Author: iharrell

Education Professor to Present Research at Conference

Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Elizabeth M. Aguila, Ph.D., is slated to present at an upcoming conference this fall.

Elizabeth M. Aguila, Ph.D.

The title of Aguila’s proposal is “Developing Emergent Teacher Identity: A Study of a High School CTE Teaching Academy,” and she will present at the upcoming Florida Association of Teachers Educators (FATE) Conference.

The theme of the conference is “Be the Bridge” and it will run from Oct. 20 to Oct. 21.

In the description she submitted, Aguila said the proposal focuses on developing emergent teacher identity within a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teaching academy at Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The presentation will draw upon scholarly research, including research from Aguila herself.

“The role of this CTE teaching academy as a unique educational setting that fosters (teacher identity) formation through specialized criteria, mentorship, and authentic teaching experiences will be explored,” she said.

Emergent teacher identity is a continuous and constantly evolving process where educators build a sense of professional self. It is built up of a teacher’s beliefs, values, interactions, and experiences.

“As the teacher shortage increases in the United States, understanding how teacher identity develops and evolves may help leaders and teacher preparation programs create communities of practice that foster a developing professional identity and create resilient and reflective practitioners,” Aguila said.

Aguila said that by the end of the presentation, participants with have a better understanding of what builds the emergent teacher identity within, not only a Career and and Technical Education learning environment, but in their own educational settings.

Congratulations!

Posted 08/29/23

Carl A. DeSantis: 1939-2023

Carl A. DeSantis

Nova Southeastern University has lost one of its own. On Aug. 10, 2023, Carl A. DeSantis – for whom the DeSantis Building was named – passed away in Delray Beach, Florida. He was 84 years old.

DeSantis was born in Boston on July 19, 1939, and was raised in South Florida. He was an entrepreneur at heart, selling newspapers and raising parakeets to help his family at a young age. After briefly attending Florida State University (FSU), DeSantis returned to Miami where began working his way up the ladder at Walgreens. He started as a stock boy and quickly rose to one for the chain’s youngest store managers.

DeSantis launched Sundown Vitamins in his garage and built it into the world’s largest vitamin manufacturer. With a constant eye on consumer demand, DeSantis created Sundown, an effective and inexpensive sunburn treatment. As consumers turned their attentions to nutrition and health products, Sundown Vitamins became Rexall Sundown, and under DeSantis’ guidance grew into a NASDAQ success and Fortune 100 company. Rexall Sundown is famously known for its multi-billion-dollar seller Osteo-Biflex.

DeSantis had a long history of philanthropy in South Florida, making donations to Florida universities such as Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and FSU. In 1998, what was then called NSU’s School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) inducted DeSantis into its Entrepreneur and Business Hall of Fame. He was honored by the school for his work in founding Rexall Sundown and for his support of charitable and educational institutions. Among other achievements was his establishment of the Rexall Sundown Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Center at the University of Miami’s (UM) Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Already named for H. Wayne Huizenga in 1999, NSU’s School of Business and Entrepreneurship received a $2 million gift from DeSantis in 2000. His gift put the university’s fund-raising campaign for the renamed H. Wayne Huizenga Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship at a little more than $9 million, about two-thirds of the estimated cost of building and equipping the school.

Carl DeSantis with President Hanbury

When DeSantis visited the Davie campus in September 2012 for a speaking engagement with students, faculty, and staff, he spoke about the keys to success in business.

He told the audience to “look for voids in life,” to find consumer needs and demands and fill them. He advised “don’t ever put the brakes on,” to be persistent, dedicated, and hard-working to get the job done. He also advocated “knowing what you are capable of,” essentially understanding your strengths and skills, knowing what you need to achieve your goals, and surrounding yourself with good people. It was DeSantis’ blueprint for life.

Among DeSantis’ most notable investments were Celsius, a fitness drink and powder; Tabañero, an award-winning hot sauce; and Kwandwe, an eco-tourist resort in South Africa. He also invested in a few landmark real estate projects in South Florida. DeSantis owned 30 percent of Celsius shares, which skyrocketed in 2020, making DeSantis a billionaire.

In the words of his family, DeSantis left a memorable mark on the many lives through his “infectious laughter, warm smile, and genuine interest in others. His wisdom, guidance, and mentorship touched the lives of countless individuals, leaving an indelible mark on their personal and professional journeys.”

It’s clear that he left his mark at NSU, too.

“His legacy of hard work, innovation, and generosity made him an ideal namesake for the building that houses NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship,” said Dr. George L. Hanbury, President and CEO of NSU. “He was a true inspiration.”

