On the expense side, Assanis said the largest categories are:

• Non-sponsored salaries — $519 million or 38%

• Sponsored research — $254 million, or 19%

• Non-sponsored employee benefits — $233 million, or 17%

• Supplies and materials — $184 million, or 14%

He highlighted that the cost of employee benefits is disproportionate to the University’s net revenue from tuition and fees. Also, the rapid growth in the cost of benefits, particularly those provided through state plans, is a cause of concern for predictable budget planning.

“To put it into perspective, in FY23 we paid about $90 million to the state for employee benefits, and then about $100 million in FY24, and projections are for $129 million in FY25,” Assanis said.

Assanis said that UD is committed to providing a competitive total compensation package, including benefits, to help recruit and retain top faculty and staff. The University is exploring the feasibility of migrating away from participation in the state health plan and sponsoring its own plans, at more affordable and predictable rates, in consultation with the Benefits and Cost Containment Committee. Past data indicate that UD employees are generally healthier and have lower health care costs than the rest of the population covered by state insurance plans.

Assanis also illustrated that only 58% of the University’s $1.3 billion all-funds budget resources, or $751 million, flow through the UD Budget Model (UDBM). The use of the remaining 42% of the University’s all-funds revenue, about $550 million, is restricted: Academics and research receive 73% of this revenue, while housing and dining receive the other 27%. 

The basic budget resources flowing though UDBM are allocated as follows:

• 62% to academics

• 22% to all institutional support units, which generally have no access to restricted revenue

• 12% to campus operations

• 3% to athletics and recreation

Assanis noted that the University’s debt service — about $39 million per year, or 3% of UD’s FY25 all-funds budget — has changed little over the past several years. This is due to careful multi-year planning and strategic refinancing, even with the development of the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus and many other projects around The Green.

Assanis and Provost Laura Carlson said the University is also focused on growing revenue sources, and colleges and their units are exploring opportunities to generate income in ways that make sense for them. Carlson said that bases are being set by the deans for each unit to empower them and best position them on a positive path forward.

Assanis closed his remarks by providing insight on funding for the University’s athletics program, since one of the recommendations on the Faculty Senate’s meeting agenda called for the athletics department to begin reporting its revenue to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics database.

The University’s athletics and recreation department has an FY25 all-funds budget of $37.5 million, said Assanis. Direct institutional support for the department has decreased by 24% over the past five years, while self-generated revenue has increased by 58%.

Matt Robinson, chair of the Faculty Senate budget committee, discussed the proposal for the athletics department to begin reporting its revenue to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics database, which is a publicly accessible platform that tracks the revenue and expenses of college athletics departments. 

“Since its inception, the Knight Commission’s work has led to a balanced approach to college athletics, aiming to protect the welfare of student-athletes, upholding academic integrity and promoting accountability through the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) system,” said Robinson.

Universities are mandated by federal law to report their athletic participation data through the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) and the NCAA Membership Financial Report in compliance with Title IX. UD has provided data to the Knight Commission in the past but has not reported to them since 2019, said Robinson. He hopes that UD’s athletic department will increase its transparency by reporting to the Knight Commission.

Athletics Director Chrissi Rawak said the University stopped reporting its finances to the Knight Commission because only a third of Division I athletic programs participate, so the database is not representative of all institutions’ spending. Also, Rawak said it is a time-consuming process, and “the participating programs do not interpret data the same way,” so comparisons are difficult.

She explained that the NCAA Membership Financial Report is consistent across all institutions, limiting the possibility of misinterpreting finances. It is submitted each year and goes through an auditing process. Parts of the report, which is not public, include expenses, revenues and capital expenditures.

With a vote of 58-3, the Faculty Senate recommended that UD athletics begin to report to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics database.

Also at the meeting, Carlson provided updates regarding the academic calendar. Carolyn Quinci, the University’s registrar, and the calendar coordinating committee have completed the academic calendars for 2025-26 and 2026-27. Planning for the academic year 2027-28 will begin in the spring.

“The features of the two completed calendars include 69 instructional days, a Re-Coop Day, a full week for Thanksgiving break, and 24 instructional days during winter term,” Carlson said. “Winter session is critical, so we want to have adequate time for instruction, particularly in the lab courses.”

There was also a discussion about bus routes. Carlson has met with students about the University’s bus route concerns, as some students have said they are experiencing very lengthy travel times.

“I understand the urgency to create safe routes,” Carlson said. “There are student surveys that are currently being taken to address this. The results will also help us create routes that have the most impact.”

On the regular agenda, four other proposed resolutions were approved.

●  Committee on Committees and Nominations (COCAN) has been approved to establish an ad hoc committee that will be composed of six faculty members, a chair, a dean, and the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. The purpose of the committee is to:

○  Perform a broad evaluation of the chair/director appointment process and offer recommendations to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs on revisions for the Policy Guide for Department Chairs and Academic Program Directors.

○  Review current department and college documents, policies and practices related to chair/director appointments and formulate recommendations for the improvement and standardization of the process across the University.

○  Consider and make recommendations related to the voting rights of continuing-track and tenure-track faculty in such appointments, guidelines for the performance of national searches, and the number of candidates deans are expected to propose to the Provost and President.

The committee’s final report is anticipated by the conclusion of the spring 2025 semester. The resolution was approved by a vote of 64-1.

●  The six-year requirement has been removed for faculty to be eligible for the Mid-Career Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award. Continuing-track faculty are also now eligible for this award. The resolution was approved by a vote of 65-0.

●  The scope of the Faculty Undergraduate Excellence in Advising and Mentoring Award has been broadened to be more inclusive of faculty mentorship and place less emphasis on academic advising. The resolution was approved by a vote of 66-0.

●  Section 4.1.10 of the UD faculty handbook was approved to be changed to accommodate gender-inclusive language. The resolution was approved by a vote of 58-0.

Also at the meeting, Senate President Vickie Fedele, associate professor of English and women and gender studies in the Associate in Arts Program, announced a new process for interacting with the Board of Trustees.

“One of the places that faculty interacts with the Board is at their open committee meetings,” Fedele said. “In the past, senators were largely there to observe, but now we are being encouraged by Board Chair Terri Kelly to be active participants so that we can bring back what we’ve learned and share it with faculty senators.”

The agreement is that the agendas will be shared with the committee members and Fedele will place them in a Google drive that will be accessible to Faculty Senate members. The agenda topics can be shared with faculty. All questions or concerns can be emailed to Fedele, and she will submit them to the Faculty Senate attendees and the University’s secretary.

Fedele also announced the availability of Curriculum training videos and the curriculum proposal deadlines: 

• Non-CAS courses: Dec. 13
• Non-CAS programs: Recommended deadline – Jan. 17, 2025; Absolute deadline – Feb. 7, 2025

Further information about the Faculty Senate, including meeting minutes and agendas, can be found on its website.