Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher to Speak at NSU Commencement on August 25

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. — Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., will be the keynote speaker at a commencement ceremony for Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) colleges of Nursing and Health Care Sciences on Saturday, August 25.

Admiral David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States

As Surgeon General under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Admiral Satcher served our nation by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury. He protected and advanced the health of the nation through educating the public, advocating for effective disease prevention and health promotion programs and activities, and providing a highly recognized symbol of national commitment to protecting and improving the public’s health.

After leaving the post of Surgeon General, Dr. Satcher became a fellow at Kaiser Family Foundation as well as the director of the The Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Dr. Satcher’s prior leadership roles included serving as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as chairman of the Department of Community Medicine and Family Practice at the Morehouse School of Medicine. He was a faculty member at the UCLA School of Medicine and Public Health and the King-Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he developed and chaired the King-Drew Department of Family Medicine.

NSU will be presenting Dr. Satcher with an honorary degree citation.

The NSU ceremony, where more than 700 students will receive their degrees, will be held at 1 p.m. at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.  The graduates come from two colleges that are a part of NSU’s Health Professions Division. They will receive degrees in nursing, audiology, health sciences, occupational therapy, and physician assistant. Some of them studied at NSU’s main campus in Davie, while others studied at the university’s Student Educational Centers located throughout Florida.

The College of Health Care Sciences is the largest provider of entry-level physician assistant (PA) education and the second largest provider of entry-level doctor of audiology (Au.D.) education in the U.S. The college launched the first anesthesiologist assistant (AA) program in Florida and the 5th in the nation. The college is also the largest provider of entry-level AA education in the U.S.

The College of Nursing offers programs that assist non-nurses to achieve licensure as well as provide options for all levels of degree programs, allowing current nurses to enhance their educational status. The college is one of the most comprehensive providers of nursing education in the Southeast U.S., offering its students state of the art educational resources and highly experienced faculty educators.

Students are provided clinical experience in all types of clinical care settings as well as in the university’s three high-tech simulation labs in Davie, Miami, and Ft. Myers. These simulation labs provide interactive educational case studies using patient simulators. These high-tech patient simulators have voices, make heart, lung, bowel sounds, and have pulses and programmable vital signs that immerse the student in realistic clinical situations.

###

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