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NEW UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES
Fall 2004

Early Learning Center

The Early Learning Center, which opened in June 2004, provides exemplary infant, toddler, and preschool care to a diverse population of 162 children, specifically targeting children with risk factors including poverty (40 percent Purchase of Care), foster care (10 percent), and disabilities (20 percent). A model before- and after-school program serves an additional 75 children. The curriculum for all ages emphasizes literacy, science, and mathematics. Additionally, an on-site Pediatric Clinic provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy to children in the community, as well as integrated services to special needs children enrolled in the Center. Parent education and family services programs are open to the public. Technical assistance and training programs for care providers throughout Delaware’s three counties include telephone consultation, mentoring, and training. The Early Learning Center focuses first on providers that primarily serve families in poverty, and those in danger of losing their license or who have difficulty in meeting State standards. Programs for care providers will annually impact in excess of 2,000 children.

Associate in Arts Degree

Beginning in September of 2004, the University of Delaware, in partnership with Delaware Technical and Community College, offered all qualified Delaware applicants the opportunity to pursue a University of Delaware Associate in Arts (AA) degree. This new statewide program, which builds upon and evolves from the University Parallel Program, is designed specifically to increase higher education opportunities available to Delawareans. The curriculum is designed to provide students with skills important for future success, including critical thinking, reading, reasoning and analysis, mathematics, and elementary foreign language skills. The curriculum also provides exposure to the various disciplines in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The Associate in Arts courses form the foundation of a traditional liberal arts education. The new program will enhance degree completion rates for Delaware residents. Earning the Associate in Arts degree represents confirmation that the student has completed approximately half of a Bachelor of Arts degree program at the University of Delaware, and guarantees eligibility for continued study at the University in pursuit of the baccalaureate.

Performing Arts Center

The $42 million Center for the Arts, currently being constructed off Orchard Road in what was the Amy E. du Pont Music Building parking lot, will provide new performance spaces for music and theatre, plus an indoor practice venue for UD’s Marching Band and smaller practice rooms for music students. The 92,000 gross-square-foot performing arts facility also would encompass a 200-seat recital hall, a 300-seat orchestra and a proscenium theatre that would accommodate 450 persons. Architect for the Center for the Arts, which is expected to open in 2006, is Ayers Saint Gross of Baltimore. This project is funded through University resources.

New Residence Hall Complex

The University is planning a new 1,000-bed residence hall complex to replace the 12 Pencader dormitories and three commons buildings that currently house 750 students between Clayton Hall and Christiana Towers on the University’s Laird Campus. The new buildings, which would replicate the feeling of the central campus, are needed to address several issues associated with the 33-year old Pencader complex. Work on the $70 million project began in spring 2004, with the construction of a 509-bed residence hall to be known as George Read Hall on the site of the current playing courts in front of the Christiana Towers. The playing courts have been relocated. An eight-foot-wide pedestrian footbridge will connect the area to Ray Street. This project is funded through University resources.

Brown Laboratory

The University is preparing for 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 of over $20 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.

Mechanical Hall

Mechanical Hall has been converted into an art gallery to house the Paul R. Jones Collection, with research and study space, a collection storage area and office space. The interior of the 1898 structure underwent extensive renovations, including the installation of metal stud partitions on the first and second floors. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work was completed throughout the building, and a new roof has been installed. The exterior appearance of the building, which first housed the mechanical and electrical engineering departments of what was then Delaware College, was not changed. With more than 1,500 pieces, the Paul R. Jones Collection is one of the oldest, largest and most complete holdings of African-American art in the world. This project was funded through University resources.

Hotel

The Courtyard by Marriott at the University of Delaware, which opened in fall 2004, complements the University’s Clayton Hall Conference Center, providing overnight accommodations for those attending conferences and also offering parents and other visitors the amenities of on-campus lodging. The four-story hotel provides a learning laboratory and research facility for students and faculty in the University’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management. In addition to 126 rooms, the new hotel houses an indoor pool, exercise room, and restaurant.