OPT Visionary - Summer 2014

PAGE 4 A s I was reading the book entitled The Making of Nova South- eastern University by Julian Pleasants, which was composed to commemorate NSU’s 50 th anniversary, it brought back many fond memories of what occurred approximately two decades ago when Nova University and Southeastern University of the Health Sciences decided to structure a dynamic merger of the two edu- cational institutions. Because of my involvement in public service over the years, I had the pleasure of knowing many of the original founders of Nova University such as Hamilton Forman, William Horvitz, Tinsley Ellis, longtime president Abraham Fischler, and others who have served the South Florida community in many ways. Because of these relationships, I was well aware of the struggles the university was encountering as well as the exciting advancements that were taking place. From its infancy, Nova University was consistently challenging the con- struct of traditional education systems. It was exactly this type of progres- sive attitude that brought Dr. Morton Terry, the founder of Southeastern University of the Health Sciences and NSU’s Health Professions Division, to view Nova University as a potential partner that shared his vision—a foresight for not following the staid and feudal standards of some of our nation’s academic infrastructure. As a result, Dr. Terry made contact with key members of the Nova University Board of Trustees in 1993. Instinc- tively, he felt that Southeastern University of the Health Sciences and Nova University had similar chutzpah . Although the Nova/Southeastern merger proved to be a powerhouse partnership, Dr. Terry had also engaged in preliminary talks with the Uni- versity of Miami about being a potential merge partner. Interestingly, as wonderful as the University of Miami was and is—particularly its outstand- ing school of medicine—Dr. Terry didn’t feel comfortable in that environ- ment. Once he met with the leaders from Nova University, however, Dr. Terry was certain he’d found the perfect fit. Ultimately, the innovative education atmosphere that was inherent within the Nova University system proved to be symbiotic with what Dr. Terry felt the presentation of health education would be in the future. He saw in Nova University that rare spark that would enable all of us to work together. I remember listening to former NSU President Ray Ferrero, Jr., many years ago when he stated that the merger was not a 1 + 1 = 2 merger; it was more like 1 + 1 = 10. Truer words were never spoken. As I reflect upon that period in our history, the truly amazing feature of Dr. Terry’s leadership was that he had a remarkably instinctive quality in terms of what he felt the future would look like. As a non-educator who was a very significant and qualified medical professional, he felt he needed dedicated and talented people to get us where he thought we needed to be. To that end, he and the action leaders of what became Nova South- eastern University worked together hand in glove. I had the privilege of joining forces with Southeastern University of the Health Sciences in 1986, and I watched all that we are today occur before my eyes. In all honesty, I was amazed by the way Dr. Terry always strived to make prudent decisions, especially from a financial perspective, but was also willing to take risks in the academic realm at any cost. A true forward-thinker, Dr. Terry, who passed away in 2004, always believed that investing in new programs would bring not only academic success, but financial reward. When we officially came to the Davie campus as a merged entity in 1996, one of the construction elements of the Health Professions Division centered on the creation of the lab/library building, with nearly 20 percent of the edifice being ded- icated to research. At that time, the university’s primary focus was on simply pro- viding quality education—not conducting research. Once the NSU Health Professions Division was founded, we made a concerted effort to establish a research infrastructure by forming a research committee and an institutional review board. I also worked closely with Dr. Terry during this time to budget sums of money that were made available to faculty members for what we call seed research, which created an environment for them to seek grants and pursue various funding opportunities from either private foundations or govern- ment agencies. The success of these efforts is evidenced by the following statistic: When we initially came to NSU’s main campus, the former Southeastern University of the Health Sciences had less than $100,000 in research funding; as of February 2014, we had an active total of about $25.3 million in external funding. I truly feel that, along with NSU’s Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research, the interprofessional components and synergistic relationships we have here at the Health Professions Division helped lead to the conceptualization of the Center for Collaborative Research (CCR), which officially broke ground on February 13. By 2016, which is when the CCR is slated to open, NSU will be home to two major research centers, which will play a major role in helping the university reach its goal of having $300 million in externally funded research by the year 2020. hancellor’s Communiqué Frederick Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D. Health Professions Division Chancellor