Dear NSU Alumni,

As many of you will recall, in October of 2007 and 2008, we asked you to complete “I Believe in NSU”/Gallup surveys in an effort to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our university. After the results of the past two surveys, we gathered information that has been vital in developing action plans to improve communication and help us realize an engaged, informed faculty and staff that will result in students and alumni that are likewise engaged. As you know, engaged students take better advantage of the academic and cultural experiences offered by our university and generally enjoy greater success in life and result in an engaged alumni.

On October 5, you will again be asked to participate in a third survey conducted by The Gallup Organization. You will each receive an email directly from Gallup explaining the procedure and providing you with a code to access the survey site. The survey will be completed online in a matter of minutes, and your specific answers will be kept strictly confidential.

Your responses are very important to us and there are incentives for participating. Alumni will be entered into a raffle with a chance to win a Dell Mini 10v Netbook. Ten lucky alumni will be the recipients of these prizes.

Your opinions count! As of September 9, 2009, the president has already completed 39 town hall meetings with employees to provide a forum for open dialogue to improve communication throughout the University community. By the time of the October assessment, a total of 54 town hall meetings will have been completed.

As a result of the surveys conducted over the past two years, and the town hall meetings, commitment plans were put in place. Be sure to visit the "I Believe in NSU"/Gallup website for updated information www.nova.edu/believe/index.html). The website includes executive summaries of the 2007 and 2008 survey results, as well as examples of the plans that have been put into place over the last two years.

We appreciate your support and cooperation. We Believe in NSU!

Sincerely,

Sara DuCuennois
Director of Alumni Relations

Manhattan Alumni Chapter's "Evening at the '21 Club"
Wednesday, October 14 6:00-8:00pm

To RSVP online, click here.  For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

Alumni Career Stimulus Plan
Thursday, October 15th at FIU 5:30-8pm

Guest Speaker: Dan Nelson is the CEO/Founder of CareerCampaigns.com

To RSVP online, click here.  For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

Atlanta Alumni Chapter's "Night of Autism Awareness"
Saturday, October 17th 6:30pm start

Featuring: Roni Cohen Leiderman, Ph.D.

To RSVP online, click here.  For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

Motor City Alumni Chapter Day at the Franklin Cider Mill
Saturday, October 17th 1:00-3:00 pm

To RSVP online, click here. For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

NE FL and SE GA’s Afternoon of Wine Tasting
Saturday, October 24th 12:30 start

To RSVP online, click here. For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

Toronto Alumni Chapter Happy Hour
Saturday, October 24th 2-4:00pm

To RSVP online, click here. For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

Phoenix Alumni Chapter Kick-Off Event
Thursday, October 29th 6-8:00pm

To RSVP online, click here. For questions or assistance, please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 954-262-2132.

• American Songs: Life and Death Faculty Series Performance
• NSU Shark Shuffle 5k Run/Walk
• NSU College of Pharmacy Career Expo Scholarship Fundraiser
• 2009 DisAbilities Liaison Expo
• Divide and Conquer 2nd Annual Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition
• NSU Oceanographic Center Scholarship Fishing Tournament
• The Importance of Being Ernest
• University School Merchandise Mart
• NSU Campus Open House
• Nova Southeastern University to Hold Two Career Fairs in October

Huizenga School to Host CEOs of GM and AutoNation for Town Hall Meeting

Fritz Henderson, chief executive officer of General Motors, and Mike Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer of AutoNation, America’s largest automotive retailer, will jointly hold a town hall meeting at Nova Southeastern University’s main campus on Oct. 8 to discuss the future of the auto industry.

NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship is hosting the event and Michael Fields, Ph.D., dean of the Huizenga School, will serve as moderator. The town hall meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center at 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd. in Davie. The event is free and open to the public and RSVPs should be made by calling (954) 262-5008.

Henderson became CEO of GM on March 29, 2009, and has led the company in its emergence from bankruptcy. He had previously been GM’s president and chief operating officer and began his career at GM in 1984. Henderson’s efforts to revitalize GM and the automotive industry include cutting-edge products such as the Chevy Volt, an electric vehicle due to enter showrooms next year.

Jackson has been a vocal advocate for the reinvention of America’s auto-driven economy. He has regularly called for a renewed energy policy, increased taxes on fuel, enhanced efficiency standards and advanced engine technologies.

NSU Men's Golf Finishes Fourth At John Dallio Memorial

"In all my years of coaching and being involved in tournament golf these were some of the most difficult conditions I have seen," said NSU head coach Kevin Marsh.

For the full story, click here.

NSU Men's Soccer Capture Win Against Florida Southern Mocs, 3-0

The Sharks concluded with 375.5 points to tie the highest finish in program history.

For the full story, click here.

NSU Women's Soccer Taken Down by No. 2 West Florida, 3-1

Sixty-two Nova Southeastern student-athletes were listed on the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2009 spring semester.

For the full story, click here.

