Page 19 - COM Outlook - Winter 2013

On November 2, NSU brought current and future South Florida lead-
ers together for the Seventh Annual Diversity Summit on expanding
diversity and creating a more peaceful world. The event, coordinated
by the South Florida Diversity Alliance (SFDA) and held at the Carl
DeSantis Building on NSU’s main campus, allowed college and high
school students, professors, business leaders, and community leaders
to participate in over 20 workshops and discuss hot-button social issues
that impact every American.
“The Diversity Summit is designed to connect young leaders with sea-
soned leaders to learn from one another and hopefully build collaborative
partnerships to make a positive impact in their schools, communities, and
workplaces,” said Terry Morrow, Ph.D., conference organizer and assis-
tant dean of student affairs at NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences.
In 2009, a group of South Florida higher-education professionals
came together to form the SFDA and expand the NSU Diversity Summit
to be a coalition event hosted by the SFDA. In 2012, sponsoring organi-
zations included NSU, Lynn University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida
International University, Barry University, and Broward County Schools.
19 COM Outlook . Winter 2013
NSU
Overview
NSU President Goes Coral Reef
Diving to Save Threatened Corals
In September, NSU President George Hanbury II, Ph.D., went div-
ing with undergraduate and graduate student researchers to inspect and
discover ways to help threatened corals off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.
The threatened staghorn coral is grown by NSU researchers in depths of
over 20 feet at a university-run nursery designed to repopulate damaged
and dead corals. Florida currently contains 84 percent of the nation’s
coral reefs, which are facing both natural and manmade threats.
Dr. Hanbury’s dive took place on the morning of September 27—the
day of the grand opening of NSU’s new $50 million Center of Excellence
for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research, which is focused on research-
ing coral reef ecosystems in South Florida, throughout the nation, and
around the world.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, a noted environmentalist and
Nobel Peace Prize winner, spoke at the grand opening ceremony and
toured the scientific laboratories of the 86,000-square-foot facility lo-
cated in Hollywood, Florida. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a U.S. con-
gresswoman and Democratic National Committee chair who helped
NSU secure a $15 million federal grant to fund the center, also served
as the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
The Center of Excellence houses NSU’s National Coral Reef In-
stitute, the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI), and the Save Our
Seas Shark Center. Artwork by renowned marine artist Guy Harvey,
Ph.D., who also donated $200,000 to the GHRI, is prominently fea-
tured in the building’s interior.
NSU Hosts South Florida
Diversity Summit
Dr. Hanbury (left) during his presidential dive.
Diversity Summit promotes peace.