NSU might not be the largest university, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t create big buzz. To keep you current, here’s a list of the biggest NSU news stories of 2016.
Hanbury announced $550 million fundraising campaign
During the Celebration of Excellence on Jan. 20, NSU President George Hanbury announced the university’s fundraising initiative “Realizing Potential: The Campaign for Nova Southeastern University.” Through the campaign, NSU plans to raise a total of $550 million dollars by 2020. Of funds raised, $125 million will pay for scholarships and other resources for students, $75 million will be dedicated to attracting distinguished researchers and faculty to the university and $50 will fund community-centered programs. According to the speech Hanbury gave during the event, “Realizing Potential” is the largest philanthropic campaign ever undertaken by NSU or any nonprofit organization in Broward County. At the time of the announcement, NSU had already raised half of the money.
Center for Collaborative Research opened
NSU’s six-story, 215,000 square foot research facility officially opened its doors on Sep. 21. The center houses institutes dedicated to researching cancer, cell therapy, ocean sciences, neuro-immune medicine, engineering, science and mathematics. In the center’s Cell Therapy Institute at the center, which received its certificate of occupancy in April, NSU students will be able to participate in independent studies for a grade. According to Appu Rathinavelu, executive director of the Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, the center will enhance NSU’s status as a research university.
Hurricane Matthew closed NSU
Due to a hurricane warning in Broward County, all NSU campuses in Florida and Puerto Rico closed on Oct. 5 and re-opened on Oct. 10. Despite these precautions, Hurricane Matthew did not make landfall nor severely damage South Florida, although the storm did cause flooding in areas along the east coast of North Florida, according to weather.com. In all, Hurricane Matthew killed around 50 people in the U.S. and around 1,000 in Haiti, according to NBC.
36th Street construction nears completion
Renovations and additions to Southwest 36th Street, which runs by the Commons Residence Hall and University Park Plaza and ends at the Rolling Hills Graduate Apartments, are projected to finish by January 2017 after several delays. The street has been under construction since December 2015. Parts of the new road are already open to traffic. According to Jessica Brumley, vice president of Facilities Management, NSU is renovating the street because the university needed to create room for athletic fields and because of an infrastructure agreement with Davie.
That’s a wrap on 2016. Hopefully, NSU will continue to make headlines in the new year.
