CHCS Perspectives Winter 2014

PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2014 – Page 15 Richard Davis, Ed.D., who served as founding dean of NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences, was recently named as vice president of the university’s regional campus network and online education. In this role, he will provide overall leadership and strategic direction in the planning, development, and enrollment management of NSU’s nine regional cam- puses and its online education programs. NSU has regional campuses throughout Florida in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami-Kendall, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa as well as in Nassau, Bahamas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Davis joined NSU in 1998 as director of the university’s Physician Assistant Program and has since held multiple leadership positions. “Throughout his 15-year tenure at NSU, Dr. Davis has modeled success and innovation in the creation and evaluation of traditional classroom and distance-education programs, including the development and implemen- tation of more than 20 new programs at NSU,” said George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU president and CEO. NSU Researchers Uncover Genetic Surprises in Florida’s Bottlenose Dolphins Bottlenose dolphins are the most common and well known of their kind—famous in TV and movies. And while one bottlenose dolphin might look similar to another, when you take a closer look at them (really close, as in genetically,) there are differences. In fact, a recently published study in the Journal of Heredity by a collaborative, including researchers from NSU’s Oceanographic Center, focused on groups of these animals that live in specific areas along the eastern seaboard of the United States, comparing them to other bottlenose dolphins that live offshore, in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. This first-of-its-kind collaborative study revealed that within the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), there are two different and distinct populations of bot- tlenose dolphins living in the waters. After the data were analyzed, re- searchers were able to determine that these two genetically different groups were divided along a north-south geographic area of the IRL. Along with identifying genetic differences in the animals within the IRL, when compared to bottlenose dolphins that live in other areas, including the open oceanic waters, additional differences were found. While there were many findings identified, this study also provides im- portant management implications since it’s clear the role of the habitat and subsequent modifications can directly shape bottlenose dolphin structure. Dr. Richard Davis to Lead Regional Campuses and Online Education