Presidential perspective
Serving as UD’s acting president has given Nancy Targett a new perspective of the University she’s been part of for 30 years. She shared her newfound outlook with students, faculty, staff and friends earlier this fall.
Her State of the University address was held a week after hundreds of members of the campus community gathered on The Green for a candid dialogue on race. The latter event was in response to an earlier report of what appeared to be nooses—later identified as paper lantern wires—hanging from a tree near Mitchell Hall.
“I had pain that such feelings of disenfranchisement could be part of our campus and pride at how our students used the rally to come together and create a symbol of what we hope for UD,” Targett said, showing a slide depicting messages of hope attached to a tree on The Green. UD should be guided by the image of the note-filled tree, she added, “an image of acceptance of equality, of a shared commitment to build an inclusive University. This is who we should always strive to be.”
Diversity, she said, is fundamental to the University’s mission. “We’re preparing students to succeed in a global workforce—to cooperate and collaborate with people from a wide variety of backgrounds,” Targett said.
Work toward that goal will continue, and Targett noted that this summer UD took a “significant step” toward greater equity and inclusion around gender issues with an updated Sexual Misconduct Policy and additional resources provided to the Title IX office.
In addition to diversity, she spoke on several items she sees as key to the progress of the University:
Development
Raising funds is essential to the creation of endowed scholarships, endowed graduate fellowships and endowed faculty positions, Targett said, adding that UD is in the planning stage of a comprehensive campaign.
“Everyone on this campus—every student, every professor, every staff member—has benefited from the generosity of others,” she said. “That generosity doesn’t just happen on its own; we have to encourage it and cultivate it. Our alumni are our former students, and they want to give back to UD. Sometimes we just need to ask them.”
Relationships
The campus community depends on relationships, Targett said, and UD can achieve much through cooperation. “I want to engage with you so we can work together to solve problems and move forward.”
She joked about her newfound reputation for selfies on her Twitter feed and said she is working to meet with people across campus—faculty and staff members, students, government leaders and business leaders.
Finances
Targett discussed the endowment as part of the bigger picture of University finances and said earnings and income from the $1.5 billion endowment generate about $50 million per year, or 5 percent of the operating budget.
Only now, she said, is the health of the endowment returning to form following the hit taken in the recession of 2007-2009.
The University receives about 13 percent of its operating budget from the state’s appropriation, which is facing its own financial pressures that have kept support flat for the last several years.
Targett said UD is “really grateful for the state’s investment,” noting that for every $1 the University receives, it generates more than $14 in wages for the Delaware economy.
Affordability
“We all believe that UD offers an outstanding education, and we want to make sure students and their families can afford that education,” Targett said.
UD increased tuition and fees just 1.44 percent for in-state undergraduate students and 2.37 percent for out-of-state undergraduate students this year, “the lowest percentage increase in more than 30 years.”
Looking forward, she praised the “generous scholarship commitment” from the Give Something Back Foundation and its founder Bob Carr, which is providing $3 million to leverage UD's Commitment to Delawareans program in support of the state's neediest students.
Student debt
The University is striving to help students graduate with as little debt as possible, Targett said, citing the critical issue that is “putting a serious drag on this generation.”
In the past five years, she said, UD has more than doubled the amount of assistance provided to $85 million through University, state and private grants and scholarships.
Enrollment
Enrollment has been strong at UD, Targett said, with nearly 27,000 students applying to become members of this year’s freshman class of 4,100. She contrasted that to the 60 percent of colleges in the country falling short of their admissions goals.
“What’s happening at UD is that we’ve been very successful at providing an affordable and excellent education,” she said.
Academics
“One of the biggest reasons students are coming to UD is the strength of our academic programs and the breadth of degrees we offer,” Targett said, repeating twice the phrase: “Every academic discipline at UD is important.”
To attract top quality students, it is important to “maintain a wide variety of academic programs at UD,” she said. “Our research and scholarship can help us advance basic understanding of the world and find workable solutions to complex problems.”
Shared goals
Targett concluded by saying she cares about all of these issues because she loves the University and is committed to working with students, faculty and staff to move forward.
“All of this is much bigger than who is in the President’s Office,” Targett said. "It’s about our shared goals for UD and what we can accomplish together.”
Article by Neil Thomas, AS76
