October 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the entire world in 2020, and many challenges remain in 2021. Nova Southeastern University adapted to the learning and health challenges posed by the pandemic thanks to the dedication of our faculty, our staff, and of course, our students. With the health and safety of our communities as a top priority, NSU made significant technology investments, upgrading 700 classrooms across all campuses and training more than 1,700 faculty members on online learning applications. Across all campuses, NSU installed ionization filters in highly trafficked areas and set up hand sanitizer stations. We also successfully rolled out a hybrid learning model for the entire university, while remaining poised for a seamless transition to normal modalities in fall 2021.
The NSU community has adapted admirably to the pandemic, and progress has continued as students at all levels work toward their degrees. And despite the pandemic, NSU welcomed its largest incoming undergraduate class ever in fall 2020. Students who completed their programs were able to experience an in-person commencement in May, with safety protocols observed, outdoors at the Hard Rock Stadium. At the start of the fiscal year, we successfully merged two colleges into the newly named Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center. We also reorganized the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development to enhance its cross-disciplinary strengths by integrating it with the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, the College of Psychology, and the NSU University School. Additionally, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) earned provisional accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. This is the important second step to full accreditation, which is planned for by 2023.
Social upheaval across the country this last year highlights how important diversity and inclusion are. Diversity is one of NSU’s eight core values, and in 2021, we launched a two-pronged effort to show our commitment to enhancing and fostering an existing diverse, equitable, and inclusive atmosphere for students, faculty, and staff. The first part of our new effort is the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Office within our Office of Campus Life and Student Engagement. This student-focused office will accomplish meaningful goals in pursuit of these four principles. We also created a Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Council that includes faculty, staff, and administrative representatives from all colleges and administrative units at NSU. Together, these two bodies are dedicated to living NSU’s Core Values.
As a necessary response to the pandemic, the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale launched the first phase of its new online collection catalog, which offers digital access to more than 2,000 of the 7,500 objects in the museum’s permanent collection. This digital resource is available to the public, scholars, and students. The museum also debuted three new exhibitions in the 2020 calendar year, running alongside four continuing exhibitions (Iké Udé: Select Portraits, William J. Glackens: From Pencil to Paint, Erin N. Mack: Lemme Walk Across the Room, and The New Woman: Recent Acquisitions).
In this past year, the university advanced its commitment to our veterans with the creation of the NSU Military Affairs Office. This new office is a hub for veterans and military-affiliated students, including for the Army ROTC and other commissioning programs. NSU is also dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and graduating more veterans and military-affiliated students with innovative academic programs, holistic resources/services, and more commissioning and scholarship opportunities. NSU has been designated as Military Friendly because of our commitment to veterans and military-affiliated students.
NSU’s Board of Trustees welcomed three new members in fiscal year 2021. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Rita Case is new to the board, but has had a long association with NSU, along with her late husband, Rick Case, who died in 2020 after a brief battle with cancer. The university also welcomed James Donnelly, founder and CEO of Castle Group, a property management group with more than 1,700 employees that oversees more than 300 properties with 125,000-plus units. Longtime NSU supporter George Platt joined the board as well. He serves as managing partner of LSN Partners, a full-service consulting firm specializing in government affairs, government procurement, and business development.
In the past year, NSU realized the culmination of its university-wide efforts under the Vision 2020 Business Plan. That plan included goals to raise $250 million through philanthropy and $300 million in external funding through cumulative grants and contracts awarded since fiscal 2009. The university not only met, but exceeded those goals, with $318 million in cumulative gift commitments and $303 million in cumulative grants/contracts awarded through December 31, 2020. Our work is not over, however, and under the new Vision 2025 plan, our goal is to be recognized as a preeminent, professional-dominant, doctoral-research university that gives its students competitive career advantages. NSU was recently ranked 213 by U.S. News & World Report, and we continue to aim for increases in this important national ranking.
South Florida is recognized as an emerging tech hub, and NSU will make its mark on multiple industries with the fall 2021 opening of the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation (Levan Center). This public-private partnership with Broward County will not only be an extension of NSU’s unique educational pedagogy, but will create opportunities for students in more than 150 academic degree programs with a focus on innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship to create an economic development engine in the community. Leading-edge ideas will be incubated and developed, with help from experts, so that these start-ups can grow into successful companies. And it will all take place in a state-of-the-art, 54,000-square-foot space on the top floor of the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center.
Looking forward, the soon-to-open HCA University Hospital, owned and operated by HCA Florida, will create additional hands-on learning experiences and opportunities for our health care students.
Because the pandemic is an ongoing problem, we will continue to monitor the situation and adapt accordingly. We have all overcome obstacles to get here, and there will be more obstacles ahead, but the future is bright for our global community of NSU.
Fins Up!
George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Nova Southeastern University