2018 NSU Fact Book

30 pursue a civilian career. Additionally, London-based Times Higher Education ranked NSU as one of 20 universities in the world and one of only 9 universities in the U.S. that “could challenge the elite” universities and become globally renowned by the year 2030. We celebrated the grand opening and dedication ceremony of the newly expanded Noël P. Brown Sports Center on the NSU University School campus. This 59,000-square-foot facility will be the new permanent location for Special Olympics Broward County, and includes training and fitness rooms for student athletes, offices, locker room facilities, and a gymnasium. The U.S. Department of Education ranked NSU as the second-best college in South Florida in terms of highest- earning graduates. According to the report, NSU graduates earn approximately $12,000 per year more than the national average. This extraordinary news is a testament to the quality education that NSU students receive . 2017 The Drs. Kiran & Pallavi Patel Family Foundation made a commitment to NSU for a $50-million philanthropic gift that will significantly expand the newly named Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. The colleges were named for the Tampa-area cardiologist and his pediatrician wife. The Patels’ commitment also includes an additional $150-million investment in real estate and facilities to develop a new NSU Tampa Bay Regional Campus in Clearwater, Florida. Their commitment is the largest in NSU’s history. The new campus, consisting of a 325,000-square-foot, medical- education complex, will be an additional location for the osteopathic medicine program. Programs from the health care sciences and nursing colleges, as well as other university programs currently located in the Tampa area, will also be housed there. With an emphasis on marine education and interactive learning, NSU’s Marine Environmental Education Center opened at the historic grounds of the Carpenter House at Hollywood North Beach Park. With a research focus on endangered sea turtles, the center is the permanent home of Captain, a green sea turtle who cannot be released into the wild because of an injury. The facility is the result of a partnership between NSU and Broward County Parks and Recreation. NSU kicked off Fins Football with pregame tailgate parties and free tickets for NSU students to attend Miami Dolphins’ home games. The program is part of NSU’s expanded partnership with the Dolphins franchise, whose training facility is located on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus. In addition, team executives and players met with students during the off-season for panel discussions, and students participated in summer internships with the team. Panel discussion topics included athletic training, nutrition and wellness, entertainment and branding, and sports management. By adding value to attending NSU, Fins Football aligns with the university’s Vision 2020 goal of increasing incoming undergraduate enrollment. For the second year in a row, U.S. News &World Report ranked NSU in its list of the nation’s Best Colleges. Among national universities, NSU ranked No. 198, climbing 16 spots from the previous year. In January, the magazine also recognized three NSU online programs as among the nation’s best. Making the list were NSU’s criminal justice graduate program (ranked 26 out of 41 programs); education graduate program (ranked 84 out of about 200 programs); and nursing graduate program (ranked 47 out of more than 100 programs).