A MESSAGE FROM INTERIM PRESIDENT LAURA CARLSON
I am honored to serve as interim president for the University of Delaware.
From the first moment I stepped onto the UD campus, I have known that this is a very special place. Spend some time here, and you will be inspired — by our students, our faculty and staff, our offerings in and out of our classrooms and labs, our beautiful and welcoming surroundings, and our engagement with the community beyond campus.
Whether you are walking on The Green at Newark or exploring campuses across the state, you experience the excitement and commitment to embracing what it means to be a Blue Hen. You can sense that anything is possible, and that, working together as a community to learn, challenge, explore and triumph, there are no limits to what we can accomplish. Wherever your curiosity leads you — ground-breaking research, community-engaged programs, bold ambitions, exciting global adventures, wildly creative endeavors — UD is the place where you can forge your own path to the future.
I have a deep love of learning and how it enriches our lives, tackles big problems, and can improve the human condition and the world around us. That impact is the most profound when it resonates with one's passion and drive for purpose. It is paramount to me that UD provides every student with boundless opportunities and encouragement to pursue their own academic journey and unique road to success. As a longtime educator and researcher, I am committed to supporting the growth and development of our outstanding faculty and talented staff members who lead and enable such learning. And I am so grateful for the dedication of UD’s alumni and friends around the world to this core commitment to learning that is at our very foundation.
We are OneUD, and the journey ahead is one big team effort with a role for all of us. I know we are up to the task.
I look forward to seeing you around campus and beyond,
Laura
Communications
At the University of Delaware, we are inspired and driven by our dynamic culture of connection.
Our students connect their knowledge and skills with their aspirations to create a better world. Our faculty link their scholarship and service in interdisciplinary ways and integrate their discoveries and innovations with the needs of the community. And through respect and civility, we unite people around shared goals for the benefit of all.
The President’s Report 2025 was developed during the tenure of former President Dennis Assanis and continues to be highlighted by Interim President Laura Carlson as a celebration of UD’s excellence and achievements.
FACULTY BOARD ON ATHLETICS
The Faculty Board on Athletics serves as a review and advisory body to the President of the University. It is comprised of faculty, student-athletes, and administrators from across the institution and is chaired by the Faculty Athletics Representative, an NCAA-required position. Among its duties, the Board maintains and fosters a clear commitment to academic integrity, promotes student‑athletes’ academic success, health, and well-being, and undertakes specific projects as requested by the President. The Board was established in 2011 by former UD President Patrick T. Harker to replace the Athletics Governing Board.
Voting Members (appointed by the President)
Carlos Asarta — Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), Chair of the Faculty Board on Athletics, Professor of Economics
Jesus Botello — Professor of Spanish
Thomas Buckley — Professor of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology
Jennifer Buckley — Professor of Mechanical Engineering
David Edwards — Professor of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology and Chair of the Kinesiology & Applied Physiology Department
Dan Freeman — Associate Professor of Marketing
Jody Greaney — Assistant Professor of Health, Behavior & Nutrition Science
Lesa Griffiths — Professor of Animal & Food Science
George Tsakumis — Associate Professor of Accounting
Ex-Officio Members
Bill Farquhar — Interim Provost
Michael Chajes — Dean, Honors College
McKenzie Didio — Student-Athlete, President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council
Kate Buchkoski — University Title IX Coordinator
Chelsey Burk — Senior Woman Administrator
Angela Johnson — Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes
Katie Scheivert — Student-Athlete, Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council
Jordan Skolnick — Interim Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
José-Luis Riera — Vice President for Student Life
About Dr. Carlson
Laura A. Carlson serves as the University of Delaware’s interim president, effective July 1, 2025.
Prior to her appointment as interim president, Carlson served as UD’s provost since 2022. As provost, Carlson focused on enhancing access, enrollment, programming and academic excellence for UD students by developing and implementing a multi-year strategy that integrates financial, enrollment and hiring plans.
Before joining UD, Carlson had a distinguished career of more than 20 years at the University of Notre Dame, where she served in several key leadership roles, including vice president, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School. She served as director of graduate studies in the psychology department and later as associate chair. Carlson joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1994 as an assistant professor of psychology, becoming a full professor in 2008.
A fellow of the Association of Psychological Science, she has received several teaching awards, including the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce C.S.C. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Carlson’s primary research interest is spatial cognition — how we mentally represent the places and objects around us — and her work has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She takes an interdisciplinary approach to her work, publishing with scholars across the fields of computer science, engineering, architecture and linguistics.
A cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College with a special major in psychology of language, she received a Master of Arts degree at Michigan State University and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
