Tag: Office of the President

As always, my main goal and concern is the health, safety, and welfare of NSU students, faculty, and staff. NSU was hoping for the ability to require vaccinations where possible to further protect the NSU community. However, due to a new Florida law, NSU is unable to maintain such a policy. NSU always follows the letter and spirit of the law and we must do that as the law goes into effect on July 1, 2021.

Therefore, we are NOT requiring vaccinations for NSU students, faculty, and staff, as was announced back on April 1, before the legislation was passed. Nonetheless, with additional safeguards in place, NSU has its best opportunity to return to normalcy this fall.

The Florida law permits purely voluntary vaccine programs. In fact, it is the policy of the state to encourage voluntary vaccinations as the governor and the Florida Department of Health (DOH) made millions of doses of all three vaccines available throughout the state so far this year. The governor and DOH made voluntary vaccine dispensing locations very convenient for anyone over 16 years of age to receive the inoculations. More than nine million Floridians (and more than 147 million Americans) have already received at least one dose.

NSU applauds the governor and the state for this mammoth effort to protect so many of our fellow citizens. Additionally, NSU has sites not only on our Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus but also at select regional campuses where you can receive the vaccine easily and conveniently. If you would like to make an appointment to get vaccinated, click here.

Like the state of Florida, we are striving for a high voluntary vaccination rate for the NSU community to enable NSU’s campuses to return to normalcy this fall, which is everyone’s wish. According to recent reports, the higher the vaccination rate, the lower the mitigation measures that are required.

We have developed a voluntary program called NSU Vax Max to encourage the whole NSU community to voluntarily receive the vaccine on or before August 1. The NSU Vax Max program is designed to help us reach a voluntary, aspirational goal of 100% of those who can receive the vaccine. We will set a minimum threshold—based on our best assessments of public health guidelines—of 80% of our on-campus students who have reported that they were voluntarily vaccinated in order to return to normalcy this fall on each of NSU’s campuses. The vaccination rate will be measured for each campus separately.

The NSU Vax Max program will call for purely voluntary disclosure with supporting documentation that the student has been fully vaccinated, so NSU may calculate the percentage of the on-campus NSU student community reaching this goal. Upon achieving this threshold for voluntary vaccination status on or before August 1, we can then return to campus this fall with that feeling of normalcy that everyone wants so desperately.

If we achieve this 80% threshold, a “return to normalcy” means:

• Safety screening protocols to protect public health require everyone in the NSU community to either wear a mask in class, social gatherings, and at any University event, or provide voluntary admission that they have been vaccinated.
• In-person classes will return in greater numbers with less need for masks and distancing;
• Social gatherings and university events can occur much more freely;
• We can eat together on campus as it was pre-COVID-19;
• The Taft University Center, our regional campuses, and other NSU facilities and programs will be able to host in-person cultural and educational events and other activities;
• Your favorite NSU clubs, organizations, and social events will be vibrant and active again; and
• Intercollegiate, intramural, and club sports will be able to operate more fully.

I believe our NSU Vax Max voluntary program goal is achievable. We can meet this threshold if NSU on-campus students and others in the NSU community—who are able and willing to receive the vaccine—will do so and voluntarily let us know so we can reach the vaccination goal.

Click here to voluntarily report your vaccination status. It is quick and easy.

• This link will be open to all NSU students, faculty, and staff, but it is the on-campus student community whose voluntary vaccination rate will help us meet the threshold for returning to normalcy this fall. The threshold will be measured at each of our campus locations individually.
• You can choose to report your voluntary vaccination status. It is your choice if you wish to keep that private, for NSU information only, or to share it more publicly.
• Once you voluntarily report your vaccination status, it will allow NSU to authorize your N-number for a designation on your SharkCard this fall. It will be that designation (among on-campus students) that will count towards the threshold target of 80% and, once met, allow normalcy to return to greet a new academic year.
• The NSU Vax Max program does not require you to participate in any way—it is strictly your choice—and no adverse action of any kind will be taken against you if you choose not to participate in this voluntary program to achieve on-campus normalcy through voluntary vaccination.
• Any NSU student, faculty or staff member choosing on a voluntary basis not to disclose their vaccination status will be assumed by NSU to be unvaccinated.

