NSU Horizons Fall 2011

40 horizons Finding alumni, professors, and students who exude pride in Nova Southeastern University is not diffi- cult. Now, the university has created a tangible way for anyone to demon- strate pride in NSU and help current NSU students. The Changing Lives Scholarship offers donors the opportunity to establish a $5,000 scholarship in their name, or in honor or memory of a loved one. It is payable through manageable installments over a period of up to five years. The scholarship may be designated for student-athletes or for students attending a specific college, school, or center. The inaugural Changing Lives Scholars will be named during the fall 2012 semester. “We want to make a difference for students who show academic promise and financial need,” said Joanne Ferchland-Parella, vice presi- dent for Institutional Advancement at NSU. “Changing Lives Scholarships are a meaningful and affordable way for alumni and friends to establish a named scholarship.” Donors are responding positively to the new scholarship program. “NSU gave me my career, and I want to give back to the school,” said Melanie G. May, who received her Juris Doctor degree in 1981 from what was then known as the Nova Law Center. May is the chief judge for Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. May, who also is chair of the Board of Governors for the Shepard Broad Law Center and an ex officio member of NSU’s Board of Trustees, is establishing a Changing Lives Scholarship designated for a student in the Law Center. “When I attended NSU, I was a research assistant for Arthur Goldberg, a former United States Supreme Court Justice, who was teaching at the school. I would not have had that kind of opportunity anywhere else,” said May. “The Law Center gave him, and gives all its law professors, the academic freedom to be the best teachers they can be. I think that’s something special the school offers and that attracts better professors.” Entrepreneur Danny Carter became friends with NSU trustee Albert Miniaci and his wife, Beatrice, after the couple took dance lessons from him. Last year, Carter attended a dance production by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences and found himself moved by the performance. “Soon after that, I called the performing arts school and told them I wanted to help out in some way,” he said. “A Changing Lives Scholarship is what I chose to do.” Carter, owner and founder of DanceMoves Ballroom and Lauderdale- by-the-Sea Center for the Arts, is establishing the Danny Carter Changing Lives Scholarship for the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. “I want to pay it forward,” said Carter. “Dancing for 29 years has given me an identity. I want to help someone who wants to be an artist, someone who needs encouragement.” Daniel Markarian, a social studies professor at the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education, is establishing a scholarship designated for Fischler School students. The scholarship will be in honor of his colleague and mentor Mary Lynn Collins, Ph.D., a Fischler School professor who also conducts research on effective teaching methods. “Great teachers lead by example and create an environment that facilitates engaged learning,” said Markarian, Ed.D. “[Collins] is a dynamic educator, mentor, and guiding influence who always puts the best interest of the program before her own. I hope this scholarship will attract candidates who strive to promote that kind of excellence in teaching.” To learn more about establishing a Changing Lives Scholarship, please contact Susan Peirce at (954) 262-2126 or susan.peirce@nova.edu . n Changing Lives Scholarship By Carol Reynolds-Srot