Posted 08/27/23

First Responder Program Battles Stigmas, Offers Trauma Support

By nature of their profession, first responders see more trauma than other citizens. The exposure to trauma takes its toll, but a stigma about asking for needed help exists among law enforcement officers, firefighters, dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, crime scene investigators, and other first responders. Vince Van Hasselt, Ph.D., is working to overcome that challenge through the First Responder Research and Training Program at the NSU College of Psychology.

“It’s estimated that at least 25 percent of first responders suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” Van Hasselt said.  “Now, you may say that means maybe 70 or 75 percent don’t. But when you look at civilian levels of problems like PTSD, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression, they’re almost consistently at or around 5 or 6 percent.”

Vince Van Hasselt, Ph.D.

A member of the NSU faculty team for more than 30 years, Van Hasselt joined the staff because NSU was very supportive of the College of Psychology and wanted faculty members who were willing to teach and conduct research. When he began working with first responders as a consultant, his audience was appreciative of his effort but also informed him that unless he did the job, he wouldn’t understand it.

“Frankly, I got tired of hearing that,” Van Hasselt said. “I thought, let me go through the academy. Let me get certified. They were right. I tell my students they don’t have to become a police officer or a firefighter to work with them. But they sure better get a pretty good understanding of the nature of their jobs.”

After graduating from the police academy, Van Hasselt became a part-time officer of the City of Plantation Police Department while maintaining his full-time job at NSU. His on-the-job experience opened up possibilities in terms of mental health applications with law enforcement. Over the years, his work expanded to include fire rescue personnel, crime scene investigators, emergency communication operators, as well as detention deputies.

The first responder program focuses on two primary areas—assessment and prevention. NSU offers behavioral health training to help first responders prevent major mental health issues—anxiety, depression, substance use, sleep problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide risk.

Van Hasselt’s First Responder Research and Training Program also offers an Optimizing Performance Program, with a focus on sports-oriented diet, nutrition, health, and exercise. There is also a research component that studies all first responders. Each and every one of them has significant trauma exposure, putting them at particularly high risk for mental health problems. What’s traumatic for a police officer or a firefighter is going to be different from a crime scene investigator or dispatcher.

“Part of our goal is to educate and encourage first responders to feel more comfortable opening up, seek help when necessary, and to fight back against that culture and stigma,” Van Hasselt said.

Students in the College of Psychology play a large role in the first responder program. Doctoral candidates in clinical psychology serve as trainers in the behavioral health and peer support workshops. They learn how to engage the first responders and not rely solely on statistics, numbers, and PowerPoint slides. Students are encouraged to participate in ride-a-longs with police officers, fire rescue personnel, and EMS trucks to interact with first responders and better understand their jobs. Stress management training—the ability to debrief first responders after a critical incident such as the death of a child or a serious injury in the line of duty—is another component students experience.

Van Hasselt’s First Responder Research and Training Program also collaborates with agencies and organizations to provide peer support and conduct research opportunities, including a recent effort with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office that offered peer support training to corrections officers. The First Responder Program also completed a recent project with the U.S. Marshal Service on the National Wellness Survey for Public Safety Personnel. That effort involved 14 different first responder groups, including professional and volunteer firefighters, wildlife firefighters, dispatchers, homicide detectives, and EMS.

 “I’m very grateful for my experience at NSU,” Van Hasselt said. “There’s always been a lot of support and encouragement for the work I’m doing.”

For more information on how you can support the First Responder Research and Training Program at Nova Southeastern University, contact Susanne Marshall, executive director of development, at (833) 310-2112 or msusanne@nova.edu.

Posted 08/27/23

Business Professor Takes Expertise on Road During Summer

For many of NSU’s faculty, summers aren’t all rest and relaxation. Instead, these consummate professionals serve as true ambassadors for the university, spreading their expertise to broader audiences. Albert Williams, Ph.D., Chair and Associate Professor of Finance and Economics at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, is one such faculty member.

Over the summer, Williams appeared on two television shows and made presentations at three primary schools in his home country of Belize. In June, he was interviewed live by Love TV in a one-hour segment. (Love TV is the No. 1 TV station in Belize.)  Williams and Love TV hosts, Rene Villanueva and Troy Gabb, had a lively and thought-provoking discussion on the economics of poverty and possible solutions.

Williams focused on education as a key solution to break the cycle of poverty. He discussed the need for micro-financing and the strengthening of private and public sector institutions that target this segment of the population. He emphasized the need for agricultural extension officers to provide a more comprehensive approach to help the rural small farmers.

