Originally from northern New Jersey, Frank Cavico, professor of business law, knew from an early age the career path he wanted to pursue.
“My father was a lawyer and my mother was a high school English professor, so I always thought about teaching and going into law,” said Cavico.
In 1972, Cavico graduated from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa. where he received a bachelor’s in political science.
Right after college, Cavico went to graduate school at Drew University in Madison, N.J. where he received his master’s in political science. He then decided to pursue his interest in law and attended St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonia, Texas and graduated in 1987.
Following law school, Cavico moved to Washington D.C., where he worked for the federal government in the Interstate Commerce Commission as a regulatory attorney. As part of his job, Cavico was in charge of approving permits that truckers were required to have to transport goods.
After a few years, Cavico moved to Florida and started practicing law in Miami. It was at that time that he realized he could combine his knowledge of the law and passion for teaching into one career.
While practicing law in Miami, Cavico realized that there were people in the business field who were being taken advantage of by others who had a better understanding of the law.
Cavico found there were many moral gaps in the law and even when a situation was unjust, it was still legal.
“It was very sad and discomforting to see people being taken advantage of,” said Cavico. “That’s why I decided that a career goal for me would be helping to educate people on their rights and possibilities under the law.”
Before teaching at NSU, Cavico taught undergraduate business courses at the University of Miami School Of Business. He then heard the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at NSU was interested in introducing ethics into the graduate school curriculum and thought he could contribute to the program.
“It was an opportunity to teach a graduate level course at an up-and-coming and very innovative school,” said Cavico. “I also had the opportunity to develop a course with my law and political science background.”
In 1988, Cavico became a full-time NSU professor. He recently celebrated his 25th year with the university.
He still mainly teaches the course he helped create, called Legal and Ethical Values of Business, which has become a required course. He also teaches undergraduate business law courses, in addition to administrative law and business courses for the master’s of public administration program.
In 2000, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award and was honored as the Faculty Member of the Year by the business school in 2006. Cavico also co-wrote a book in 2005 called “Business Ethics: Transcending Requirements Through Moral Leadership” that has been used by several schools.
Along with his wife, Nancy Cavico, a registered nurse and nursing professor at Broward College, Cavico has co-written law review articles on nursing malpractice.
Cavico said that the best part of his job is teaching students how to understand legal aspects and ethics while studying business.
“We were one of the first schools in the country to introduce ethics into a business school curriculum,” said Cavico. “Now we get students to think about the legal side and have them go above and beyond to ask if something is moral based on the ethics.”
