2024 FACT BOOK 45 • The Susie and Alan B. Levan NSU Ambassadors Board, a premier C-Suite organization of approximately 200 members, was created to increase NSU awareness and support in the South Florida community. • The Adolfo and Marisela Cotilla Gallery, on the second floor of the Alvin Sherman Library, was named. 2012 • The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) granted accreditation without qualifications to all degree programs in NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler School of Education and to education- related programs within the university’s Center for Psychological Studies. This means the university’s education programs have been vetted at the highest levels for quality and the ability to produce effective, high-achieving educators. Including NSU, NCATE currently accredits more than 650 colleges of education. NCATE also represents more than three million teachers, teacher educators, content specialists, and local and state policy makers committed to quality teaching. • In September, the Oceanographic Center used a $15-million federal stimulus grant to open the nation’s largest dedicated coral reef research center—the 86,000-square-foot NSU Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. The completed center cost $50 million and serves as a global hub for learning from the ocean’s diverse ecosystem of coral reefs and myriad fish and other marine life. The grand opening celebration included a keynote speech by former Vice President of the United States Al Gore. The building is Silver Leadership in Energy, and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. 2013 • NSU’s financial outlook continued to be strong. The long-term rating of the university’s bonds was upgraded by Moody’s to Baa1 from Baa2, with a positive outlook. According to the announcement made by Moody’s on July 16, 2013, “the rating upgrade is driven by the university’s consistently positive operating performance and reduced liquidity risk due to debt structure modifications.” The new rating came in anticipation of the 2014 groundbreaking of NSU’s Center for Collaborative Research, an $80-million facility that will significantly expand the university’s research capabilities and further its economic impact in the state. The university also earned a “Perfect Financial Responsibility Score” from the U.S. Department of Education, confirming that NSU is considered financially responsible. • The university opened the nation’s first Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine. Located at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, the institute is the first in the nation to treat patients and conduct research on neuroimmune conditions and neuro-inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders—such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), Gulf War illness (GWI), Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis—using the newest genomic techniques. By studying individual genes and what they code for, the institute’s scientists will better understand the cause of, and find new ways to treat, these complex disorders. This important basic research will provide answers that will help scientists develop new pharmaceutical medications to treat these illnesses. • NSU excelled not just in academics, but also in athletics. The rowing team captured the program’s first NCAA Division II National Championship. This is the sixth national championship for NSU athletics, all of which have come in a five-year span. • A multimillion dollar “Cooperative Development Grant” totaling approximately $3.9 million was awarded to the university by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant, from the DOE’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division, is the single largest Title V award received by the university. NSU is one of only four institutions in the nation to receive the Cooperative Development Grant and the only college or university in the state of Florida to receive this award for FY 2013. • Named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), NSU received the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. • NSU was named in IDG’s Computerworld 2013 List of 100 Best Places to Work in Information Technology. The listing, compiled by the Computerworld editorial team, is based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, diversity, career development, training, and retention, as well as a worker satisfaction survey
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