Gov. Rick Scott to Speak at NSU Commencement

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. — Rick Scott, Florida’s 45^th governor, will be the keynote speaker at a commencement ceremony at Nova Southeastern University on Sunday, May 29.

Gov. Rick Scott

The ceremony, where 856 NSU Health Professions Division (HPD) students will receive their degrees, will be held at 1 p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. HPD comprises of the colleges of dental medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, medical sciences and allied health and nursing.

“We are honored to have the governor address our graduating health professionals, who will become  Florida and the nation’s future health care providers,” said Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., chancellor of the Health Professions Division.

HPD houses Florida’s only school of optometry, one of two dental schools in the state, and one of the largest medical schools in the nation. HPD students and faculty conduct cutting-edge research in human stem cells, cancer, heart disease, AIDS/HIV, among others.

Born in Bloomington, Ill. and raised in Kansas City, Mo., Gov. Scott is considered one of America’s foremost entrepreneurs. The son of a truck driver and JC Penney clerk, Scott is known as an innovator in business, health care, and politics, and has developed a reputation in the health care industry for providing affordable, high quality services through a patient-centric approach to cost and care.

He is the founder of two health care providers, Columbia Hospital Corporation and Solantic Corporation, which builds and operates urgent care facilities throughout Florida. Scott started Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, an organization founded to defend free market principles in health care that focused successfully on defeating President Obama’s government-run public option plan.

Through his efforts to oppose more government involvement in health care, Scott has been a guest on dozens of national television and radio programs including CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, FOX News’ Hannity, and radio’s Laura Ingraham Show, to name a few. He has been profiled in Fortune Magazine, the New York Times, and several other major media outlets.

NSU will be giving the governor an honorary degree citation during the commencement.

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.

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