University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD or Delaware) is a privately governed, state-assisted[1][2] land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD offers four associate's programs, 163 bachelor's programs, 136 master's programs, and 64 doctoral programs across its ten colleges and schools.[4] The main campus is in Newark, with satellite campuses in Dover, Wilmington, Lewes, and Georgetown. With 24,221 students as of Fall 2023,[4] UD is the largest university in Delaware by enrollment. It is a privately governed university which receives public funding for being a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant state-supported research institution.[8]
Not to be confused with Delaware State University.
Former names
Free School (1743–1765)
Newark Academy (1765–1833)
Newark College (1833–1843)
Delaware College (1843–1921)
Women's College of Delaware (1914–1921)
Scientia Sol Mentis Est (Latin)
"Knowledge is the light of the mind"
1743 (officially chartered 1769; became a college 1833)
$1.78 billion (2022)[3]
Laura Carlson
1,328 (Fall 2023)[4]
4,895 (Fall 2023)[4]
24,221 (Fall 2023)[4]
18,812 (Fall 2023)[4]
4,449 (Fall 2023)[4]
960 (Fall 2023)[4]
The Review
Blue and gold[7]
UD is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[9] According to the National Science Foundation, UD spent $186 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 119th in the nation.[10][11] It is recognized with the Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[12]
UD students, alumni, and sports teams are known as the "Fightin' Blue Hens", more commonly shortened to "Blue Hens", and the school colors are Delaware blue and gold. UD sponsors 21 men's and women's NCAA Division I sports teams and have competed in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) since 2001. The men’s division 1 is hockey team competes in the ESCHL.
History[edit]
Early years: Newark Academy[edit]
The University of Delaware traces its origins to 1743, when Presbyterian minister Francis Alison opened a "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania.[13][14] During its early years, the school was run under the auspices of the Philadelphia Synod of the Presbyterian Church. The school changed its name and location several times. It moved to Newark by 1765 and received a charter from the colonial Penn government as the Academy of Newark in 1769. In 1781, the academy trustees petitioned the Delaware General Assembly to grant the academy the powers of a college, but no action was taken on this request.[15]
Transformation to Delaware College[edit]
In 1818, the Delaware legislature authorized the trustees of the Newark Academy to operate a lottery in order to raise funds with which to establish a college.[16] Commencement of the lottery, however, was delayed until 1825, in large part because some trustees, several of whom were Presbyterian ministers, objected to involvement with a lottery on moral grounds.
In 1832, the academy trustees selected the site for the college and entered into a contract for the erection of the college building. Construction of that building (now called Old College) began in late 1832 or in 1833. In January 1833 the academy trustees petitioned the Delaware legislature to incorporate the college and on February 5, 1833, the legislature incorporated Newark College, which was charged with instruction in languages, arts and sciences, and granted the power to confer degrees. All of the academy trustees became trustees of the college, and the college absorbed the academy, with Newark Academy becoming the preparatory department of Newark College.
Newark College commenced operations on May 8, 1834, with a collegiate department and an academic department, both of which were housed in Old College. In January 1835, the Delaware legislature passed legislation specifically authorizing the Newark Academy trustees to suspend operations and to allow the educational responsibilities of the academy to be performed by the academic department of Newark College. If, however, the college ever ceased to have an academic department, the trustees of the academy were required to revive the academy.[17]
In 1841 and 1842 separate classroom and dormitory buildings were constructed to teach and house academic department students. These buildings would later form the east and west wings of the Newark Academy Building located at Main and Academy Streets.
In 1843, the name of the college was changed to Delaware College.
The college was supported by a state authorized lottery until 1845. By the late 1840s, with the loss of lottery proceeds, the college faced serious financial problems. A scholarship program was adopted to increase enrollment and revenues. Although enrollment did increase to levels that would not be surpassed until the 1900s (there were 118 college students in 1854), the plan was fiscally unsound, and the financial condition of the school deteriorated further.[13] After a student fracas in 1858 resulted in the death of a student, the college suspended operations in 1859, although the academy continued to operate.
Land-grant college[edit]
The Civil War delayed the reopening of the college. In 1867, college trustees lobbied the Delaware legislature for Delaware College to be designated as Delaware's land-grant college pursuant to the Morrill Land-Grant College Act.[18] Introduced by Congressman Justin S. Morrill of Vermont in 1857 and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, the Morrill Land-Grant College Act granted public lands to each state in order to establish schools to teach agriculture and engineering. On Jan. 12, 1869, the Board of Trustees of Delaware College signed an agreement to become the state's land-grant institution. In exchange, the state received a one-half interest in the property of the college and the authority to appoint half of the members of the board of trustees. The Morrill Land-Grant College Act granted Delaware the title to 90,000 acres in Montana which it sold and invested the profits into bonds used to fund the college.
Delaware College's new status as a semipublic college led to the termination of its official connection with the private academy. In 1869, the Newark Academy was revived as a separate institution operating under the 1769 charter.
In 1870, Delaware College reopened. It offered classical, scientific and, as required by its land-grant status, agricultural courses of study. In an effort to boost enrollment, women were admitted to the college between 1872 and 1885.
In 1887, Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided Delaware College with funding with which to establish an agricultural experiment station. In 1890, the college purchased nine acres of land for an experimental farm located next to its campus. In 1890 the college became the recipient of more federal aid when the New Morrill Act was passed. It provided for annual payments to support land-grant colleges. Under the law, the State of Delaware initially received $15,000 per year, which was to be increased by $1,000 per year until it reached $25,000. Delaware College received 80% of this money. (It did not receive all of it because the law provided that in states in which land-grant colleges did not admit black students, an equitable amount of the granted money had to be used to educate the excluded students. Delaware College had never admitted black students (although it had admitted Native American and Asian students), and as a result the state of Delaware established Delaware State College near Dover for black students, which opened in 1892.) In 1891 and 1893 Delaware College received appropriations from the State of Delaware for the construction of new buildings. One new building built with this money was Recitation Hall.
As a result of this additional funding, Delaware College was invigorated. New buildings, improved facilities, and additional professors helped the college attract more students. Student life also became more active during this period. In 1889 the first football game involving a team representing the college was played. Also in 1889, the college adopted blue and gold as the school's colors.
It was not until 1914, though, that the Women's College opened on an adjoining campus, offering women degrees in Home Economics, Education, and Arts and Sciences. Brick archways at Memorial Hall separated the Men's and Women's campuses and gave rise to the legend of the Kissing Arches (where students would kiss good night before returning to their respective residence halls).
In 1921, Delaware College was renamed the University of Delaware. It officially became a coeducational institution in 1945 when it merged with the Women's College of Delaware.[19]
The university grew rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century. After World War II, UD enrollment skyrocketed, thanks to the G.I. Bill. In the late 1940s, almost two-thirds of the students were veterans. Since the 1950s, UD has quadrupled its enrollment and greatly expanded its faculty, its academic programs and its research enterprise.
In 2010–11, the university conducted a feasibility study in support of plans to add a law school focused on corporate and patent law.[20] At its completion, the study suggested that the planned addition was not within the university's funding capability given the nation's economic climate at the time.[20] Capital expenses were projected at $100 million, and the operating deficit in the first ten years would be $165 million. The study assumed an initial class of two hundred students entering in the fall of 2015.[20] Widener University has Delaware's only law school.[20]
Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus[edit]
On October 23, 2009, the University of Delaware signed an agreement with Chrysler to purchase a shuttered vehicle assembly plant adjacent to the university for $24.25 million as part of Chrysler's bankruptcy restructuring plan.[21] The university has developed the 272-acre (1.10 km2) site into the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. The site is the new home of UD's College of Health Sciences, which includes teaching and research laboratories and several public health clinics. The STAR Campus also includes research facilities for UD's vehicle-to-grid technology, as well as Delaware Technology Park, SevOne, CareNow, Independent Prosthetics and Orthotics, and the East Coast headquarters of Bloom Energy.[22] In 2020, UD opened the Ammon Pinozzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center, which became the new home of the UD-led National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals. Also, Chemours recently opened its global research and development facility, known as the Discovery Hub, on the STAR Campus in 2020. The new Newark Regional Transportation Center on the STAR Campus will serve passengers of Amtrak and regional rail.
