The University of Delaware is facing a budget deficit between $20 million and $40 million, top UD officials told the Board of Trustees on Tuesday. “We are at a pivotal moment,” President Dennis Assanis said. “We’re facing a challenge, but we are poised to overcome as we’ve overcome so many others and continue on our growth trajectory.” The special trustees meeting, which delved into the budget in more depth than UD has typically disclosed publicly, came as the university has ordered a partial hiring freeze, delayed capital projects and implemented other austerity measures. “My message is one of unity,” Assanis said. “We need everybody to work together as a community, our faculty, our staff, our students, the administration and the support of the trustees, to navigate this together as we’ve done so many other crises.”
