Lasting Impressions | Summer 2016

48 x NSU LASTING IMPRESSIONS A BENCHMARK FOR SCHOLARSHIPS BY OLINE H. COGDILL The metal benches just outside NSU’s College of Dental Medicine offer students more than just a place to take a break between classes or meet with friends. Those benches now are a way to fund NSU student scholarships. More than 50 benches at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, 15 at the Palm Beach Campus, and 2 on the Orlando Campus, are available for sponsorship, with the money going to the President’s Scholarship Fund. The donor may designate a specific NSU college to award the student scholarships. Linda Niessen, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., dean of the CDM, was the first person at the university to donate to the NSU Scholarship Fund by sponsoring a named bench. “Sponsoring a bench is just one of the many ways that individuals can show their support for the CDM,” she explained. “It’s more than just putting a small dedication sign on the bench—it signifies the meaningful education and research being done here.” The bench dedication project is part of NSU’s Realiz- ing Potential campaign, which plans to raise $250 million by December 2020. Gift opportunities include $2,500 to dedicate a one-person bench outside the Health Professions Division’s Terry Building; $5,000 to dedicate an existing bench on the Fort Lauderdale/Davie, Orlando, or Palm Beach campuses; $10,000 to dedicate and place a new bench at any NSU college, facility, or campus; and $20,000 to dedicate a crescent of five benches outside the Health Professions Division’s Terry Building. “Naming a bench provides our donors with a place to reflect and remember a person or occasion significant to them while providing a beautiful spot to rest and enjoy their surroundings. We hope this will become a great tradition, and that soon, all 50 benches will be named and connected to someone special,” said Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D., NSU’s vice president of advancement and community relations. ◆ For more information on dedicating a bench, contact Jason Lyons at (954) 262-2127 or tributegiving@nova.edu , or visit nova.edu/giving/tributes . NSU dental students Alan Seidenfeld and Leydy Toribio Fabelo chat on a dedicated bench outside the CDM’s walkway.