Board of Trustees
Diversity, academics, new strategic plan discussed at board meeting
11:54 a.m., Dec. 11, 2015--A continuing commitment to diversity, academic achievements, goals for entrepreneurship and innovation and implementation of a new strategic plan were among the topics discussed during the semiannual meeting of the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, held Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the Trabant University Center.
Acting President Nancy Targett welcomed trustees, faculty, administrators and community members while highlighting goals and accomplishments as she leads transition efforts to welcome Dennis Assanis, who will become the University’s next president on July 1, 2016.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
“It has been a very full, exciting semester, and a highlight has been the announcement of our next president, Dennis Assanis,” Targett said. “Dr. Assanis and I have spoken a few times since the announcement, and we will continue to talk in order to ensure that the transition is as smooth and effective as possible.”
Noting that the meeting marked her 161st day as acting president, Targett said the next several months should be just as busy as the fall semester.
“When you appointed me to this role as acting president, we talked a lot about priorities,” Targett said. “I’m pleased to say that we have made significant progress toward these goals since July. There is always more work to do, but I still have 205 days left.”
Progress and priorities discussed by Targett include encouraging a diverse and welcoming community, constructing an innovation/entrepreneurial ecosystem, cultivating a strong development network and fostering relationships, both on and off campus.
Diversity
“At universities across the country, diversity, equity and inclusion have been significant topics of conversation this year,” Targett said. “Universities, like other longstanding institutions, are confronting their histories of racial inequality.”
The University of Delaware, Targett said, has not been exempt from the confrontations and conversations about racial animosity and exclusion that have stirred students on the campuses of many prominent institutions of higher education during the past year.
“This fall we had our own discussions, and these are important conversations that must take place, however painful they might be,” Targett said. “At the same time, we’ve seen how ignoring or mishandling students’ concerns has boiled over on some campuses.”
Coming to terms with a centuries-old and complicated history of race in Delaware means that the entire University community needs to pull together and continue a dialog marked by engagement, purpose and respect, Targett said.
“Clearly, this is not a one-semester conversation. It’s absolutely crucial that we continue to talk and listen to one another,” Targett said. “I’m grateful to know that the Board of Trustees shares my commitment to diversity.”
A recently released draft action plan to address diversity and inclusion at UD includes diversity education, a clear path for reporting bias or harassment and plans to develop more ways to recruit and retain minority students and faculty.
During the spring semester, UD expects to have a full synthesis of current diversity and inclusion efforts and how they are working, followed by a gap analysis of what else is needed and the additional resources necessary to support such recommendations, Targett said.
“The goal is to recommend actions that will help us sustain and enhance our diversity efforts across campus,” Targett said. “We’ve come a long way in a short period of time, and we cannot, and will not, lose this momentum.”
Entrepreneurship and innovation
The University also is committed to continuing its role as an institution that creates leaders as it fosters and creates an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem that sets UD apart from its peers in the highly competitive world of 21st century academics, Targett said.
“We have some amazing programs and courses at UD to teach and reward innovation and entrepreneurship,” Targett said. “We also have excellent resources at the Delaware Technology Park and the STAR (Science, Technology and Advanced Research) Campus.”
Regardless of students' majors or passions, the University is encouraging them to become the next generation of innovators, with support groups that include the Horn Program Advisory Council and the President’s Leadership Council.
“One of the newest initiatives is our Delaware Innovation Fellowship,” Targett said. “It’s a four-year program open to any major. Students will benefit from expert mentorship and hands-on experiences while they learn to design, develop and pitch new solutions to real problems.”
Targett also discussed re-engaging alumni and encouraging their continued support while cultivating the financial support of generous friends and dedicated UD faculty and staff, and engaging relationships encompassing the entire UD community.
“One of the many joys of serving as acting president is having this unique vantage point to see the full, wonderful breadth of everything that’s happening at UD,” Targett said. “The relationships we all share on campus make us a stronger community of Blue Hens.”
