Nova Southeastern University and the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc. to Recognize Winners of Statewide Writing, Art, & Film Contest

NSU to Host Award Ceremony on Sunday, March 19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla.— Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has joined forces once again with the nonprofit Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc. (HLEF) to sponsor the third annual Holocaust Reflection Contest. 

Participating middle and high school students from across Florida studied Holocaust survivor testimonials and created original essays, poems, visual art pieces, and films inspired by what they learned. Winners in each genre have been announced on the contest website and will be recognized at an award ceremony on Sunday, March 19. The winning student projects will be on display. The event will include talks by HLEF Founder and President Craig Weiner and Irving Rosenbaum, D.P.A., Ed.D., Executive Dean and Provost of NSU’s Health Professions Division, as well as a tour of NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus for the visiting students, their families, and their teachers/principals.

First-place winners in each category will be awarded $1000 each, and their respective teachers and schools will receive $500 each. Second-place winners in each category will receive $250 each. On Saturday, March 18, the winners and their families are also invited to join HLEF and NSU leadership members on a field trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Miami Beach followed by a celebratory dinner at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus.

“It’s important that we do not forget the lessons from the past,” said NSU President Dr. George Hanbury. “Holocaust Education for our young people is vital to help tomorrow’s generation avoid the atrocities of past generations. We are extremely grateful to Craig and Barbara Weiner for the support

and resources they have made available to NSU students, members of the faculty and staff, and to the community at large.”

Expected attendees at the award ceremony include:

• Current and past award winners, their families, and their teachers/principals
• Holocaust Survivors, World War II Veterans
• George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., President and CEO, Nova Southeastern University
• Craig R. Weiner, President, Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.
• Barbara Weiner, Director of Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.
• Ralph Rogers, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nova Southeastern University
• Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., Chancellor of the Health Professions Division, Nova Southeastern University
• Program Directors of Holocaust Education and Diversity for Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County Public School Systems
• Various School Board members
• The Board of Directors of the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.

The Holocaust Reflection Contest began in 2014 at the bequest of HLEF co-founders Craig and Barbara Weiner. The couple established HLEF in 2013 to encourage the expansion of Holocaust education in the United States. The organization’s goal is to teach America’s students, through initiatives like the Holocaust Reflection Contest, how intolerance of others can lead to the destruction of our social fabric, while patience and understanding of others will always result in a safer and better world.

“We have always felt that the best way for our current and future generations to learn the importance of having greater respect for one another, and greater tolerance for our fellow humankind, is through Holocaust education. It is through this education that students can learn what happens as a result of hate and intolerance and how critical it is for ALL of us to stand up against all forms of prejudice”, said Craig Weiner, president, Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.  “We are extremely honored to have this amazing university as our partner in this effort.”

The contest award ceremony will include an optional tour of The Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Room, which provides NSU students and the general public with a place to learn about and contemplate the atrocities that result from intolerance and hate. Completed last year thanks to a generous donation by the Weiners, the room provides access to thousands of Holocaust survivor testimonies; a Holocaust encyclopedia; archival images, artifacts, maps, and films; and links to Holocaust research museums and memorials around the world. The room is located on the second floor of NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library. The financial gift for 21st century education projects like this advances NSU’s Realizing Potential campaign, which is the largest philanthropic campaign in its history and aims to raise $250 million for students, faculty, and 21st century education.

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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU and realizingpotential.nova.edu for more information on the largest fundraising campaign in NSU history.

March 2, 2017

Contact:
Vera Mandilovitch | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5309 (office) | 954-882-3570 (cell)
vmandilovitch@nova.edu