University of Delaware - History

History

The University of Delaware traces its founding to 1743, when Presbyterian minister Francis Alison opened up his "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania. The school changed its name and location several times, ending up as the Academy of Newark in 1769 (chartered by the colonial government). Since Delaware was part of the Pennsylvania colony until 1776, the academy was denied charter as a college in order to prevent its competing with the University of Pennsylvania (then known as the College of Philadelphia). In 1833, the General assembly for the State of Delaware passed the "An Act to Establish a College at Newark", and the next year, Newark College opened. It changed its name in 1843 to Delaware College and it merged with the Academy of Newark. The school closed from 1859 until 1870 (Newark Academy separated from the college in 1869). It reopened in 1870 due to the support of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. On March 28, 1921, by another act of state assembly, it merged with the nearby Delaware Women's college (founded in 1913) to form the University.

In August 2008, the University was hailed as the "epicenter" of the presidential election by Bloomberg News. Joe Biden, who graduated from the University, was elected Vice President of the United States on November 4, 2008 as Barack Obama's running mate. In addition, Biden's wife, Jill, as well as David Plouffe, Obama's campaign strategist, and Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign strategist all graduated from UD.

On October 23, 2009 the University of Delaware signed an agreement with Chrysler to purchase a 272-acre (1.10 km2) closed vehicle assembly plant adjacent to the University for expansion for $24.25 million as part of Chrysler's bankruptcy restructuring plan. Plans call for this facility to be repurposed into a "world-class research facility". Initial plans include the new home of the College of Health Science and the east coast headquarters of Bloom Energy.

In 2010–2011, the University conducted a feasibility study in support of plans to add a law school focused on corporate and patent law. At its completion, the study suggested that the planned addition was not within the University's funding capability given the nation's economic climate at the time. Capital expenses were projected at $100 million, and the operating deficit in the first ten years would be $165 million. The study assumed an initial class of two hundred students entering in the fall of 2015. Widener University has Delaware's only law school as of 2011.