Faculty & Staff News
During NSU’s Homecoming celebrations, former Sharks pitcher Nick Carris expanded his growing awards list; but for his work beyond the field. Now a highly-respected pharmacist, Carris was named for the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, where he earned his B.S. in Biology, graduating with distinction in 2008. FULL RELEASE
On the heels of a stellar sophomore campaign, forward Sebastian Loibl has been selected as a Third Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. The award becomes the second-ever handed out to a Nova Southeastern player since the program shifted to NCAA Division II in 2002, and first since Matthew Parry earned All-America honors back in 2004. FULL RELEASE
Following prominent seasons which resulted in a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for Nova Southeastern, both Emma Heikkila and Adanna Edwards have been recognized as all-south region honorees by United Soccer Coaches. Heikkila was selected as a first team selection, while Edwards landed on the second team. FULL RELEASE
The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team has beefed up the local fanfare for its Dec. 13 date with the announcement of the inaugural South Florida Showdown doubleheader event. Adding to the existing face-off with local rival St. Thomas Bobcats at 7:00 p.m., the Sharks will also host Florida high school powerhouse competition between NSU University School and Westminster Academy at 5:30 p.m. in the “Shark Tank” at Rick Case Arena, housed in the Don Taft University Center. FULL RELEASE
Chaflin vs Nova Southeastern Mens Basketball (Photo by Eric Espada/Nova Southeastern Athletics)
One week after breaking into the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top-25 poll for the first time in program history, Nova Southeastern made another significant leap, rising to No. 17 in the latest national rankings. FULL RELEASE
Lynn Hauck Presentation on PCP DNP project.
ACON student Lynn Hauck presented her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project, Emergency Department Nurses: Post Code Pause, at her practice site’s EBP Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity to educate staff on the background, significance, and results of the DNP EBP project that implemented a post-code pause (PCP) intervention that debriefed emergency department nurses after participating in cardiac arrest events. Lynn encouraged ER nurses to remember, “don’t use a “Band-Aid” on your emotions, use the PCP debriefing after cardiopulmonary resuscitation”.
Pavel Palazhchenko will speak at NSU on Friday, December 7.
Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Lifelong Learning Institute will present “Negotiating the End of the Cold War: Lessons for Today” with speaker Pavel Palazhchenko. The seminar will take place on Friday, December 7 from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the university’s Knight Auditorium, located in the Carl DeSantis Building on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus
“NSU’s Lifelong Learning Institute offers a vibrant educational environment for those in the local community who seek out opportunities for intellectual stimulation,” said Linda Maurice, director of the Lifelong Learning Institute. “We often feature interesting and informative speakers who provide unique seminars to our members and guests. Mr. Palazhchenko is a testament to our ability to attract world renowned lecturers.”
Palazhchenko is a legendary translator who is well-known for his role as the chief English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev and Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze. He participated in all US-Soviet summit talks that led to the end of the Cold War.
After serving as a long-time associate and aide to Mikhail Gorbachev, he served as the head of the International Department of the International Non-governmental Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies, also known as The Gorbachev Foundation. In this role, he worked as an analyst, spokesperson, interpreter and translator.
Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to Palazhchenko speak about his front-row seat to history. Following the lecture, there will be a question and answer session.
This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 954-262-8471 or email LLI@nova.edu.
Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.
Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D., graduate of the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education has published a new book entitled The Pocket Advisor: A Family Guide to Navigating College. Drawing from over 30 years working in higher education in the field of academic advising and student services, Ohrablo provides college-bound and new college students valuable information to help them successfully navigate institutional resources, policies, and procedures and provides guidance for academic planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. The Pocket Advisor includes checklists, worksheets, and tips that students can use as they strive to competently navigate their first year of college.
“Students often find navigating college confusing and often frustrating” says Ohrablo. “I want to give them the tools and information they will need to effectively make decisions, avoid obstacles, and develop positive relationships with institutional personnel.”
The Pocket Advisor has widespread uses and will benefit high-school counselors and colleges who want to support their freshmen, first-generation, first-time-in-college (FTIC) and international students.
Ohrablo is also the author of High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, and currently works as a higher education consultant and serves as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University. She earned her doctorate degree from FCE in 2009.
For more information on Ohrablo’s book, please visit www.iuniverse.com .
For the fourth time in as many years under head coach John Constable, the Nova Southeastern women’s soccer team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament. After winning 13 matches and reaching the Sunshine State Conference Tournament final, the Sharks have earned the No. 6 seed in the south region and will square off against third-seeded Mississippi College in the opening round this Friday at 1 p.m. in Miami Shores, Fla. FULL RELEASE
Joining an ever-growing list of corporations, organizations and municipalities that are taking steps to reduce their dependency on single-use plastics, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) will be eliminating the use of plastic straws, first at it’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus, then the other NSU locations.
“This was something we heard about from students, faculty and staff,” said Dr. George Hanbury, President of NSU. “The time has come for NSU to take a first-step in addressing single-use plastics on our campuses. It may be a small step, but every bit helps address the bigger issue.”
Dr. Hanbury hopes that by NSU taking this step, it may inspire public and private sector organizations to explore the possibility of doing so as well.
While NSU will be replacing plastic straws with more environmentally-friendly paper versions, the university will still have plastic straws on hand for individuals with disabilities or special needs who need to use them, and they’ll be made available upon request. The fact is in most cases, straws are not needed – they aren’t the product people are purchasing, they are an accessory. You can still buy a soda or cup of iced coffee and simply drink from the cup – the straw is superfluous.
The campus is home to third-party vendors (i.e. Starbucks) who are also exploring the possibility of following NSU’s lead and switching to paper straws.
For many years the outcry about plastics polluting our oceans has been heard near and far. Almost weekly there are news reports of marine creatures washing up on beaches that have their digestive systems clogged with plastic trash. Plastics have been found in all of the world’s oceans, in the polar ice caps and even at the deepest part of the ocean, the Marianas Trench.
“Many people have said that, in the grand scheme of things, reducing straw usage is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to addressing plastic trash,” said Dr. Derek Burkholder,
a marine research scientist in NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. “While that may be true, the fact remains that plastic straws are part of the problem, so we can start there and then see what else we can do to reduce our plastic footprint.”
Burkholder, who is also the director of the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program and the Marine Environmental Education Center at the Carpenter House, said there are some reports that show that just in the United States and United Kingdom, nearly 550 million plastic straws are thrown away every day. In fact, approximately 50% of all plastic is single use, with an average “useful lifetime” of 12 minutes.
There are simple steps that people can take to help reduce their plastic footprint. From not using plastic straws to using reusable bags when grocery shopping, each action, no matter how small, helps remove plastic trash from landfills or the ocean.
Working with sea turtles, Burkholder and his colleagues have had to deal with the unfortunate reality of dead animals washing up on our beaches. And when they perform a necropsy he said that, inevitably, they find various bits of plastic in the turtle’s stomach.
Burkholder said it’s not just sea turtles – plastics are finding their ways into all sorts of marine creatures, great and small, from plankton to sperm whales. Even shore birds are being found with significant amounts of plastics in their digestive systems. Plastic isn’t biodegradable, it simply breaks down into smaller and smaller particles, including micro plastics, that are ingested.
“If you think about it, we’re polluting ourselves,” he said. “The fish eat the plastics, which metabolizes into their fat reserves and then we catch and eat the fish. We’re throwing plastics into the oceans and then, sooner or later, we wind up ingesting those same plastics.”