The University of Delaware’s budget and financial situation is more easily accessible to faculty and staff because of recent efforts to increase transparency, Faculty Senate President Vickie Fedele said at the Faculty Senate meeting on March 3.

Fedele, associate professor of English and women and gender studies in the Associate in Arts Program, expressed gratitude to President Dennis Assanis and his staff for making the administrative and academic units’ budgets available on UD’s Financial Profile. 

“We think this is a really positive step forward,” she said. 

Assanis thanked the Faculty Senate for its patience and input as the administration established the format for displaying the all-funds budget. He also thanked Provost Laura Carlson and the deans as they worked to create baseline budgets for the departments and units. 

“For the first time ever in our history, in 280 years, we have budget transparency among all departments,” Assanis said. He acknowledged that the presentation format may not be perfect, but making the information accessible will help generate thoughtful questions for future improvements. 

Assanis provided high-level insight on the University’s capital planning process and procedures along with the outcomes of his recent meetings with the Faculty Senate’s Budget Committee. He said that they are working with Andrea Everard, professor of MIS and associate dean of graduate studies in Lerner College of Business and Economics, her graduate students and relevant administrative units to present the University’s financial information in a visually appealing manner. 

The meeting included a lengthy discussion regarding a proposed resolution to pause future capital projects until there is increased clarity around the University’s finances and capital planning process. The resolution had passed unanimously in both the Senate Executive and Budget Committees and called for the establishment of a detailed five-year capital plan, shared with relevant senate committees, prior to UD financing major new construction with bonds or operating revenue.

Several administrators and faculty expressed concerns about the plan. President Assanis said UD already has a substantial capital plan and planning process, explaining  that the plan consists of a dynamic list of short-, medium- and long-term projects and opportunities. Assanis said that when deciding on priorities for capital projects, the University considers a variety of factors, including the best way to serve the mission of a college, the condition of existing facilities and the projected need to grow and meet new modalities of education and research, funding sources, etc. Planning big capital projects and raising the money for those projects have long time horizons, often a decade or more, he said. Assanis expressed his support for the idea of having a university-wide committee that works collaboratively with the administration on capital planning.

Matt Robinson, chair of the Faculty Senate Budget Committee, said additional information recently added to UD’s Financial Profile addressed some of the Senate’s concerns. Fedele said she would like to see more robust and transparent capital planning but agreed that the resolution could use additional discussion. At the end of debate, the Senate voted 54-2 for the Senate Executive Committee and the Budget Committee to re-evaluate the language in the proposed resolution. 

Assanis also provided an update on the federal government’s executive orders related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. The University remains committed to welcoming and supporting people of all backgrounds and perspectives, Assanis said, and he highlighted a recent ranking by the Anti-Defamation League that gave UD strong marks for its support of Jewish students.

Also, Assanis said, the reduction of personnel in federal agencies that award research grants is likely to have a significant impact on UD researchers. “There are considerable delays with respect to pending applications and awards, so the future continues to remain uncertain,” he said.

He encouraged researchers to contact their research office before responding to any federal government inquiries. Researchers are also encouraged to frequently visit the Research Office’s UD Federal Guidance website for up-to-date information and resources pertaining to grants and programs.

Assanis also spoke about the decision for UD to begin managing its own healthcare insurance benefits beginning July 1, 2025, as explained in his Feb. 28 message to faculty and staff. 

“I’m proud of how we reached this decision — extensively consulting with experts and stakeholders throughout the past year,” Assanis said. “A key group who helped us in this process is the Benefits Cost Containment Committee, which is a joint committee with the American Association of University Professors and other staff representatives. I want to commend Suresh Sundaram, assistant professor of business administration, and Deni Galileo, professor of biological sciences, who attended every meeting, providing very thoughtful input and criticism.”

To help guide future employee benefits, the University will establish a Benefits Advisory Committee with representation from union and non-union employees, Assanis said. 

“We recognize that the health care benefits are what I refer to as ‘commonwealth goods’ that we all care for, and we’ll need to do the best we can to ensure that these are being delivered in the best possible way,” Assanis said. “Proactive consultation will be important before decisions are made, and we want to encourage everyone to ask questions as things continue to develop.”

Fedele provided a link to the health insurance frequently asked questions website.

Carlson announced that the Faculty Commons will be reestablished in 116 Pearson Hall. Also, space is being finalized in Hullihen Hall near UD Achieve and UD Advance for the Faculty Senate office and the office of the American Association of University Professors-UD. Carlson announced the intention to form an Executive Order Impact Task Force to consider how faculty tenure and promotion may be affected in the realms of research, teaching and service. Finally, Carlson referenced the senate’s open hearing about changes to the faculty evaluation timeline. 

“There was a great conversation there. There's a lot of support, both from the Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee (FRR) and from administration,” Carlson said. “The open hearing also started conversations about other topics that we're happy to continue to pursue with the FRR — post-tenure review, timing of annual appraisals, peer reviews, and contract versus promotion cases.” 

Also at the meeting:

• Carolyn Quinci, UD registrar, said that all updates in Stellic should be completed this month. Faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the Stellic Resources website. 
• Fedele provided the installation link to the respondus lockdown browser, which prevents students from printing, copying, going to another URL or accessing other applications while taking an assessment in Canvas.
• The Consent Agenda portion of the Faculty Senate meeting included a single vote to approve 26 undergraduate proposals and three graduate proposals. The Regular Agenda included 14 undergraduate proposals and one graduate proposal, all of which were approved.

In new business, 

• Rusty Lee, civil construction and environmental engineering, introduced a resolution that would expand the University's policy on existing credit for prior learning. 

• Faculty Senate President-elect John Jebb, associate professor of English, reported that the Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee was considering the concerns raised during the open hearing on annual and peer reviews of faculty to revise their proposals to change 4.3.5 of the Faculty Handbook. They are hoping to get the revised proposals to the senate floor for a vote at the April meeting.

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