Center named in honor of Roselles

The University’s new showcase building for education and performances officially became the Louise and David Roselle Center for the Arts at a ceremony and reception held there on June 3.

More than 350 well-wishers filled the center’s Thompson Theatre to honor the 25th president of the University and his wife. The Roselles were in the last month of their 17-year tenure, with Patrick T. Harker, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, set to become UD’s 26th president on July 1.

Howard Cosgrove, chairman of the University Board of Trustees, welcomed guests to the ceremony, saying it would “officially name this remarkable centerafter two remarkable people—Louise and David Roselle.”

He said the 92,000-square-foot building has become a major crossroads for students of all disciplines and a home for theatre and music students and facultysince it opened last fall. “It is our hope that for many years to come, when we hear laughter in this building, we are reminded of Louise’s embracing laugh, and, when we hear applause, we are reminded of David,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove called on trustee R.R.M. “Ruly” Carpenter, former owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Debra Hess Norris, the Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts, to offer reflections on the couple’s impact on UD.

Carpenter thanked the Roselles “for the great things you’ve done for this University, especially for the athletics program,” including the construction and renovation of numerous facilities and a dramatic increase in the number of athletic scholarships available. Most important, Carpenter said, is that all of those things were done without compromising academic standards, as 87 percent of UD’s athletes graduate.

Norris, who chairs the art conservation department and served as interim associate dean for arts and humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences, thanked the Roselles for “exceptional leadership and service.”

She quoted from voice and e-mail conversations with “faculty across this campus” to present their “collective words” describing the influence the Roselles have had on the University. The Roselles have championed the UD faculty’s work across the world, she said, and faculty members feel appreciated, rewarded, supported and trusted and “are all enormously proud of the University of Delaware.”

The University has prospered under David Roselle’s leadership and clear sense of where the University should be heading and how to make it happen, Norris said.

One senior faculty member said that early on, Roselle established a limited number of clear priorities and then focused all of his attention on achieving them. Norris said those priorities were simple—assemble a good faculty to work with good students in an attractive setting.

The UD campus is “dazzling” under Roselle’s leadership, and he and Louise have made faculty, staff, supporters and all who visit feel welcomed at receptions, dinners and special events in their home and across the campus, she said.

“Dave and Louise, you make a wonderful team. Your magic has enriched our lives,” Norris said. “We thank you both for the care and love that you have shown each of us during these 17 years. We will carry your legacy in our hearts and our minds forever.”

After a video tribute to the Roselles prepared by Information Technologies-Media Services and the Office of Public Relations, Louise Roselle came to the podium. She introduced family members who were in the audience and thanked the Board of Trustees and everyone who spoke for “this wonderful honor and for being here tonight.”

Then the president thanked the many individuals and organizations that made the Center for the Arts possible.

He personally thanked each person who contributed to the construction of the building. He said that more than $30 million had been donated to the project and gave details related to the gifts of several of the major contributors to the center.

The initial idea for the arts center came from students, Roselle said. “Several times a year, I put an ad in The Review [student newspaper] that says, ‘Let’s Do Lunch,’ and at one lunch meeting, some students complained that there was not enough practice space for music students. That’s how the idea began,” he said. “Now, if you walk on the second floor of this building, you’ll find 32 practice rooms.”

The center, on Orchard Road just south of the Amy E. du Pont Music Building, also includes the proscenium Thompson Theatre, a studio theatre, the Gore Recital Hall and the Puglisi Orchestra Hall.

“Louise and I have very much enjoyed being at the University of Delaware,” David Roselle said at the ceremony. “Recently, there have been many tributes and many nice things said to and about us. In way of reply, we believe our time was well spent, and we are grateful for having been given the opportunity to serve.”

—Barbara Garrison