“They should include recommendations for production, storage, marketing, management, financing, and education in general,” he said. “Extension officers could speak to the spouses and children of the farmers to get a better picture of the total situation of the family.  This way, a comprehensive approach could be used to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty.”

Williams also encouraged entrepreneurs to consider creating more labor-intensive businesses to be able to hire more people from this segment of the population. He combined his talk with a little entertainment, playing his guitar for the audience as well.

In his second one-hour TV interview, Williams spoke about the importance of education in his life, in a effort to encourage and motivate others to pursue an education. Williams started the discussion by playing original tunes on his guitar and discussing some tips to play the guitar. Then he sat down with Villanueva and had a candid conversation about education and success.

Williams emphasized the importance of hard work and discipline for academic and life success, and he discussed the importance of setting goals. As the conversation turned to the importance of getting a basic education, Williams agreed with Villanueva that we should not be failing 12-year-olds in primary school but finding a way to help them to succeed.

“These television presentations are an extension of my classroom,” Williams said.

Williams made presentations at three primary schools (Punta Gorda Methodist, Forest Home Methodist, and Little Flower (Catholic)) in Southern Belize. His presentations focused on motivating and encouraging students to continue their education in high school or technical school. Students had a chance to ask questions during the visits. At the end of the presentations, Williams asked students what they learned, and many raised their hands and responded with answers such as, “Work hard,” and “Never give up.”   In addition to the question-and-answer sessions, Williams serenaded the students with his American Fender Stratocaster.

Williams said he enjoys his opportunities to be an envoy for education in his home country.

“I’m living the mission statement for the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, “Best for Our World™,” he said.

Posted 08/27/23

Osteopathic Medicine Dives Into Immersive Learning

As the health care profession continues to evolve, immersive virtual learning has become an integral part of the educational experience. In a recent question/answer session, I reached out to Dr. Elizabeth Oviawe, NSU’s Director of Division of Institutional Technology with the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, to get her insight on NSU’s cutting-edge approaches to training the doctors of the future.

How many osteopathic medicine students received the Meta Quest 2 headsets this semester as part of their educational experience?

More than 400 of our first-year students at both our Davie and Tampa Bay campuses received Meta Quest 2 Virtual Reality (VR) headsets.

Dr. Elizabeth Oviawe, right, works with a student.

Will the students be using them throughout their full educational journey? 

Our students will be using the Meta Quest 2 VR Headset from their first and second year in their preclinical courses and labs and in their third and fourth year for their immersive virtual rotation experience. So, yes, our students will use this immersive technology throughout their educational journey at Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM) for greater academic success.

What are a few of the ways that this technology will be essential in the students’ journeys to become doctors?

Using this innovative immersive technology will transform the way our students learn and help reinforce and enhance their understanding and application of complex clinical concepts and procedures in a risk-free environment that engages all their sensory organs fully immersive to build their competency in pertinent skills until mastery in preparation for real life experience.

How does such technology situate NSU in terms of innovations in healthcare?

Immersive learning technology is the way of the future in teaching and learning, notably in healthcare education and delivery. Leveraging Augmented reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) including 3D visualization, hologram and 3D printing model has placed KPCOM ahead of the curve and thus extending our achievement to the greater good of the NSU as a whole. Part of our effort is also dedicated to “medical technology innovation research and development (MedTECH Innovate R&D)”, an arm of KPCOM-DiTECH which serves as incubator in the exploration of advanced medical technology application and development. To strengthen our efforts in this innovative adventure we have partnered with Meta (formerly Facebook) in the area of research and development. Meta is the manufacturer of the VR headsets that our students are using. We are breaking ground at KPCOM in innovative curriculum transformation, and extending the know-how of these Immersive learning technologies skill to other NSU educators and programs is our passion. I am so thankful to my dean, Dr. Elaine Wallace, and Dr. Phyllis Filker for their support and leadership in this endeavor.

What are some of the other efforts you’re involved in to spread the wealth of immersive technology?

In order to foster this effort, I began a training workshop series titled “Hone your skill in Immersive Learning Experience” to train NSU educators and provide them with the skills to transform their curriculum. A repeat of this first series will happen later this fall. The second series with selected specific programs at NSU who are ready for the next step is currently ongoing. The cumulative efforts of this initiative will place NSU in the frontier of futuristic technology in the immersive learning experience for health care education training advancement. I am very excited to be of service in extending my skill in the cutting-edge immersive learning technology adoption and integration across NSU.

