Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos to Speak at NSU Commencement

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. — Mike Haridopolos, the 86^th president of the Florida Senate, will be the keynote speaker at a Nova Southeastern University (NSU) commencement ceremony on Sunday, August 28.

FL Senate President Mike Haridopolos

More than 600 students from NSU’s College of Health and Nursing programs will receive their degrees during a 2 p.m. ceremony at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.  The college will graduate students from the nursing, occupational therapy, anesthesiologist assistant, vascular sonography, audiology, physician assistant, health science, and cardiovascular sonography programs.

The college is the largest provider of entry-level physician assistant (PA) education and the second largest provider of entry-level doctor of audiology (Au.D.) education in the U.S. It’s launched the first anesthesiologist assistant (AA) program in Florida and the 5^th in the nation. The college is also the largest provider of entry-level AA education in the U.S.

The college, which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, is also one of the most significant providers of nursing education in the Southeast. The Nursing Department features an entry-level B.S.N.; R.N. to B.S.N.; R.N. to M.S.N, and an online M.S.N., interdisciplinary nursing Ph.D. program. It also boasts three high-tech simulation labs in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Ft. Myers that use robotic patient simulators placed in hospital wards-like classroom to mimic real patient conditions in a  hospital setting.

Throughout his legislative career, Senate President Haridopolos has stood up for Floridians against more government, higher taxes, and unrestrained spending in Tallahassee. He is a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus that led the fight against tax increases in the Florida House and is currently working on legislation to ensure that government spending never grows faster than a family’s ability to pay for it. Haridopolos has pledged to simply spend less and not to ask for additional sacrifices from Florida’s families and businesses.

Additionally, he is the sponsor of the 2011 Florida Health Care Freedom Act to protect Floridians against federal health care mandates. Throughout his legislative career, Haridoplos has championed issues related to the space program and NASA, instituted transparency and accountability in state government, and identified ways to correct and prevent the wrongful incarceration of Floridians.

Haridopolos represents District 26 in the Florida Senate, which includes parts of Brevard, Indian River, Osceola, and St. Lucie Counties.

“We are honored to have Senate President Haridopolos address our graduating health professionals, who help fill the shortage of health care professionals in Florida,” said Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., chancellor of the Health Professions Division, which oversees the college.

NSU will be presenting Senate President Haridopolos an honorary degree citation during the commencement.

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About NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing: The College endeavors to train health care professionals in the art and science of improving the quality of life and health of their patients and communities. Through undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degree programs, its goal is to produce highly motivated and well educated practitioners who will be integral members of the healthcare team.

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 Nova visit www.nova.edu.

Media Contact:
Ken Ma, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5408 (office), 954-830-4177 (cell), ken.ma@nova.edu