May 1, 2006

Salman Rushdie to Deliver Commencement Address
at Nova Southeastern University

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Salman Rushdie will address more than 5,000 students, family members and friends at Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) undergraduate commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 7, 4:00 p.m., in the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise. The ceremony is for the 550 graduates of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sceinces, Fischler School of Education and Human Services, and H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship.

Rushdie is widely regarded as a leading novelist of the 20th century and has been recognized by numerous international organizations for his writing and his work on critical human and civil rights matters. 

“This year we have selected an award-winning author who is an advocate for freedom of expression, a core value of our university,” says Don Rosenblum, Ph.D., Dean of NSU’s Farquhar College of Arts & Sciences. “Rushdie embodies what we look for in a commencement speaker -- a person of stature and significance that will offer thought-provoking, salient, inspiring and challenging ideas on relevant issues.”

Author of more than 15 novels and short story collections, Rushdie is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Whitbread Book Award. Rushdie gained widespread international attention in 1988 after the Iranian government issued a death sentence against him in response to the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. He was subsequently forced into hiding by for nearly a decade.

The commencement speech by Rushdie will serve as a capstone for the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ year-long study of the theme of “Good and Evil.” The college has explored the theme through classroom activities and public events. Throughout 2005–2006, the college welcomed to campus leaders in the arts, sciences, and public affairs whose lives and work offer valuable perspective on issues of tolerance, acceptance, and social justice.