Good fiscal health provides strong foundation

Fiscal responsibility and stewardship is a key legacy of the administration of President Roselle, which saw the endowment grow threefold, undertook a highly successful capital campaign and provided for significant increases in support for faculty salaries, scholarships and fellowships.

Furthermore, Roselle leaves a physical plant in which there are no deferred maintenance issues to drain the coffers. Older buildings on the campus are either fully renovated or have work well under way, such as Brown Laboratory, which is being outfitted as a completely modern facility with the equipment needed to conduct research in chemistry and biochemistry in the 21st century.

The mainstay of UD’s fiscal health has been its endowment, which has grown by more than $1 billion.

A recent survey of the National Association of College and University Business Officers placed UD at No. 50 among the nation’s top university endowments. The fund supports UD’s commitment to competitive compensation, scholarships and fellowships, as well as an enhanced living and learning environment. In addition to funding for scholarships and fellowships, endowment growth has provided support for professorships, landscaping, handicapped accessibility, academic programs and athletics, among others.

In the area of scholarship support alone, University aid to undergraduate students has risen from $19 million at the start of the Roselle years to more than $56 million today. At the same time, financial assistance to graduate students has risen from $20 million to more than $52 million.

Helping boost the endowment was the highly successful Campaign for Delaware, the first comprehensive fundraising effort in the history of the University, which was launched in the fall of 1998 as a five-year, $225 million effort. When the books were finally closed, the Campaign had raised more than $431 million, nearly doubling the original goal.

At a 2005 gala, Roselle said that the Campaign “was fueled by a dream of what this University could be. I told you [when the Campaign began] that we had put our house in order, that the University was taking care of business and that we were ready to position the University for greater pre-eminence in the 21st century. It was my dream that The Campaign for Delaware would allow us to do that. I’m here tonight to tell you that the University’s house has been transformed.”

That transformation can be seen in a number of construction projects funded by major gifts, including the leading-edge classroom building Gore Hall, a gift of Robert W. and Sally Gore and the late Genevieve Gore, which stands at the heart of The Green. Directly across from and complementing Gore Hall is the thoroughly renovated DuPont Hall, home of the College of Engineering. Benefactors also provided for Alfred Lerner Hall, home of the Lerner College of Business and Economics, and the new Louise and David Roselle Center for the Arts.

The Campaign also saw the University receive a $10 million bequest from Ann Nields Garstin, who participated in an early UD Junior Year Abroad Program, setting sail for France in 1929. She described the experience as life-changing, and a portion of those funds now support scholarships for study abroad.

Special gifts to the University have included the Paul R. Jones Collection, the oldest, largest and most complete collection of works by 20th-century African-American artists in the world. The core of the collection was given to UD in 2001 by benefactor Paul R. Jones and now resides in Mechanical Hall, which underwent a $4.6 million transformation to become a unique and lovely art gallery.

“As time goes on, the major aspect of the Roselle legacy will be the beautiful condition of our campus, but there’s a lot that isn’t quite so visible that I think is very important to the growth and success of the University, and that is in area of giving,” Donald J. Puglisi, MBNA America Professor Emeritus of Business and himself an important donor, says.

“The Campaign for Delaware was a huge success, and there has been tremendous growth in the University’s endowment, both through the prudent investment of funds and the addition of new funds,” Puglisi says. “Where do these funds come from? They come from relationships, and Dave and Louise Roselle have been phenomenal at making people feel at home at the University of Delaware.”

The legacy also is one of good stewardship, Puglisi says. “When people give to a university, they consider stewardship,” he says. “They want to know they are making a good investment in a successful organization. The Roselles have done that, and they have put the University on extremely sound financial footing.”

Puglisi says the large endowment “takes a lot of pressure off other areas of the University, including tuition.” Furthermore, he says it speaks to the overall success of the institution.