NSU Horizons Spring/Summer 2009

“I asked my father why we were here. He said, ‘to leave the world better than you found it.’ And I asked him, ‘How do you do that?’ He responded, ‘You have to find a way to make a difference.’” In the lives of many and in the landscape of learning, Abe Fischler has made a difference. He is a true visionary in the field of education and will forever be recognized for his contributions to Nova Southeastern University. “He sustained a vision during some rocky times, but it’s a credit to Abe that we are where we are today,” said Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D., who became NSU’s fifth president and chief executive officer in 1998. It could be said that the concept of what would become Nova Southeastern University began in 1961 when Abe Fischler met Arthur Wolfe at Harvard University. Wolfe, then the assistant superintendent of Broward County Schools, visited Harvard where Fischler was an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Education. Wolfe’s mission was to speak with some of the best minds in educa- tion, social studies, science, and other areas. He had been given the task of developing an educational model for South Florida named “the Nova concept,” which involved creating a place where new educational practices would be invented, implemented, and evaluated. At the time, Fischler was also appointed by Harvard to direct a summer program at a school in Massachusetts where they were utilizing team teaching. For four weeks, Wolfe discussed the cre- ation of a Nova Complex, a collaboration that would provide edu- cation through a person’s entire educational life, from birth through the senior years. The pinnacle of the complex would be an independent university. Five years later, as this concept was beginning to take flight, Nova came calling for Fischler, who was now a professor at the University of California—Berkeley. He was offered the position of the director of science education for the fledgling Nova. “The thinking was that Nova could become the M.I.T. of the South. And, with my science background, it seemed like a good fit,” Fischler said. In July of 1970, Fischler became the second president of what was then known as Nova University of Advanced Technology. “I looked around and recognized, ‘We have the opportunity to make a difference here,’” he said. “We changed the name to Nova University, and we changed the orientation. We were going to become a practical university, helping people do what they wanted to do, but better.” The idea would be to bring education to people where they were located, when they wanted it, and when they needed it. Fischler’s idea of this learning module required an innovative ap- proach to distance education. As much a savvy businessman as he is an educator, the visionary Fischler created an education model that was also low on overhead, gathering colleagues from Harvard and Berkeley to join in the en- deavor. He would pay the professors’ expenses and fly them to meet with “clusters” of students in a library or in a hotel meeting room. “We didn’t have to provide buildings. Most of the time, we were able to find places to meet,” Fischler said. “We didn’t have computers. We used the telephone and the airplane—that was our distance learning technology.” For this educator, the chance to help Nova grow was the op- portunity to do something new. He longed for work that could focus on a different ap- proach to teaching. He had already lived in the world of a structured uni- versity environment. “Before coming to Nova, I was a successful, tenured professor at Berk- eley. But, there was some- thing missing in my life.” Fischler uses a golf anal- ogy to further drive home his point: “Berkeley was shooting a 68 in golf. Whether I stayed or left, I realized they’d still be shooting 68, so I really made no difference.” These early days of Nova University demon- strated that quality edu- cation could be delivered in a distance format. “Then, we evolved,” Fischler said. What is now known as Nova Southeastern Univer- sity has grown to an enrollment of more than 28,000 students with more than 103,000 alumni. NSU is the largest independent insti- tution of higher education in the Southeast and the sixth largest independent institution of higher education nationally. During the course of any discussion about the success of NSU, Fischler mentions the tireless efforts of Ferrero and George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “They have helped to keep the foundation of NSU,” he said, adding that they have also moved the university forward in a positive way. Ferrero, who considers Fischler a “mentor and a friend,” believes that NSU would have been a very different institution had it not been for Fischler’s fortitude. “It may not have survived,” Ferrero said. Frank DePiano, Ph.D., NSU’s university provost and vice president for academic affairs, agreed with Ferrero. “Without Abe Fischler’s guidance, support, and absolute tenacious persistence, NSU would not only have failed to grow and mature into the fine academic institution it is now, but might well have not survived at all. He is a visionary in the education field. Thanks to Dr. Fischler, 26 horizons Abe Fischler, circa 1986 1979 15th Anniversary Celebration: The Fantastic Four (left to right): Alexander Schure, chancellor and CEO; Mary McCahill, chairman of the board; Abraham S. Fischler, NSU president; and James “Mr. Nova” Farquhar