If NSU does not reach the voluntary threshold goal of 80% through the NSU Vax Max program by August 1, the campus will maintain its current mitigation measures to best protect the health, safety, and welfare of our students, faculty, and staff.

I believe we can do it. We can get to, and even exceed, that 80% threshold of voluntarily vaccinated on-campus students by August 1 and return to the in-person learning environment and on-campus lifestyle we all treasure and miss so much. I will keep you posted should circumstances or regulations change.

Our plan to honor our 2021 graduates at the Hard Rock Stadium was designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our students, families, faculty, and staff members. I am pleased to inform you that we will move forward with the commencement ceremonies and I’m glad that we will be able to celebrate together in-person and online worldwide.
The dates for the ceremonies and access to the day-of livestream via web will be available at: nova.edu/commencement.

Along with this good news, I must also share the bad news, which is that the positivity rates in the state of Florida overall—as well as the individual rates in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties—are ranging between 7 and 8.25 percent, which is well above the 5 percent rate we had all hoped for back in January. The safety of all participants is our paramount concern, so we must limit the number of guests at the in-person commencement ceremonies.

After consulting with our NSU health care experts, we will be capping the maximum number of guests each graduate may invite to up to 4 people and each graduate’s guests will be seated together in their own respective “pod” to maintain social distancing. In line with CDC guidelines, such as wearing a face covering, pods will be spaced out with at least 6 feet of distance between them. Concessions cannot be offered due to the high positivity rate, so all attendees should plan accordingly. We will make complimentary bottled water available, as well as full-length ponchos for the graduates in the event of inclement weather. Access to public areas, such as restrooms, will be carefully managed to allow for social distancing.

This last year has been difficult, and I look forward to celebrating our new Shark graduates’ accomplishments. While we cannot accommodate unlimited guests as originally intended, I am delighted that we can celebrate your achievements together, in the presence of family and friends worldwide via livestream.

We reached this decision after careful planning and consultation with our health care and operational professionals to ensure that we can indeed return to healthy campuses with appropriate safety precautions in place while implementing new guidelines.

The past year has proven to be the most arduous that I can recall in my career. COVID-19 turned our collective lives upside down in a matter of days, and it has forced us to evolve how we work and live on a daily basis for the past 11 months.

Even with these most difficult circumstances, it is with great pride and appreciation that I share with you the university’s success in meeting its enrollment targets for this winter semester. Overall, the university exceeded last year’s winter semester enrollment by almost two percent and undergraduate enrollment increased by almost 11 percent. Additionally, I just completed Fiscal Year 2022 budget meetings with our deans and vice presidents, and in April I will be presenting our Board of Trustees with a budget that will support our continued efforts to increase student enrollment and retention, advance our academic and research programs, and ensure the economy and efficiency of our administrative support services.

These accomplishments are even more remarkable considering that the current pandemic required us all to change the way we teach, engage with our students, provide support services, and manage our resources. In the spirit of One NSU, we worked together to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment and continue our progress toward preeminence.

While we continue to face financial stress related to the costs of maintaining safe classrooms, student housing, and workplaces, we have proven that we can “blend and flex” our resources, personnel, and expenses as needed.  Based upon my confidence in your commitment to excellence, I have authorized a merit increase pool for eligible faculty and staff. Merit increases will be retroactive to the start of the first payroll period in January for faculty and staff with a date of hire on or before January 1, 2020 and will appear in the March 26, 2021 payroll distribution. The Office of Human Resources will be advising your Dean or Vice President of the merit award process and eligibility criteria.

