Faculty & Staff News
There’s a new No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball landscape. Following a loss by defending national champion Northwest Missouri State this past weekend, previously second-ranked Nova Southeastern has taken over the top spot in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, released on Tuesday. FULL RELEASE
With the fall season in the rearview mirror, all sights are set for the spring portion of the schedule for the Nova Southeastern women’s rowing team. After just a few months of instruction, the expanded coaching staff deployed by the Sharks have quickly proven to be great assets for the program. FULL RELEASE
What a ride it was for the Nova Southeastern women’s soccer team in 2019. The Sharks set a new program, single-season record with 17 wins, and tallied the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victories while capturing an NCAA South Region title in the process. The postseason magic finally ran out on Sunday, though, as head coach John Constable’s fell 4-0 at Flagler in the Elite Eight. FULL RELEASE
Following All-Sunshine State Conference recognition, Nova Southeastern volleyball players Alex Boone and Ally Ford have been named to the AVCA All-South Region Team, as announced on Wednesday afternoon. FULL RELEASE
In the midst of leading the Nova Southeastern women’s soccer team on a deep NCAA Tournament run, midfielder Emma Heikkila has been lauded for her efforts off the field as well after securing a spot on the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team on Wednesday. The honor marks the first of Heikkila’s notable career. FULL RELEASE
Over 175 first-year biology students visited the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) for its first BIOL Night Against Procrastination (BNAP) on Sunday, October 27th, 2019, from 6 – 10 p.m. Students received assistance on writing their major enzyme lab reports from WCC Biology Fellows and BIOL 1500 Lab Assistants. The event was part of a collaboration between the WCC and the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography Department of Biological Sciences that provides course-embedded writing assistance to all sections of BIOL 1500: Biology I/Lab.
Over the course of four weeks each semester (from the time the report is assigned to when it is due), the WCC offers BIOL 1500 students course-specific one-on-one consultations and a series of open studio hours, which are times when students can visit the WCC to write and get quick feedback from trained BIOL Writing Fellows. This semester, the WCC offered BNAP on the Sunday night before the week final reports were due in order to provide students with an additional opportunity to visit the center; collaborate with peers, fellows, and lab assistants; and get their final reports completed.
The event opened with over 100 students visiting during the first hour. Students were offered pizza, while a DJ from Radio X played downtempo /ambient music students could work to while completing their reports. “It was eye opening to see 177 students show up for an academic event focused on writing. It was not just a social or happy hour, it was a chance to better their writing, and they all showed up! It was very fulfilling,” said Melissa Vaz-Ayes, junior Biology major and an undergraduate student coordinator in the NSU WCC.
The overall project is based on collaborative efforts of Dr. Kevin Dvorak, Executive Director of the NSU WCC; Dr. Kelly Concannon, Associate Professor in the CAHSS Department of Writing and Communication and Faculty Coordinator at the WCC; Dr. Aarti Raja, Associate Professor in the Halmos College Department of Biological Sciences; and Melissa Vaz-Ayes.
The WCC anticipates running the program and BNAP event for the coming semesters. For more information about the NSU Writing and Communication Center, please visit www.nova.edu/wcc or call 954-262-8108.
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale kicked off Miami Art Week with singer and producer Pharrell Williams and the artists collaborative FriendsWithYou, who talked to 200 Broward County middle school students about spreading kindness through art. The talk was presented on December 3, in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition Happy!, which explores the pursuit of happiness in contemporary art and features works by FriendsWithYou and 39 additional artists.
The students, from Sunrise Middle School in Sunrise and Saint Gregory School in Plantation, sang Williams’ hit song Happy, toured the Happy! exhibition and wrote wishes to hang on Wish Trees by artist Yoko Ono that are on view at the Museum. Their participation was made possible through Museum on the Move, NSU Art Museum’s free education outreach program that serves over 4,000 Broward students each year. NSU Art Museum is also a partner of Sunrise Middle School’s Wise Minds Project, an initiative that empowers youth and communities to realize potentials, mental well-being and happiness.
