Nova Southeastern University Rated One of Top 20 Colleges Nationwide Committed to Community Service

Ft. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (Nova) learned this week that it was rated one of the top 20 colleges in the nation committed to community service by BestCollegesOnline.

“It’s great to be recognized for all the service we do in the community,” said Nova’s President George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. “We participate in a myriad of community service projects ranging from protecting local marine life, to hosting health care assessments to hosting non-profit fundraising walks and runs on our main campus. We are also involved in the community at our seven Student Educational Centers throughout Florida and the Bahamas.”

In addition, Hanbury said Nova is the only private university that houses Special Olympics on its campus and whose athletes use the college’s facilities.

In January, Nova also learned it is one of 115 U.S. colleges and universities in the country that earned The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2010 Community Engagement Classification.

“Earning these accolades is a testament to NSU’s commitment to the community and to volunteerism in general,” said Nova Chancellor Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D. “Part of this university’s mission and vision is to be actively engaged in the many communities we serve.”

There are currently more than 1,000 community engagement projects taking place at Nova. Examples are:

• An annual free health fair for children ages birth to 15 called A Day for Children, that serve more than 7,000 local residents each year. The event includes assessments for vision, medical, speech, behavior and dental as well as physical and occupational therapy. The next Day For Children will be held on main campus Sept. 18.

• Nova’s colleges of dental medicine and optometry are providing dental and optometric care to underprivileged children at the nonprofit Kids in Distress in Wilton Manners, Fla.

• Law students from Nova’s Shepard Board Law Center provide pro bono legal services for people who are financially challenged.

• Undergraduate students from Nova’s Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences attend a “senior prom” each year, which is an evening of dinner and dancing to connect students and senior citizens. It stresses the importance of giving back to our seniors.

• High school students from Nova’s University School volunteer at the nonprofits Souper Bowl of Caring and Food for the Poor to feed the hungry.

Nova also ranks third among all private colleges nationally in the percentage of federal work-study dollars that it devotes to community service, according to researchers at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

For more information about Nova’s community outreach efforts, please visit http://www.nova.edu/overview/outreach.html.

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About Nova Southeastern University: Located in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited Florida University dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and doctoral levels. NSU has more than 29,000 students and is the seventh largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The University awards associate’s, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, specialist, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other social sciences. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU was also awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification in 2010 for the University’s significant commitment to and demonstration of community engagement. For more information about NSU visit www.nova.edu.

Contact:
Julie Spechler
julies@nova.edu
954.262.5348 (office)
954.591.3361 (cell)