Nova Southeastern University Expands Academic Operations in Southwest Florida

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has expanded its academic operations in Southwest Florida by moving into a four-story, 60,000-square-foot facility in Ft. Myers. The facility allows the university to offer more educational programs for Southwest Florida residents. NSU will be holding a grand opening ceremony of its new Southwest Florida Student Educational Center, on Thursday, Nov. 6 to celebrate this expansion.

The event, which will include a ribbon cutting, will begin at 5 p.m. Speakers will include Jim Humphrey, Mayor of Ft. Myers; Bob Jones, President of Edison College’s Lee County campus; George Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Fred Lippman, R. Ph., Ed.D., Chancellor of NSU’s Health Professions Division.

The ceremony marks NSU’s significant growth in Southwest Florida. Conveniently located at 3650 Colonial Court on the southeast corner of Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75, the Southwest Florida Student Educational Center is designed to serve Ft. Myers, Naples and Cape Coral, one of the fastest growing regions in Florida.

This center has 19 classrooms, three computer labs, nine videoconferencing suites, wireless Internet access throughout and a multi-purpose room with seating capacity of 180. These amenities are being provided to meet the growing needs of students enrolled in our associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs. NSU’s Southwest Florida Student Educational Center offers 34 programs that include physician assistant, education, criminal justice, information technology, mental health counseling, speech-language pathology, Southwest Florida’s newest nursing program, among others.

The Southwest Florida Student Educational Center’s health programs are being offered through NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing. The center is equipped with 12 patient simulation exam rooms, six exam rooms with video recording, a physical diagnostic lab and a 10-bed nursing lab. NSU’s nursing programs, which offer an entry-level B.S.N. (Bachelor of Science in nursing) degree and an R.N. (registered nurse) to B.S.N. degree, are two of the fastest growing nursing programs in Florida. Currently, NSU provides Southwest Florida with about 120 new nurses a year.

NSU’s physician assistant program is supplying graduates for one of the fastest-growing areas of health care. Physician assistants, who are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with a doctor’s supervision, are employed in the second fastest growing job in the country for college-educated workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Beyond the high-quality education and the impressive facilities, the new Southwest Florida Student Educational Center will allow NSU to further boost its ongoing and significant economic impact on the Southwest Florida’s economy – both in terms of education standard and new job creation. This new facility will be a valuable and accessible resource for the community for decades.

The public is invited to the grand opening ceremony at 3650 Colonial Court. For more information, please call 239-274-6070 or visit http://www.nova.edu/fortmyers

Media Contact:
Ken Ma, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5354 Office, 954-830-4177 Cell, kennma@nova.edu