Moving UD forward
University Provost Domenico Grasso updated trustees on faculty achievements, diversity efforts, infrastructure and research investment, and the scheduled rollout of the University’s newest blueprint for the future.
“Our strategic plan, Delaware Will Shine, cultivated from the collective energy and ideas of our campus, our alumni, our local community, professional groups and other key stakeholders, will guide us into the future and help our students, faculty and staff contextualize their work in the grand challenges and great debates that define our times,” Grasso said. “What is most exciting about this stage of our progress is that now we are moving from planning to action.”
Delaware Will Shine, Grasso noted, does not exist as a silo unto itself, but rather sets a framework that informs everything the University does while setting a high bar of excellence.
Grasso also noted the release of the University’s blueprint to help integrate diversity and inclusion across areas of the UD campus.
“A draft version titled ‘Inclusive Excellence: An Action Plan for Diversity at UD,’ was released Nov. 20,” Grasso said. “The document was issued out of the Office of the Provost by Carol Henderson, vice provost for diversity, who has been working with partners all across UD to build and refine the plan.”
Grasso complimented the remarks made earlier in the meeting by Targett, and said the University needs to continue its efforts in creating a more welcoming, engaged and equitable campus community for everyone at UD.
“We have learned that we at UD are not immune to the kinds of racial tensions that we have seen elsewhere,” Grasso said. “That is why we need to be intentional and focused on making sure that UD is a place where we all feel welcome and our experiences are respected.”
Grasso also noted infrastructure and research investment efforts that included the opening of the new Caesar Rodney dining and residence hall, the grand opening of the JPMorgan Chase Innovation Center, and the nanofabrication facility housed in the Harker Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory, which is slated for completion in January.
Grasso also cited award-winning achievements by faculty and researchers in each of UD’s seven colleges.
“This has been another incredibly successful year throughout the University,” Grasso said. To be sure, with a daring spirit bold, our faculty, staff and students are the reason Delaware will shine.”
‘Never Caught’
Erica Armstrong Dunbar, associate professor of Black American studies, women and gender studies and history, read from her newest book project, Never Caught: The President’s Runaway Slave Woman.
The focus of the book is Ona Judges Staines, house slave to the nation’s first president and his wife, George and Martha Washington.
Staines escaped to New Hampshire in the spring of 1776.
The book will be published next year by Atria, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
Armstrong Dunbar also introduced Michael Dickinson, a doctoral student in American history and a member of her research team. Dickinson received a bachelor of arts degree from UD in 2011.
Board actions
Irwin G. Burton III, who serves on the Trustee Committee on Grounds and Buildings and the Southern Delaware Ad Hoc Committee, was reelected to a six-year term.
Two trustees were recognized for their service to the Board: Chris Schell is stepping down after 10 years of service and Coleman Townsend concluded his trustee term with 18 years of service.
New assignments
During her presentation, Targett noted several administrators who are leaving UD, including:
• Scott R. Douglass, executive vice president and treasurer at UD, has been named vice chancellor for finance and administration at North Carolina State University, effective Jan. 11.
Douglass received a special citation from John Cochran, chairman of the Board of Trustees, thanking him for his service, noting that his "strong leadership has had a broad spectrum impact across the campus." Douglass also received a standing ovation of appreciation from attendees following the presentation.
• Deborah L. Hayes, vice president for communications and public affairs, will be leaving to join President Emeritus Patrick T. Harker at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, where Harker now serves as president.
• Carl Jacobson is retiring as vice president for information technologies at the end of the calendar year. A 1972 UD graduate with a degree in mathematics, Jacobson began his 31-year tenure in 1978 as a computer programmer and analyst.
• Larry White, who recently retired as the University’s first and founding general counsel, also was recognized by Targett for his many contributions. Laure Ergin, who has served as associate vice president and deputy general counsel at the University for the past five years, has been named vice president and general counsel.
Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson