Dear Colleagues,
I am delighted to offer a few updates on our students, our facilities and our academic leadership.
About our students…
Our Admissions Office is in the throes of making admissions decisions on the 24,000+ completed applications. Delaware residents have been notified on a rolling basis since early January. On March 8, non-resident admissions and financial aid packages will be mailed. The qualifications of Honors students admitted are the highest EVER. Both resident and non-resident application numbers are the second highest EVER, and the diversity of the classes continues to improve, both in terms of underrepresented minority students and international students.It is clear that our Admissions Office is taking a strong leadership role for enhancing diversity. We need to be equally confident that we have the right systems and people in place so that these students are successful here. This will require concerted effort from many different individuals across campus. To this end, I have asked Interim Deputy Provost Ann Ardis to convene the Student Success and Retention (SSR) Work group to consider the following:
- Assess the inventory of current SSR activities and support services
- Assess current SSR data collection needs and practices
- Conduct an audit of our enrollment management infrastructure
In November, the StUDent Government Association passed a resolution in support of a tobacco-free campus here at UD. Seventy-two percent of undergraduate students polled support this policy as well, as does the Graduate Student Association. Our unionized workforce has also expressed no objections to having a tobacco-free workplace policy. Many notable universities, such as the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky, already have such policies in place. As we consider what a UD policy might include, we welcome your advice.
About our facilities…
We are in the beginning stages of creating a new Campus Master Plan. We have a history of intermittent campus planning that has generated a good amount of information, but is currently not coordinated with our desires. We also would like to update key benchmark data that can be used to help in assessing our needs. We anticipate this process will help us answer the following questions:- How do we address competing requests for space?
- How do we utilize our assets effectively?
- How do we align our physical assets with the university’s strategic goals?
You may have noticed the construction site fencing around 44 Kent Way. The Institute for Global Studies (IGS), in partnership with the Office of Graduate and Professional Education and the Office of the Deputy Provost, is undertaking a renovation of the Blue and Gold Club as an “International and Graduate House.” This lovely old building will house the Office of International Students and Scholars, IGS’s study abroad coordinators, and the recently formed Graduate Student Organization, and its conference rooms and student gathering spaces will help welcome our growing numbers of international undergraduate and graduate students, as well as visiting international scholars and delegations, to our campus. This is a signature project for the Global Initiative articulated five years ago in the Path to Prominence.
About our leadership…
The College of Engineering Dean Search is under way and on schedule. The pool of candidates is being generated now. Semifinalists will be selected in mid-April for an off-campus interview with the search committee in late April. Finalists will then be brought to campus in May to meet with faculty, students and administrators.Regards,
Nancy
Interim Provost
University of Delaware
Office of the Provost
116 Hullihen Hall • Newark, DE 19718 • USA
Phone: 302-831-2101 /