67 offices around NSU were brought together under one umbrella earlier this year—the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Designed for the optimal student experience—a seamless transition from one part of student life to the next—the department includes both undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid, the registrar, the bursar, student affairs, the residence halls, and all of the regional campuses, to name a few.
“It is all part of trying to create what I believe NSU is becoming, which is the next great 21st century university,” said Brad Williams, Ph.D., senior vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “I’ve always said the curriculum should be challenging, but the university experience for our students should be great.”
NSU has grown exponentially since Williams was hired to be the entire student affairs department in 1989. At that time, NSU had 550 undergraduate students, three buildings, and a couple of residence halls. Williams was given the opportunity to build a sense of campus life and traditions. He has since worked with five of the six NSU presidents, established programs like the annual Student Life Achievement Awards (the STUEYs) and has seen incoming students whose parents attended NSU at the start of his career here.
“One of the greatest joys of mine is when students from when I first came to NSU come back and bring their kids, who are juniors and seniors in high school, to look at the school,” Williams said.
Williams enjoys showing those alumni and their potential students how NSU has changed over the years. The departments he now manages are an integral part of the university’s trajectory of growth. For example, enrollment management includes the selectivity and academic profile of new students, as well as retention and graduation rates—all of which play a part in NSU’s rise in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings. Another example is the regional campuses, which Williams dubbed “hidden gems,” as they provide NSU with representation in almost all metropolitan areas in Florida.
“If NSU is a cake, my team and I go out and find the ingredients—the students. And we’re baking some amazing cakes these days,” he said. “It appears that this fall’s incoming class is not only going to be the largest, but the most academically gifted in the history of the school. We’re finding some incredibly bright students.”
The incoming student body helps to add value to an NSU degree. Williams noted that value can be added through prestige, and NSU’s prestige has decidedly improved in the past few years. For Williams, a good indicator of the school’s prestige is that he no longer has to explain NSU at events he attends. People now know about Nova Southeastern University.
“It’s that impact out in the field which adds prestige, which adds value to the degrees,” he explained. “President Hanbury says it all the time. I’ve heard him talk to students, and he says, ‘If we’re doing all of our jobs, your degree is going to be worth more 10 years from now than what it is today,’ and that’s held true.”
Williams credits donors with helping to keep NSU moving forward. In his role, he is very connected to students, and they turn to him when they are struggling to pay tuition and may have to drop out. It’s never a massive amount—sometimes only $500–$1,000. Williams works with advancement and donors to find the money and keep the student in school.
“Two years later, I see that student walking across the stage at commencement. There’s no feeling like it,” he said. “And I wish I could bottle that and show that to every donor to let them know how much I value what they do.”
A donor himself, Williams and his wife Teri, known to students as Mrs. Dr. Williams since she also holds a Ph.D. and works at the university as a professor in the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, established an endowed scholarship several years ago. Because of his connections with the student body, Williams has no trouble awarding the scholarship. He hopes the recipients can give back in a similar manner in the future when they are alumni.
“Any great university, including NSU, defines its success by what its alumni go on to do. We produce graduates who go on to do amazing things. When you look at the number of physicians, attorneys, or teachers, you know the NSU impact. When you have 210,000 alumni, think of the ripple out into society. Success is what happens beyond here from what happened here,” he explained.
“I’ve had a front row seat—NSU is 59 years old and I’m in my 35th year. It has been amazing. and I’ve had the opportunity to play a part of an important team from President Fischler when I first came all the way to President Hanbury,” Williams said. “To paraphrase Forrest Gump, ‘Me and NSU go together like peas and carrots.’”
For more information on how you can support students at Nova Southeastern University, contact Andria Cunningham, executive director of development and alumni engagement, at (954) 262-2144 or acunningham@nova.edu.