I am sincerely grateful for the contributions that each of you make toward achieving our goals, living our core values, and ensuring NSU’s continued success.

Fins Up and Go Sharks!

My fellow Sharks, although Florida has been experiencing a surge in positive COVID-19 cases, the distribution of successful vaccines and our efforts to control the spread of this deadly virus gives me hope that there is “light at the end of the long pandemic tunnel” we have been traveling. I know how disappointed our graduates were last May when we had to have “virtual commencements” since there was no “light shining” then; consequently, it is my hope that by May of 2021, South Florida’s positivity rate will be under five percent. I say this because I anticipate that we will continue to strictly exercise safe protocols recommended by the CDC to control the spread of the virus, and, simultaneously, see a substantial increase in the vaccination rate, particularly in South Florida. As such, we are planning to hold commencement ceremonies with masks, physical distancing, and completely outside with sanitized seating and facilities—as long as the positivity rate in Florida is below five percent.

To enable us to maintain appropriate physical distancing for our graduates, our platform guests, and, of course, your families and friends, we are making arrangements to hold our series of graduation ceremonies where the Miami Dolphins play—at the Hard Rock Stadium—this May.

With the local positivity rate under five percent, NSU expects to award degrees in person to more than 8,500 bachelors, master’s, specialist, doctoral, and professional degree candidates, as well as to our graduating seniors from the NSU University School. It is a proud and distinguished moment for these graduates and their families and I genuinely want to see it happen; however, I also want to protect your health and safety. The ceremonies are being scheduled at the football stadium across four dates in May: May 16, 17, 18, and 19, 2021

We are planning for two ceremonies each day with time in between for the facility and platform to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized for the next group of graduates and guests. Our graduates and platform group will be seated at safe physical distance in chairs placed on the playing field and all of your guests will be accommodated in the spacious stands of this state-of-the-art facility.

I will make the final decision about graduations on April 15, 2021. If the positivity rate is under five percent in Florida, we will hold the ceremonies. If it is higher, with the greater concerns for public health, we will still have commencements; however, they will be virtual.

More details will be coming to you soon, but I wanted to let you know about the schedule and venue as soon as possible so you can begin to make your plans. The schedule of each college’s ceremony is below, and you can find additional details at nova.edu/commencement.

· Thursday, April 15: Final decision regarding positivity rate. Letter from me will be forthcoming.

· Sunday, May 16: College of Law (morning); NSU University School (afternoon)

· Monday, May 17: All Undergraduate Programs (morning); College of Business (afternoon)

· Tuesday, May 18: Dental Medicine, Psychology, Allopathic Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine (morning); Nursing, Optometry, Pharmacy (afternoon)

· Wednesday, May 19: Halmos College, Computing and Engineering, Fischler College (morning); Health Care Sciences (afternoon)

I am aware that this is not the usual schedule of graduations for NSU, but in these extraordinary times, and in order to give you the in-person experience you so desire, we must take advantage of the availability of the Hard Rock Stadium as our venue, since it is one of a very few that can accommodate the size of our gatherings in a safe and appropriate manner. Certainly, we will enjoy some of the amenities of this wonderful facility, including availability of concessions, plenty of free parking, and much more. We’re even planning to provide free NSU ponchos to the graduates and platform group seated on the field, just in case. Additional details about your graduation day will be forthcoming as we finalize our negotiations with the stadium.

Again, I didn’t want to delay any longer communicating this important graduation consideration on the part of NSU to provide in-person commencement events in May 2021. I am very excited and gratified in the hope that I will be able to truly see all of you on your graduation day this spring. We may be wearing our face coverings and maintaining our six-foot perimeter, but we will be sharing this well-earned and very proud milestone together with all of our Shark family.

Fins up and see all of you graduates this May!

As we look forward to the start of a new academic year, embarking on the expanded Vision 2025, and preparing for the Return of the Sharks, there are a number of retirements, administrative changes and mergers, and new positional promotions I would like to announce.

RETIREMENTS:
After successfully leading their respective colleges and center through the initial phases of the COVID-19 disruption, the following deans are retiring from their university service:

Richard Dodge, Ph.D., Dean of the Hamos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. Dr. Dodge joined then-Nova University at the then Oceanographic Center as an Assistant Professor in 1978. He became Dean of the NSU Oceanographic Center in 1998 and subsequently Dean of the Halmos College in 2015. The college houses the largest NSU undergraduate program and leads the university in active extramural research funding and research expenditures.

Dr. Dodge has maintained an active research portfolio throughout his 42 year career at NSU and is a recognized authority on coral reef ecosystems, having conducted research throughout the tropics and subtropics. He is an expert on the effects of natural and man-induced impacts to coral reefs and has received research support from organizations including the U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Justice, NOAA, EPA, National Sea Grant College Program, South Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida FWS, and Broward County. Most notably, Dr. Dodge was the lead principal investigator on the $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology for construction at NSU’s Oceanographic Campus in Dania Beach.

Dr. Dodge has been involved with many local and national boards and organizations including the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, the international scientific journal Coral Reefs, the Scientific Review Board of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Councils, chair of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (largest coral reef conference in the world), and chair of the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA). Dr. Dodge currently serves on the executive committee of the Port Everglades Association, a group of businesses and organizations involved with Port Everglades, and the tri-county Marine Hub. Dr. Dodge intends to continue his association with NSU post-retirement through his research and grant submissions.

Dr. Dodge received his B.A. from University of Maine in 1969 and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Geology & Geophysics from Yale University in 1973 and 1978 respectively.

Roni Leiderman, Ph.D., Dean of the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development (MSC).  Dr. Leiderman joined NSU in 1981 as a teacher in the Parent/Child Program of the Family Center. During her 39-year career at NSU, Dr. Leiderman established institutes and educational programs including the Early Learning Institute and Autism Institute; collaborative academic and research programs in autism, child life, and applied behavior analysis; and clinics including the Kapila Family Foundation Feeding Disorders Clinic, Kapila Family Foundation Challenging Behavior Clinic, and Unicorn Children’s Foundation Developmental Assessment Clinic; and collaborated in the creation of the Pediatric Dental Clinic serving young children with autism. Through the efforts of Dr. Leiderman, the MSC staff and collaborators from both the university and community, MSC has become one of the foremost and well-known early childhood centers in the country.

Dr. Leiderman maintained affiliated faculty appointments in the Department of Pediatrics, College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the College of Dental Medicine in addition to authoring numerous publications, books, and articles on child development, parenting, autism, and early intervention. Dr. Leiderman received the 2019 Student Life Achievement Award (STUEY) as NSU Executive of the Year and is co-founder of Gilda’s Club South Florida. Dr. Leiderman received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from NSU’s College of Psychology in 1986, her M.S. from Lesley College in 1974, and B.A. from Boston University in 1972.

Honggang Yang, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS).  Dr. Yang joined NSU in 1998 as an Associate Professor and Director of Distance Education in the Department of Dispute Resolution and was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1999. Dr. Yang was promoted to full Professor rank in 2003. As Dean, Dr. Yang launched the first distance learning Ph.D. program in conflict resolution and initiated new academic programs such as the M.A. in Cross-Disciplinary Studies, M.S. in College Student Affairs, M.S. in National Security Affairs, Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (earning COAMFTE accreditation and reaccreditation and its master’s program reaffirmation), and collaborated in the creation of the B.S. in Health and Wellness Coaching. Following NSU’s academic realignment in 2015, Dean Yang worked to transform and refine CAHSS’s expansion to 25 degree programs. Dean Yang co-created the platform for NSU’s Campus Diversity Dialogues in 2006 that under his tutelage gave rise to the Campus Inclusion and Diversity Council.  Dr. Yang has served as senior advisory editor for the international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal Peace and Conflict Studies and on the editorial boards for the Conflict Resolution Quarterly and the American Review of China Studies. Dr. Yang co-founded the Council of Chinese American Deans and Presidents and served on the State Dispute Resolution Policy Committee of the Florida State Supreme Court. Dr. Yang was also honored as the 2002 STUEY award as Academic Dean of the Year.

Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida in 1991, Master of Jurisprudence from Nankai University in 1986, and a diploma from Harbin City School of Health Profession in 1982.

David Loshin, O.D., Ph.D., Dean of the College of Optometry: Dr. Loshin was appointed Dean and Professor of the NSU College of Optometry in 1996 and has been instrumental in developing creative programs including the Optometry Extended Program, the Preparatory Optometry Program, and a completely online Master’s of Science in Clinical Vision Research. Under his leadership, the Eye Care Institute, the clinical arm of the professional program, has grown to five clinical sites. Dr. Loshin’s primary research focus has been the design and evaluation of the image quality of lenses and lens systems and the assessment of the visual system for patients with ocular pathology and low vision, for which he has received grant funding and published over 70 papers, abstracts, technical reports, and a textbook. In recognition of his efforts, Dr. Loshin was named a Low Vision Research Diplomate from the American Academy of Optometry. He served as president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (2001 – 2003) and received the American Optometric Association’s Low Vision Section’s Vision Care Award, Nova Southeastern University Academic Dean of the Year, and Florida Optometric Association’s Optometrist of the Year (2010).

Dr. Loshin received his B.S. degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and his M.S., O.D., and Ph.D. (Physiological Optics) from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Loshin will be succeeded by Dr. Linda S. Rouse, Assistant Dean for Finance and Operations and Chief Operations Officer for The Eye Care Institute and Assistant Professor of optometry. Effective today, Dr. Rouse will become Interim Dean of the College of Optometry. Dr. Rouse joined the College of Optometry in 2003 as Assistant Professor and Chief of Optical Services and promoted in 2005 to Chief Operations Officer of The Eye Care Institute. In addition to her administrative role, Dr. Rouse has remained an active clinician, educator, researcher, and university and community service member. Specifically, Dr. Rouse developed an optical education curriculum for the third- and fourth-year students and has been a guest lecturer for College of Optometry and Physician Assistant Program students. Dr. Rouse’s research interests include optometric practice management and ophthalmic optics as it relates to neuro-eye and posterior segment diseases of the eye.

Dr. Rouse is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a member of the American Optometric Association, Florida Optometric Association, and the Broward County Optometric Association. She actively participates in the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s special interest group for clinical administrators and directors and its financial affairs committee. Dr. Rouse served for more than six years on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry’s Basic Science, Examination Development and Applied Basic Science Committees, and the Applied Basic Science Council.

Dr. Rouse received her B.S. from Stetson University in Visual Science, D.O. from Illinois College of Optometry, and M.B.A. from NSU. She served her Primary Optometric Care and Ocular Disease residency and Clinical Education Fellowship at the Illinois College of Optometry and Illinois Eye Institute.

We will be conducting a national search for the selection of a dean for the college.

APPOINTMENTS:
I am pleased to announce that the following two interim appointments will be made regular appointments.

Ronald Chenail, Ph.D., Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs: I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ronald Chenail to the position of Provost and Executive Vice president for Academic Affairs. Since assuming an interim role on July 1, 2019, Dr. Chenail has exhibited exemplary leadership in guiding NSU’s transition to a fully online instructional delivery platform during winter semester and preparing for the Return of the Sharks this fall. Among other achievements, Dr. Chenail has worked with me in developing Vision 2025 and its attendant five-year strategic plans, onboarding three new deans, launching the Learning and Education Center, and overseeing the integration of the College of Medical Sciences into the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine.