Alumni Career Stimulus Plan

Thursday, September 10th at the Westin Colonnade

Atlanta Falcons Family Fun Day

Sunday, September 13 at the Georgia Dome

South Florida Networking Event

Tuesday, September 15th at the W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale

Tampa Alumni Chapter Community Event

Saturday, September 19 at Everyday Blessings

NSU Alumni Night at Mosaic Theatre

Rock ‘n’ Roll Play - Friday, September 25th at American Heritage Center for the Arts

• Researchers from NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute Making New Discoveries for ExxonMobil
• SHSS Alum Publishes Book on Conflict Resolution in Pre-school
• SHSS Doctoral Candidate Publishes on Infertility
• Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Professor Presents Research at Two International Conferences
• Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor Featured as On-Air Host for NSCA-TV
• CPS Faculty Member Invited to Address National Convention
• CPS Alum Makes Presentation at ABPsi International Convention
• Closer Look at Psychopharmacology

The son of Eunice Baros, J.D. ’80, has recently written a book entitled The Reel Truth. Reed Martin worked at worked at 20th Century Fox in LA and has an MBA and Journalism Master’s degree from Columbia University. His most recent job was at the Harvard Business School.

Gary Jenkins, M.A.T. ’ 95, has joined RSM McGladrey as a Managing Director of Taxation. Jenkins brings with him nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting. Additionally, Jenkins is a 2009 graduate of the Leadership Palm Beach County program and a member of the Advisory Board for Freed-Hardeman University. He serves on the Board of Directors of Florida Earth Foundation where he is also Treasurer. Jenkins is a past board member of Junior Achievement of Greenville, SC.

Shelly L. Jordan, B.S. ’06, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, IL. During the eight-week program, Jordan completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness. The capstone event of boot camp is "Battle Stations". This exercise gives recruits the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the fleet. "Battle Stations" is designed to galvanize the basic warrior attributes of sacrifice, dedication, teamwork and endurance in each recruit through the practical application of basic Navy skills and the core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. Its distinctly ''Navy'' flavor was designed to take into account what it means to be a Sailor.

Vincent Kloskowski, Ph.D., (Ed.D. ’76), has published his latest book entitled “Pedagogy Plain & Fancy: Historical Analysis: The Amish and the Disadvantaged Student”. This present study is concerned with the problem of Special Education in the Amish communities of North America.

Kathryn Lanthorn, Ed.D.’04, went into private practice in mental health counseling after receiving her doctorate. Lanthorn also completed a forensic mental health evaluator credential enabling her to conduct forensic evaluations and provide expert testimony. Her website includes contact information and a description of services available.

Lori Lapin Jones, J.D. ’82, was named a recipient of the 2009 “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business” award sponsored by Long Island Business News.

Jones is a nationally recognized and respected bankruptcy lawyer and has practiced in the bankruptcy field for more than 26 years. In 2005, she founded Lori Lapin Jones PLLC in Great Neck, New York, where she focuses her practice on her roles as bankruptcy trustee, mediator and attorney for parties in bankruptcy cases. Appointed by the Department of Justice, Jones serves on the panel of Chapter 7 Trustees in the Eastern District of New York.

Jones is a frequent presenter on bankruptcy topics for state, local and national bar associations. She co-authored a column on bankruptcy law for the New York Law Journal from 2005-2008, co-authored the book Creditors’ Committee Manual and has taught legal research and writing at New York Law School. She received her LL.M. degree from New York University Law School and her Juris Doctor, magnum cum laude, from Nova Southeastern School of Law where she was Executive Editor of the Nova Law Review. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Active in causes supporting persons with special needs, Jones has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Organization for Autism Research since 2005. She chairs its Schwallie Family Scholarship Committee, overseeing the yearly award of educational scholarships to individuals on the autism spectrum. She is also a volunteer for Special Olympics, and since 2004 has been a member of the Committee on Special Education for the Great Neck School District.

Donald Lemma, Ph.D. ‘99 from NSU’s Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, has been named Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Computing Division Director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is run by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy. The Lab is dedicated to pure scientific research; experiments and research at the Lab have led to six Nobel prizes. SLAC is home to the largest accelerator in the world, housed in the longest building in the world (it is 2 miles long) and has experiments ranging from space-based particle detectors to new types of cameras, capable of taking pictures at a rate of three trillion frame.

As CIO at SLAC, Lemma is responsible for both the Lab's business computing as well as scientific computing, which is handled by a supercomputing center located on the SLAC campus. It is a multi-petabyte scale environment running several thousand servers in massively parallel clusters. Computing efforts are collaborative and SLAC works with supercomputing facilities and users throughout the world. s per second.

Christi O’Neill, B.S.’09, was awarded a scholarship from Omicron Delta Kappa. With 73 applications to review, the task of selecting twenty students to receive scholarships was a challenge. Learn more about the scholarship here.

Timothy M. Sullivan, Ed.D. ’02, has been appointed Associate Professor & Director, Programs in Higher Education at Widener University in Chester, PA. Dr. Sullivan will have oversight for the master’s and doctoral degree programs in higher education. Dr. Sullivan has 35 years of higher education leadership experience and served most recently as Dean, Business and Technology at the Community College of Philadelphia. He resides in Wallingford, PA with his wife Linda S. Durant.