Posted 08/27/23

ASHA Committee Appoints NSU SLP Associate Director

Steven P. Vertz

Steven P. Vertz, M.S., CCC-SLP, associate director of Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) program, has been appointed to the Committee on Nominations and Elections (CNE) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

ASHA’s CNE is charged with reviewing and interviewing applicants for openings on ASHA’s Board of Directors, overseeing procedures for increasing the awareness of ASHA members regarding the elections process for the national office, providing input to ASHA’s National Office staff, and cultivating and recruiting future candidates for board positions.

His two-year appointment, which began January 1, 2023, will end December 31, 2024. Vertz is proud to represent both his profession and Nova Southeastern University in this capacity.

Posted 08/27/23

Halmos Faculty Facilitates Meeting for Maple Microdevelopment

Mary Hope Schwoebel, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS), facilitated an organizational development, capacity building, and strategic planning meeting for Maple Microdevelopment. Maple is headquartered in Oregon and works in Uganda, Chile, and Oregon, with marginalized communities. Schwoebel serves on the board.

Schwoebel’s teaching and research interests include peacebuilding and state building, peacebuilding and development, gender and conflict, culture and conflict, and facilitation.

Posted 08/27/23

Halmos Community Resolution Services Hosts Roundtable

Community Resolution Services (CRS), housed in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) hosted The Women’s Roundtable on July 14, 2023. The Women’s Roundtable features alumni and current students who discuss their career paths and share tips for success in their fields.

The featured speakers included Michele Evans, LMHC, licensed psychotherapist, and current master’s candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution; Jacqueline Ennis, M.S., and Conflict Analysis and Resolution doctoral candidate with extensive professional experience in research; and Leneiya Boose, M.S., recent graduate of the master’s program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and academic advisor. The moderator was Charlotte Santana, M.S., Conflict Analysis and Resolution doctoral candidate.

CRS is a practicum and volunteer site providing workshops and training to the NSU and local community. For more information about CRS, please contact Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., faculty in DCRS at mckayj@nova.edu.

Posted 08/27/23

Dental Medicine Holds White Coat Ceremony for Class of ’25

NSU College of Dental Medicine White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2025 was held on Sunday August 20, 2023. The White Coat Ceremony holds several meanings, all of which contribute to its significance in the lives of dental students. Here are some of the key meanings associated with the White Coat Ceremony:

  • Symbol of Professionalism: The white coat is a powerful symbol of professionalism and a visible representation of the responsibilities that come with being a Dental Professional. It signifies the transition from a student to a future healthcare provider.
  • Commitment to Ethical Practice: The ceremony emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior in dental practice. Students pledge to uphold ethical standards, demonstrating their dedication to providing patient-centered care with integrity and compassion.
  • Transition to Clinical Care: The ceremony marks the transition from theoretical learning to practical application. It symbolizes the beginning of hands-on clinical experiences where students will directly interact with patients and contribute to their oral health.
  • Patient-Centered Care: Dental care is about more than technical skills; it’s about treating patients with respect and empathy. The ceremony underscores the importance of patient-centered care and reminds students of the human element in dentistry.
  • Connection to Tradition: The white coat ceremony is rooted in tradition and serves as a link between past and future generations of dental professionals. It connects students to a lineage of dedicated healthcare providers.
  • Personal Identity: Donning the white coat can be an emotional moment for students, reinforcing their identity as future dentists. It boosts confidence and reminds them of the journey they’re embarking on.
  • Family and Community Support: The presence of family, faculty, and peers underscores the support network that surrounds students. It’s a celebration of their achievements and the shared commitment to their success.
  • Inspiration and Role Models: Guest speakers and faculty members often share insights and stories that inspire students to excel in their studies and practice. These role models contribute to shaping students’ professional attitudes.
  • Responsibility and Accountability: The white coat symbolizes the responsibilities that dental professionals have towards their patients, colleagues, and the profession as a whole. It’s a reminder of the trust placed in them by society.
  • Mindset Shift: The ceremony encourages a shift in mindset from being a student to becoming a lifelong learner and practitioner. It sets the tone for a lifelong commitment to education and professional growth.
  • Sense of Achievement: The white coat ceremony represents a significant milestone in students’ educational journeys. It’s a moment of pride and accomplishment as they take a step closer to realizing their career aspirations.
  • Unity and Community: The ceremony fosters a sense of community among students, faculty, and practicing professionals. It’s a shared experience that binds individuals who are passionate about oral health and patient well-being.

 

In essence, the White Coat ceremony is a multifaceted event that encapsulates the ideals, values, and aspirations of Dental Professionals. It’s a moment of reflection, inspiration, and commitment that shapes students’ understanding of their future roles and responsibilities.

Posted 08/27/23

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