Dr. Chenail joined then-Nova University in 1989 as an Assistant Professor of Family Therapy and director of the Institute for Systemic Therapy. In 1991, Dr. Chenail was promoted to the Dean of the School of Social and Systemic Studies. In 1999, he was named Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs. He served in that capacity until 2004, when he was named the Vice President for Research, Planning, and Governmental Affairs. Dr. Chenail was promoted to full Professor rank in 2003. In 2007, his title was changed to Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and he served in that role until 2012. In 2013, Dr. Chenail became the Associate Provost and served in that position until being named Interim Provost in 2019. Since 1990, he has been part of 14 grants and contracts totally more than $6.5 million, published more than 130 publications including seven books, and given more than 200 formal academic presentations at conferences and meetings. Dr. Chenail is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Divorce and Remarriage and The Qualitative Report.

Dr. Chenail earned his B.A. in History from St. Bonaventure University, M.Ed. in Educational Psychology-Counseling from the University of Houston and Ph.D. in Family Therapy from then-Nova University.

Steven Kaltman, DMD, MD, FACS, Interim Dean of the College of Dental Medicine: I am equally pleased to appoint Dr. Steven Kaltman as Dean of the College of Dental Medicine where he has been serving as Interim Dean since June 2019. Dr. Kaltman joined the faculty of NSU’s College of Dental Medicine as Professor and Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2000 and is the founding Chief of the Residency Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Since its inception in 2002, the program has matured into a nationally recognized program known for its commitment to providing excellent patient care, its contributions to basic and clinical research, and its training of future practitioners and academic leaders of the oral and maxillofacial surgery profession. Dr. Kaltman served as President of both the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and Pennsylvania Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and has been inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons. Dr. Kaltman has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally and published numerous publications and book chapters.

Dr. Kaltman is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine and the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann/University Health Sciences School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Montefiore University Hospital. Dr. Kaltman served as chair and program director for the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Montefiore University Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh, chair and program director at Allegheny General Hospital, and chair and program director at MCP/Hahnemann Medical School and Allegheny University hospitals.

Guy Harvey, Ph.D. It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Guy Harvey as Nova Southeastern University’s first Distinguished University Professor. This appointment recognizes Dr. Harvey’s profound and enduring lifetime achievement of international significance as a researcher, conservationist, artist, and entrepreneur advancing the scholarship, culture, quality of life, and enrichment of the world through his dedication to the protection of the marine environment, marine fishes, and their ecosystem. Dr. Harvey’s selection as Founding Distinguished University Professor exemplifies the synergies between the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural science and research, and is based on his level of intellectual and professional attainment and eminence in the course of his varied and accomplished career. Dr. Harvey’s appointment as university professor carries the academic rank of professor and enables him to actively engage in the life of the university through the presentation of lectures, colloquium, and seminars; collaboration with NSU faculty in the fields of marine, biological and medical sciences; the arts; and business. It also gives him the opportunity to mentor students in NSU’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Specifically, Dr. Harvey will serve in residence at the NSU campus five times per academic year for the purpose of presenting lectures on the interrelationship and synergies of the arts and sciences, being the featured speaker at the undergraduate convocation and similar events, and participating with faculty and students in colloquium, seminars, and other engagements. Dr. Harvey received his Ph.D. in Fisheries Management from the University of the West Indies in 1982 and graduated with highest honors in Marine Biology from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) in 1977.

MERGER OF THE HAMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND OCEANOGRAPHY AND THE COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE MAILMAN SEGAL CENTER FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:

Previously, I directed Provost Ron Chenail to work with our deans and vice presidents on the restructuring of several colleges and centers to achieve greater synergies in our academic programming, deeper collaborations among our faculty, heightened interest from prospective students, and increased operational efficiencies.

