The University of Delaware Messenger

Estella Atekwana, former head of the Boone Pickens School of Geology at Oklahoma State University, has been named the new dean of UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, & Environment. An expert in biogeophysics, she was selected for her track record of academic excellence and ability to engage with researchers from around the globe in developing internationally recognized programs.

UD named 26th safest college in the nation, according to a report issued by the National Council for Home Safety and Security that evaluated more than 2,000 schools.

UD’s UDairy Creamery opened its first off-campus location this spring, at 815 North Market St. in Wilmington. Students from the University’s Associates in Arts program will operate the business, making ice cream on site from locally sourced milk, serving customers, supervising the storefront and developing the marketplace into a sustainable small business.

“It’s good to be home,” former Vice President Joseph R. Biden said to the thousands of students and campus community members who attended the Biden is Back event on The Green, where he shared his vision for UD’s new public policy institute launched in his name. Biden sees it as a destination for leaders and scholars from across the world who “will be available to all of you,” he told students and faculty.

James Dicker, who has led major fundraising campaigns at Temple University and Lafayette College, has been named the University’s next vice president for development and alumni relations.