The campus itself is divided into four areas:[54]
In 1891, prominent Philadelphia architect Frank Furness designed Recitation Hall.[55] Several buildings (Wolf, Sussex, and Harter Halls) were designed by Frank Miles Day, who also designed the formal campus landscape. From 1918 to 1952, Marian Cruger Coffin was appointed the university's landscape architect, a position which required her to unite the university's two separate campuses (the men's to the north and the women's to the south) into one cohesive design.[56] This was a challenge since the linear mall design of each was out of alignment with the other. Coffin solved this problem by linking them with a circle (now called Magnolia Circle) instead of curving the straight paths, which rendered the misalignment unnoticeable to the pedestrian.[57]
North, or Laird, Campus, is primarily residential. It is the former home to the Pencader Complex, which was demolished and replaced by three new residence halls. A total of four residence hall buildings have been built, three named after the three University alumni who signed the Declaration of Independence (George Read, Thomas McKean, and James Smith, who signed for Pennsylvania); the fourth residence hall was named Independence Hall.[58] The Christiana Towers, an apartment-style residence complex, was closed in 2019, and is slated for demolition. In addition, the construction of a Marriott Courtyard run by the Hospitality Business Management department expanded the campus.
Other major facilities that have opened since 2000 include:
The University of Delaware Wilmington Campus is outside of the Wilmington city limits, in unincorporated New Castle County.[60]
Administration[edit]
In 2015, the UD Board of Trustees elected Dennis Assanis as the 28th President of the University of Delaware; he took office in June 2016. He succeeded Nancy Targett, former Dean of the university's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, who served as interim president in 2015–16. She was named 27th president of the university near the end of her service; she was the institution's first female president. Targett served after the departure of President Patrick Harker in 2015 to serve as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.[61]
Funding[edit]
The university receives funding from a variety of sources as a consequence of its historical origins. Among those sources is the State of Delaware budget. In fiscal year 2020, the 10% of the university's revenue came from government grants.[62] Tuition, room, board, and fees were 57% of the university total revenue.[62]
The Delaware First fundraising and engagement campaign was the largest philanthropic campaign in UD history. Launched in November 2017, the campaign exceeded the goal of $750 million ahead of schedule, extended the goal to $1 billion in October 2021. The Campaign concluded in June 2023 with a record-breaking 113,402 University supporters contributing more than $1.05 billion.[63]
Study abroad[edit]
The University of Delaware was the first American university to begin a study-abroad program, which was later adopted by many other institutions.[64] The program began when Professor Raymond Watson Kirkbride took a group of eight students to Paris, France, during the fall semester of 1923. Since this initial trip, the University of Delaware has expanded its study-abroad program, which now encompasses more than 40 countries. About one-third of UD undergraduate students take advantage of study-abroad experiences prior to completing their bachelor's degrees.
Delaware's study-abroad program offers many options for students. Undergraduates have the option of studying abroad for a five-week winter or summer session, or an entire semester.[65]
Student life[edit]
Tuition[edit]
For the 2022–23 academic year, undergraduate tuition per semester is $14,822 for Delaware residents and $36,082 for non-residents. Total cost of attendance for the 2022–23 academic year (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board) is $32,444 for Delawareans and $54,964 for non-residents.[78]
Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States, 47th Vice President of the United States and former U.S. Senator for Delaware
George Read, former President of Delaware, former U.S. Senator from Delaware and signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution
Joe Flacco, NFL Quarterback for the New York Jets, Super Bowl XLVII Champion & MVP with the Baltimore Ravens
Thomas McKean, President of the Continental Congress, former Governor of Pennsylvania and President of Delaware and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Notable alumni of the University of Delaware include 46th President of the United States, 47th Vice President of the United States, and former U.S. Senator Joe Biden (B.A. 1965); First Lady of the United States Jill Biden (B.A. 1976); former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (B.A. 1984); campaign manager David Plouffe (B.A. 2010); Vice Chancellors of the Delaware Court of Chancery Sam Glasscock III (B.A. History 1979, M.M.P. Marine Policy 1989) and Paul A. Fioravanti Jr. (B.A. Political Science);[114] Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist Daniel Nathans (B.S. 1950); Nobel Prize-winning organic chemist Richard F. Heck; Director of Research Division at NASA Henry C Brinton (B.S. Physics, 1957); Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Louise Mushikiwabo (M.A. 1988);[115] former president of Emory University James W. Wagner (B.A. 1975);[116] former Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy; Super Bowl XLVII's MVP Joe Flacco; 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon (B.A. 1987); and 2008 John McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt (B.A. 1993).[117]