•  In response, I was provided with a recommendation to: (i) merge the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences with the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography to create the new Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (Halmos College of Arts and Sciences); and (ii) integrate the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development into the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice (Fischler College of Education), the College of Psychology, the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences, and the NSU University School. I have previously noted when speaking of Dr. Chenail, that the College of Medical Sciences was merged into the College of Allopathic Medicine. This merger has already resulted in greater interdisciplinary faculty collaboration, improved operational and financial efficiencies, and the revitalization of the Master of Biomedical Sciences program that is expected to see a sizeable increase in the fall and winter semesters. I expect that similar synergies and efficiencies will result from these new academic reorganizations and mergers.

Andrea Shaw-Nevins, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS): To oversee and guide the integration of the faculty, staff, and programs of the new Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, I am appointing Dr. Andrea Shaw-Nivens as Interim Dean. Dr. Nivens began her NSU career in 2005 as writing program coordinator in the Division of Humanities in the former Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Nivens succeeded to various leadership positions including assistant director of the Division of Humanities, chair of the Department of History and Political Science, interim chair of the Department of Literature and Modern Languages, and interim chair of the Department of Family Therapy. Immediately prior to her appointment as interim dean, Dr. Nivens served as Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for the Humanities in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Dr. Nevins graduated from the University of Miami with a Ph.D. in English and from Florida International University with a B.B.A. in Marketing, M.A. in English, and M.F.A in creative writing. Her general areas of academic interest are Caribbean literature and popular culture and creative writing. She is author of Working Juju: Representations of the Caribbean Fantastic (2019 University of Georgia Press) and The Embodiment of Disobedience: Fat Black Women’s Unruly Political Bodies (2006 Lexington Press). Her fiction and scholarly writing have been published in numerous journals, including Small Axe, World Literature Today, sx salon, MaComére, The Caribbean Writer, Crab Orchard Review, Feminist Media Studies, and Social Semiotics.

We will be conducting a national search for the selection of a dean for the college.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION IN ADVANCEMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS:

Jennifer O’Flannery-Anderson, Ph.D., Vice President for Advancement and Community Relations (ACR), will be leaving NSU to begin a new position as president/CEO of the Community Foundation of Broward. Through her organizational skills, Dr. O’Flannery-Anderson adopted and implemented best practices strategy for data analytics, donor cultivation/stewardship and alumni engagement and she led in the establishment of the NSU Cares Fund to support faculty, staff, students, and alumni in financial need. Dr. O’Flannery-Anderson successfully coordinated the university’s first comprehensive capital campaign, exceeding NSU’s campaign of $250 million three years early chronicled in Vision 2020’s philanthropic goal.  For her successful efforts, Dr. O’Flannery-Anderson was awarded the 2020 Education Fundraising Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

Terry Mularkey, M.S., CFRE, Chief of Staff and Coordinator of Military Affairs: I am pleased to appoint Mr. Terry Mularkey as Vice President for Advancement and Chief of Staff. The transfer of leadership in advancement at NSU should be seamless since Mr. Mularkey previously served in a key leadership role in ACR prior to assuming his current role as my chief of staff and coordinator of Military Affairs. Mr. Mularkey will fold his current Chief of Staff duties into his new title of Vice President for Advancement and Chief of Staff role. Mr. Mularkey joined NSU in February 2014 as the executive director of development for ACR. He was responsible for all fundraising and led the development officers as they pursued NSU’s Realizing Potential campaign in support of the Vision 2020’s Strategic Plan. As noted earlier, the campaign reached the goal in 2017, three years early, and raised more than $260 million.  In 2017, Mr. Mularkey was promoted to associate vice president for ACR and in 2018 left that role to become chief of staff for the president. Because of his sole efforts and leadership, NSU began the Army ROTC Program in 2019, where he was coordinator of military affairs.

Mr. Mularkey earned his BA from Mercer University, his Master’s in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a graduate from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Department of Defense Armed Forces Staff College. He earned his Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) certification in 2005 and has more than 20 years of advancement experience.  Mr. Mularkey served 21 years on active duty and retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel. He is a native Floridian and was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale.