NSU Horizons Spring 2016

34 NSU HORIZONS Miniaci Family Receives President’s Award T he Miniaci Family was honored with NSU’s President’s Award for Excellence in Commu- nity Service during the university’s annual Celebration of Excellence. The Miniaci family matriarch, Rose, and her late husband, Alfred, inspired their family to lead by giving support to NSU and the South Florida community. The family’s generous contribution to NSU helped create the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center. In addition, the Alfred and Rose Miniaci Foundation, Inc., provides assistance to children and adults in the fields of art and music, health care and hospitals, preservation of history, religious organizations, scientific research, sports organizations, and cultural organizations. Started by Rose and Alfred’s older son, Albert J. Miniaci, and his wife, Beatriz, the Albert and Beatriz Miniaci Family Foundation offers educational scholarships and supports local organizations pertaining to children, families, and cancer research. The Miniaci family’s philanthropy includes an endowment fund for the Broward County Public Schools’ Student Enrichment through the arts program and the Rose Miniaci Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Broward. Albert J. Miniaci serves as an NSU Trustee and an Ambassadors Board member. He and Beatriz Miniaci are both members of NSU’s Fellows Society and are frequent visitors to NSU’s Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. They created NSU’s Albert and Beatriz Miniaci Razor’s Edge Endowed Scholarship, and they donated a handcrafted Buddhist Prayer Wheel blessed by the 14th Dalai Lama to NSU in 2004. Rose and Alfred’s younger son, Dominick F. Miniaci, is currently a member of the St. Thomas University Board of Trustees and is cochair of its Athletics Advisory Board. He is also a board member of the Jack and Jill Children’s Center, the Saint Anthony Foundation, the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science, the Broward Performing Arts Foundation, and serves in leadership roles for various other organizations. He has received numerous awards for his volunteerism, including being named Man of the Year by Saint Anthony Catholic School Foundation for Education in 2008 and Man of the Year by City of Hope in 1990. He was recognized for 35 years of service and dedication to the Fraternal Order of Police in 2011. His wife, Meike Miniaci, is a former Board of Trustees member of the Miami City Ballet, among other leadership and volunteer roles. Established in 1997, the President’s Excellence in Community Service Award recognizes extraordinary professional engagement activities by members of the South Florida community who continue to give back to the community and make a difference in the lives of others. The award encourages the ongoing pursuit of service and exemplifies NSU’s core value of community. n Above: From left, Dominick and Meike Miniaci, George L. Hanbury, and Albert and Beatriz Miniaci Right: Rose Miniaci