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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Nova Southeastern University Celebrates the Start of the Academic Year
FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla – To mark the official start of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) academic year, the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences will host the 2012 Convocation ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 4, featuring a keynote talk by acclaimed writer Jamaica Kincaid. The ceremony will be held in the Arena at the Don Taft University Center on NSU’s main campus in Davie beginning at 4:00 p.m. 
Known for her candid and emotionally honest writing, Kincaid began her career as a staff writer and columnist for The New Yorker. She released her first book in 1983, At the Bottom of the River, which won the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts. Among Kincaid’s other works are the short story “Girl;” award-winning A Small Place; and Annie John, the 2012 selection for the college’s First-Year Reading Program.
“The Undergraduate Convocation ceremony provides an outstanding start to the academic year” said Don Rosenblum, Ph.D., dean of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. “This event, and Commencement four years later, serve as bookends that celebrate important milestones in the academic life of our students. Convocation is often the first academic and social engagement between new students and college faculty, and therefore paves the way for continued dialogue and mentorship. The event also introduces the annual academic theme. The 2012-2013 theme is ‘Life and Death,’ and author Jamaica Kincaid will surely offer a unique perspective on this vast and challenging subject.”
A professor of literature at Claremont McKenna College in California, Kincaid has also taught at Harvard University with joint appointments in the English and African-American Studies departments. Kincaid was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009. She is the 2010 recipient of the Clifton Fadiman Medal.
Also speaking at this year’s event will be Leanne Boucher, Ph.D., assistant professor at the college, who earned the 2012 Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Full-Time Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. Boucher will welcome students on behalf of the college’s faculty and introduce this year’s academic theme, “Life and Death.”
As part of the ceremony, NSU’s Dean’s List Scholars, undergraduate students who earned the Dean’s List their first two semesters at the university, will also be recognized.
Convocation is free and open to all in the NSU community. A reception will follow. Tickets are not required for admission, but your RSVP is recommended. Please submit the RSVP form on the Convocation page. For more information, contact the college’s Office of the Dean at (954) 262-8236.
Media Contact:
Felecia Henderson | NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5315 (office) | 954-383-4695 (cell) | fhenders@nova.edu