“Art and music are among our most powerful mediums for bringing people and communities together, and the positive messages shared by Pharrell Williams and FriendsWithYou carry special resonance as we approach this holiday season,” said Bonnie Clearwater, NSU Art Museum director and chief curator. “
Pharrell Williams is one of the most creative and influential figures in music, entertainment and design. He has redefined the role of the contemporary recording artist, blazing a trail for other musicians and prominent cultural figures. Williams has earned 10 Grammy Awards and his multimedia creative movement, I Am Other, includes innovative music, fashion, film, television and art endeavors that have global reach and impact.
FriendsWithYou is the artist collaborative comprised of Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III. Influenced by the simple happiness found in everyday life, and with the purpose of spreading the positive message of Magic, Luck, and Friendship™. They work in mediums including painting, sculpture, large-scale experiential installations, live performances, and virtual reality and animation with a mission of cultivating moments of joyous interactions. Forging their own brand of post-pop visual language FriendsWithYou uses mediums like design and limited edition products from a fine art perspective. Their most important artistic tactic to foster interpersonal relationships is the use of play. Sculptures. paintings, inflatables, and objects are meant to trigger neglected yearnings, playfulness, laughter and inquisitiveness, with an end result of feeling connected.
Museum on the Move is an education initiative of NSU Art Museum that serves students throughout Broward County. The program promotes learning and increases engagement with the arts through interactive tours of exhibitions and hands-on art activities that engage students in analytical and independent thinking and incorporate principles of STEAM (science, technology, art, engineering, math) and 21st Century learning skills. Museum on the Move is made possible through the generosity of The Jerry Taylor & Nancy Bryant Foundation, The Amaturo Family Foundation, Inc., Lillian S. Wells Foundation Inc., David and Susan Samrick Foundation, Wege Foundation, Beaux Arts and Friends of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.
NSU University School Upper School students in the NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM) Fellowship have been participating in hands-on learning experiences under the guidance of NSU medical professionals. The Fellows recently participated in a suture demonstration led by Nicholas Lutfi, D.P.M anatomy department chair at the NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. Students received an overview of each surgical tool and learned proper suturing techniques. The Medical Fellows also had the opportunity to participate in a simulation lab led by Noel Alonso, MD and his medical students. Fellows learned how to take and monitor important vital signs, received a step-by-step intubation demonstration, and experienced a virtual reality childbirth simulation. These invaluable opportunities provide the knowledge and skills students will need as they continue to develop their passion for medicine and work toward a career in healthcare.
The Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (KPCOM) Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition program hosted site visitors from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) on November 18 and 19. The program is seeking accreditation for a unique concentration that will offer students a professional outcome as registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs).
Following the completion of a robust self-study by the KPCOM’s Department of Nutrition in August 2019, ACEND reviewers came to NSU to validate the findings. The visit included personal meetings with faculty members, administration, and senior leaders. Members of the program’s advisory board and representatives from areas of academic support at NSU also contributed.
While the official ACEND report is forthcoming, the program expects to begin this new specialization in the fall of 2020. Along with the Future Education Model Graduate program for RDNs, this second successful accreditation effort in two years builds a strong foundation for future practice and highlights the KPCOM’s Department of Nutrition as a unique provider of quality education in this field.
For more information, please contact Ioana Scripa, Ph.D., RDN, LDN, program director, at iscripa@nova.edu.
Stefan Kautsch, Ph.D.
In November 2019, Halmos associate professor Stefan Kautsch, Ph.D. travelled to Tampa Bay, Florida to meet with other astronomers and astrophysicists from almost all universities and colleges across the state. The mission of the meeting was to create a professional network that would develop a strategy how to better connect the astronomy scientists and simultaneously engage the public community to learn more about the universe.
Kautch, the winner of the 2018 NSU’s President’s Distinguished Professor in Community Engagement, said “Our goal is to promote collaboration across the research and academic institutions in order to advance astronomy and space exploration in Florida, the gateway of the nation to the cosmos”. The proposed name of the group is AstroFlorida. The first research conference is planned for spring 2020.