Perspectives Winter/Spring-2017

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 3 Recently, while I was listening to the university’s president, George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., discuss NSU’s Vision 2020 goals, he mentioned that, although the university is almost 53 years old, it has only been a merged institution since 1994, which occurred when Nova University merged with Southeastern University of the Health Sciences. Because I have been affiliated with the university for more than three decades, Dr. Hanbury’s comments made me reflect on the creative pioneers who helped establish Nova University in 1964, particularly Abraham S. Fischler, Ed.D., president emeritus. Thanks to these visionary leaders, a new educational paradigm—related to the presenta- tion of curricula and professions—was unveiled. As I’ve discussed previously, it was this forward-thinking approach to education that brought Morton Terry, D.O., the founder of Southeastern University of the Health Sciences, together with Nova University—because he saw in it the same visionary attitudes and verve for the future he envi- sioned while creating Southeastern University of the Health Sciences. Since the merger, NSU has continued to reach new heights of excellence, which is reflected by the fact that the university is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Additionally, NSU is 1 of 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. On a similar note, the university recently reached a significant milestone when U.S. News & World Report ranked NSU number 214 in its 2017 National Universities Rankings. In terms of the NSU Health Professions Division, I recently spent some time in the Speech- Language Pathology Program, which was integrated into the College of Health Care Sciences in July 2015 as part of the university’s programmatic realignment process. This realignment, which involved repositioning five academic degree programs housed in other NSU colleges into the College of Health Care Sciences, has added new synergy to the Health Professions Division. It is exciting to witness the Vision 2020 goals—which were adopted by the NSU Board of Trustees and supported by the deans and faculty and staff members—coming to fruition. NSU has clearly positioned itself as an educational exemplar of excellence. As a result, the university is leading the way for other academic institutions to follow. Frederick Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D. Chancellor, Health Professions Division Nova Southeastern University Chancellor’s Communiqué