October 12, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

Higher education is experiencing significant disruption as a result of demographic changes, constraints on federal and other funding sources, changes in policies, rising costs driven by inflation and increasing regulatory and compliance requirements.

Such disruptions have led us into a period of discernment as we work through our strategic plan: confirming our foundational mission as a land grant, sea grant and space grant institution; committing to our impact through research, teaching and service; and defining the unique value and return on investment for a UD degree.

We are stewards of the University of Delaware, an institution that preceded us and will continue long after us. Our most important responsibility is to serve it well while it is in our care, so that the students, faculty, and staff who follow us inherit a university that is stronger for our time here.

Over the last decade, we have managed these pressures and preserved our overall financial strength. However, our core operating expenses have grown faster than our core revenues, and reliance on other revenue sources and reserves is not a long-term solution; our current trajectory is not sustainable. We must make thoughtful adjustments to how we operate and invest for the future.

We have an opportunity to approach this moment deliberately rather than reactively. Our goal is not simply to reduce costs. It is to reshape how we operate, make decisions about where we invest resources, and position the University to remain strong and competitive for years to come.

That means asking fundamental questions about our priorities and how we work. Where should we invest to be distinctive? What should we be willing to stop doing? How do we balance investments across academics, research, service, athletics and student support? Where can we grow revenue in ways that advance our mission? And if we were building some of our systems and workflows from scratch today, would we build them the way they are now?

Lasting change cannot come from one unit or one group alone. It will require us to examine how we work and how we are organized, identify opportunities to improve, and develop new habits that make us more effective and sustainable over the long term. This work aligns with our comprehensive strategic planning process and will help ensure that resources, operations and investments support our mission and strategic priorities.

We have the time and the opportunity to make these important decisions thoughtfully. Institutions that wait too long often find themselves forced into rapid cost-cutting measures that are not sustainable. Acting now lets us be strategic, work together, and be intentional and proactive about the changes we make, identifying approaches of our choosing. But we must start now. Over the coming weeks and months, there will be additional discussion, both as part of the strategic planning process and as part of our financial roadmap.

We began sharing our plan for financial sustainability with UD leadership earlier this semester, and have been meeting with various constituent groups, most recently with our Board of Trustees and Faculty Senate. So that our entire campus is working from the same understanding of our current financial context, we encourage you to watch the meeting recording; the financial presentation begins at 2:26:00, though the earlier portions of the meeting do a thorough job of setting the stage and demonstrating trends in higher education.

The challenges ahead are real, but so is the opportunity before us. By focusing on our mission and making deliberate choices about how we operate and invest, we can come through this period stronger and better positioned to serve our students and the broader community.

Yours in UD,
Laura, Ellen and Bill