Renowned Health Policy Expert to Speak at NSU Commencement

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. — Jonathan Cohn, a senior editor at The New Republic and a nationally recognized authority on health care policy, will be the keynote speaker at a commencement ceremony at Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Health Professions Division on Sunday, May 27.

Jonathan Cohn

The ceremony, where 744 Health Professions Division (HPD) students will receive their degrees, will be held at 1 p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.  The graduates come from the colleges of dental medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, medical sciences, and heath care sciences.

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.

Cohn’s keynote address is titled: Healing the nation.  It will focus on the obligations of graduates to insure America’s health care system works better and is more efficient.

Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Cohn attended Pine Crest School.  Cohn received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, where he served as president of the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. As a senior editor at The New Republic, he covers domestic policy. He is also the author of Sick: The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis—and the People Who Pay the Price.

Cohn has been called “one of the nation’s leading experts on health care policy” by the Washington Post and “one of the best health care writers out there” by New York Times. His coverage of social justice issues has won the Sidney Hillman and Harry Chapin media awards. Sick was a finalist for the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Award, and named one of the year’s best books by the Chicago Tribune. He was also a two-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, which recognizes writers under 35.

A columnist for Kaiser Health News and contributing editor at the American Prospect, Cohn has written for many national publications, including the Times, the Post, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Self, and Slate. He is also a regular commentator on health care policy in the media, appearing on such shows as NPR’s “Fresh Air” and other network news and commentary shows.

Cohn is presently a senior fellow at the think-tank Demos. Previously, he has been a media fellow with the Kaiser Family Foundation and a Griffith Leadership Center fellow at the University of Michigan.

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About NSU’s Health Professions Division: In less than two decades, NSU’s Health Professions Division has developed into a multidisciplinary academic health center of international stature. Comprised of the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Optometry, Health Care Sciences, Nursing, and Medical Sciences, the health professions division has redoubled its commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and community service, while expanding its mission in research and scholarship. Together, as a team, the distinguished faculty prepares students for an exciting career on tomorrow’s dynamic health care team. http://hpd.nova.edu/

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 300 beautiful acres in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University is a dynamic fully accredited research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels.  NSU is the eighth largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally with more than 28,000 students. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification.  www.nova.edu

Media Contact:
Ken Ma, MBA, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5408 (office), 954-621-7961 (cell), ken.ma@nova.edu