NSU to Celebrate Life of Educational Pioneer Marilyn “Mickey” Segal, Feb. 7

Few people can claim that they have helped change not only their community, but have had an impact on communities across the nation and world. Marilyn “Mickey” Segal is one of those people. Because of her lifelong passion for education and the nurturing of children, she helped Nova Southeastern University (NSU) pave the way in the area of early childhood education and providing enhanced educational experiences with those with autism. Segal passed away on Nov. 19, 2014.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Epstein Performing Arts Center at NSU’s University School, 3375 SW 75 Ave., Fort Lauderdale (on NSU’s main campus). The event is open to the public with parking available in NSU’s west parking garage. To honor Segal’s love of children, attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped book for children ages birth to five years, which will be provided to early childhood education centers across Broward County via the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development.

The celebration will feature some of Segal’s friends and colleagues as guest speakers, including George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., president and CEO of NSU. In addition, there will be musical performances by University School students.

Segal was member of the university’s second graduating class. After receiving her Ph.D. in social psychology she set about changing the course of not only NSU, but also the local and national agenda regarding infant mental health and early childhood through her focus on play, parent/child relationships, early identification and intervention, and her dedication to supporting high-need communities.  Her work shaped many of NSU’s programs and educational services for children and families.

“Dr. Segal was a tireless advocate for infants and toddlers,” said Hanbury. “It was her vision of what early childhood education practices should be – and could be – that led Mickey to move the small, experimental preschool and kindergarten she oversaw in Hollywood [Florida] to the NSU campus. It turned out to be an important move, as that school became what we all know today as NSU’s University School – an independent, college preparatory school that provides high-quality education to students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.”

Segal then turned her attention to a new challenge, spurred on by her receiving a significant grant from the U.S. Federal Office of Human Development. Her new challenge: to create programs for infants and toddlers and their parents. The idea was that parents must be part of the educational process right from the start – again, her larger vision of changing the dynamic of what early childhood education was and what it could become.

It is this work that resulted in the creation of what was called the Family Center, then the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies, known today as the Mailman Segal Center (MSC) for Human Development. It is a demonstration and research center that showcases the best ways to educate children, their parents and the professionals in the field. Here she honed the “team approach” to help educate the whole child and support the family, which includes parents, teachers, physicians, psychologists and others. Everyone works together, sharing information and approaches, all to help optimize every child’s development. For Segal, creating such an approach to educating children and professionals was just one part; it was very important to her that the work of the faculty and staff of the university be disseminated to the community, the nation and the world.

Segal was the author of countless articles and 17 books, including the five-volume Your Child at Play series and To Reach a Child, which became a nine-part PBS television series in 1973.  Her books have been translated into 7 languages. The work that she started, her love of children and her passion to ensure that all children have an opportunity to grow and learn is what continues to guide the mission of NSU’s Mailman Segal Center.

“We stand in gratitude for the road that Mickey paved in the field of early childhood education,” said Roni Cohen Leiderman, Ph.D., dean of NSU’s Mailman Segal Center. “Her spirit will be kept alive through the thousands of children, families and professionals whose lives she touched and will continue to influence for generations to come. NSU has lost a beloved member of our family, and we are all the better for having known Mickey Segal and worked beside her all these years. The mark she has left on NSU pales in comparison to the mark she left on all of our lives and the lives of the countless children and families who benefited from her expertise and love.”