Office of Institutional Research and PlanningFacts and Figures
2006-07 New University Initiatives
Foreign Languages and Literatures Building Renovation
In July 2004, the University began renovating the two former fraternity houses east of Recitation Hall to become the future home for the department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. The $8 million conversion includes a small infill addition to serve as the connecting link between the two facilities, housing an elevator and a centralized entryway for the new facility. Completed in January 2006, the newly renovated facility is named Jastak-Burgess Hall and includes space for the department’s administrative offices, its Media Language Laboratory, 60 faculty offices, and approximately 18 part-time faculty spaces. Additionally, the facility houses a large conference room usable by the University community. This project was funded through gifts and University resources.
Center for the Arts
The $48 million Center for the Arts, constructed off Orchard Road in what was the Amy E. du Pont Music Building parking lot, provides new performance spaces for music and theatre. The 92,000 gross-square-foot performing arts facility also includes a 200-seat recital hall, a 300-seat orchestra hall, a 450 seat proscenium theatre and 32 music practice rooms. The architect for the Center for the Arts is Ayers Saint Gross of Baltimore. This project, which opened in August 2006, was funded through generous donations and University resources.
New Residence Hall Complex
The University has completed three new buildings in a new 1,000-bed residence hall complex. These buildings replaced the 12 Pencader dormitories and three commons buildings that housed 750 students between Clayton Hall and Christiana Towers on the University’s Laird Campus. The new buildings, which replicate the feeling of the central campus, are needed to address several issues associated with the 33-year old Pencader complex. Work on the $72 million project began in spring 2004, with the construction of the 500-bed George Read Hall. Two more buildings, Thomas McKean Hall and James Smith Hall, each housing 250 students, opened in August of 2006. An eight-foot-wide pedestrian footbridge connects the area to Ray Street. This project was funded through University resources.
Brown Laboratory
The University has begun a major renovation of Brown Laboratory. Brown Lab was constructed in 1937, and houses the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The south wing of Brown Lab was renovated in 1994-95 at a cost of $6.5 million. The north and west wings, however, contain out-of-date laboratory, research, and support space, and require extensive renovation at an estimated cost in excess of $27 million. Given the central role that the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry plays in supporting a number of sectors in Delaware’s economy, modern and functional research facilities are not only an investment in the University, but in the State’s fiscal health as well. This project is funded though University and State resources and will be completed in the fall of 2007.
Carvel Education Center
The University has constructed the Carvel Education Center in Georgetown which provides the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources with an opportunity to add programs and program enhancements. This $7.6 million facility offers citizens of southern Delaware the opportunity to gather and learn in a first class educational facility. Completed in December 2005, the Center provides three large meeting rooms with a total seating capacity of approximately 300 and one thirty seat ITV studio with down and uplink capabilities for programs such as the Master Gardener Program, and State and County Extension programs. The Center also includes 34 staff and graduate student offices. This project was funded through gifts, University and State resources.
Residence Hall Projects
The University is planning a major project that will add 600 more residence hall beds on the Laird Campus in order to provide the flexibility to renovate the 1960's residence halls on the east and west campuses. The project will start in early 2007 and be completed by 2012.
Source: Office of the Vice President