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The University of Delaware (UD or UDel) is the largest university in the state of Delaware. The main campus is located in Newark, with satellite campuses in Dover, Wilmington, Lewes and Georgetown. It is medium-sized - approximately 16,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students. Although it is a state-supported school, it is privately chartered. At present, the school's endowment is valued at about USD$1.1 billion.

The university was founded in 1743, making it one of the oldest in the nation. Its original class of 10 students included George Read, Thomas McKean, and James Smith, all three of whom would go on to sign the Declaration of Independence.

The school has particularly substantial engineering, science, business, education, and agriculture programs, with world-class programs in chemical engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, drawing as it does from the historically strong presence of the nation's chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It is one of only four schools in North America with a major in art conservation.

Organization and student body

The university is organized into 7 colleges:

  • College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Health Sciences
  • College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy
  • College of Marine and Earth Studies

The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the colleges.

Student Body Statistics as of Fall 2005:

Undergraduate
Racial make-up # %
White 13,033 84.4
African American 864 5.6
Hispanic 630 4.1
Asian 537 3.5
Native American 49 0.3
Non-Resident Alien 116 0.8
Other 206 1.3
Total Undergrad 15,435 100

Graduate
Racial make-up # %
White 1,400 55.9
African American 102 4.1
Hispanic 57 2.3
Asian 77 3.1
Native American 6 0.2
Non-Resident Alien 815 32.6
Other 45 1.8
Total Grad 2,502 100


(Statistics are based on full-time students)

History

The University of Delaware traces its founding to 1743, when Presbyterian minister Francis Alison opened up his "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania. The school changed its name and location several times, ending up as the Academy of Newark in 1769. In 1833, the General assembly for the State of Delaware passed the "An Act to Establish a College at Newark", and the next year, Newark College opened. It changed its name in 1843 to Delaware College. The school closed from 1859 until 1872. On March 28, 1921, by another act of state assembly, it merged with the nearby Delaware Women's college to form the University.

The University is currently headed by President David P. Roselle, who has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2006–2007 academic year. President Roselle has held this post for sixteen years and is the twenty-fifth President of the University since its founding. Prior to Roselle, the twenty-fourth President was E.A. Trabant.

Study Abroad

The University of Delaware was the first American university to begin a study abroad program, which was later adopted by many other institutions. The program began when Professor Raymond Watson Kirkbride took a group of 8 students to Paris, France during the fall semester of 1923. Since this initial trip, the University of Delaware has expanded its study abroad program encompassing over 75 different programs to over 35 countries on all 7 continents.

Sports

The athletic teams at Delaware are known as the Fightin' Blue Hens with a mascot named YoUDee. YoUDee is a Blue Hen Chicken, after the team names and the state bird of Delaware. UD offers 23 varsity sports, which compete in the NCAA Division-I (Division I-AA for football).

Delaware is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in all sports except football, which is a member of the Atlantic-10 conference. Football is the biggest sport at Delaware, as the Fightin' Blue Hen football teams have won six national titles, including the 2003 NCAA I-AA Championship.

Former head football coaches Bill Murray, Dave Nelson and Harold "Tubby" Raymond are College Football Hall of Fame inductees. Delaware's only other NCAA Division I National Championship came in 1983 for Women's Lacrosse.

In recent years the Delaware teams have struggled to find much success in the CAA. The Blue Hens have won only one CAA Championship since joining in 2001. That victory took place in 2004 when the field hockey team won the CAA Championship despite being the 4 seed going into the CAA tournament. The women's volleyball team and men's lacrosse team have participated in CAA Championships but have not been able to bring the championship back to Newark.

Figure Skating

The University of Delaware Figure Skating Club (UDFSC) was chartered in January 1986. The University of Delaware is home to the Blue (Fred Rust Arena) and Gold arenas which serve as the home of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club and the Delaware Ice Skating Science Development Center (ISSDC). The University of Delaware Ice Skating Science Development Center (ISSDC) is a year-round training facility designed to meet the needs of figure skaters, first-time competitors and Olympians. The ISSDC is directed by World and Olympic figure skating coach, Mr. Ron Luddington. Mr. Luddington has worked with numerous Olympians, National and International medalists. He has coached skaters in nine consecutive Olympics and 36 World Championships. His personal credentials include several skating titles: U.S. Pair Champion (1956-60), U.S. Silver Dance Champion (1958), World Bronze Medalist (1959), Olympic Bronze Medalist (1960), and World Invitational Dance Champion (1965).

The training center has been home to many skaters including Tara Lipinski, Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, Johnny Weir and Kimmie Meissner among others. In 2006, the University of Delaware sent 31 figure skaters to the US National Championships in St. Louis, MO more than any other figure skating club in the United States. In addition, on March 26, 2006, Kimmie Meissner won the 2006 World Figure Skating Championship in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The University of Delaware has a strong record of collegiate figure skating and was home to 1999 National Collegiate Champion Melissa Parker. The University of Delaware Collegiate Figure Skating Club (UDCFSC) was founded in 1997 and has qualified for the US Intercollegiate National Figure Skating Championships every year since it's inception in 2000, winning the National Championship in 2002 ahead of the University of Michigan and Miami University.

Music

In 2004, the University of Delaware Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Paul D. Head and accompanied by Betsy Kent, were invited to perform at the American Choral Directors Association's International Convention in Los Angeles. In 2000, the music department purchaced an 18th century Ceruti violin for professor and virtuoso violinist Xiang Gao. This investment of nearly $300,000 USD has more than tripled in value.

Technological Innovations

In 2000, the University of Delaware was ranked the 2nd most "wired" university in the country by Yahoo! Internet Magazine. The university earned this title with the help of its 800 miles of fiber optic cable which runs throughout the campus.

The university has also been listed on the list of the top 10 most "wireless" universities in the country. Wireless connections provided by Verizon are available in all major areas of the university including the library, dining halls, student centers, and most classroom buildings.

Notable Alumni

References

Notes

Gallery

Image:Udel mall.jpg|The Green Image:Udel - Trabant center1.jpg|The Trabant University Center houses a food court, several multipurpose rooms, and the student activities offices Image:Udel - Trabant center2.jpg|The Trabant food court Image:Newark Delaware.jpg|Adjacent to campus is Main Street, Newark, on which are many shops Image:UDMemorialHall1.jpg|Memorial Hall, dedicated in honor of UD's WWI dead

See also

External links

1743 establishments | Educational institutions established in the 1740s | Land-grant universities | Sea-grant universities | Space-grant universities | University of Delaware | Colonial Athletic Association | Atlantic 10 Football Conference | Delaware

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "University of Delaware".

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