of geography.

Graduate excellence in teaching award recipients include Adam Jabbur, doctoral student in English, and Jacquelyn Seaborg, master's student in music education.

Shaung Liu, a doctoral student in materials science, and Monica Branco, a doctoral student in chemical engineering, won excellence in graduate polymer research awards.

James Mueller, a doctoral student in marine studies was named as a Dean John A. Knauss Fellow for 2008, while Zachary Ulissi received a Department of Computational Science Graduate Fellowship.

Marco Bedolla, a junior chemical engineering major, and Aleksey Dvorzhinsky, a junior biological sciences major, were honored as 2009 Goldwater Scholars.

William Rivers, who will graduate in 2010 with an Honors Degree with Distinction in international relations with a concentration in U.S. foreign policy, was recognized as a 2009 Truman Scholar recipient.

Teagan Gregory and Casey Patriarco were recognized as the recipients of the Alexander J. Taylor Sr. and Emalea Pusey Warner awards recognizing the outstanding man and woman, respectively, in the 2009 graduating class.

New college names and new deans

Rich also noted that the College of Marine and Earth Studies, under Dean Nancy Targett, has been renamed to the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, while the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy has been renamed to the College of Education and Public Policy.

Michael Gamel-McCormick has been named as dean of the College of Education and Public Policy, and Kathleen Matt has been named the dean of the College of Health Sciences, Rich said.

Rich also introduced his successor, Tom Apple, currently dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who will assume duties as provost on July 1.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson