History of Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies

Nova Southeastern University’s Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies, formerly known as the Family Center, provides a range of programs designed to strengthen families and enhance the ability of parents and caregivers to foster the healthy development of children. The institute showcases best practices in the fields of early childhood education, family support, and parenting education, achieving its mission through direct services to families and children, development and implementation of early childhood education and training programs, community outreach programs, and advocacy.

1972 Marilyn Segal is awarded a four-year, $500,000 grant from the Federal Office of Human Development to produce a 9-part public television series “To Reach a Child” focusing on the first year of life.

Dr. Segal establishes a “School for Parents” as part of the series, which later becomes the institute’s Early Learning Programs.

Dr. Segal establishes the Ed.D. Program in Early Childhood Education.

1973 The Institute for Early Childhood Education, the precursor of the Family Center, is founded by Marilyn Segal.

1975 The Master’s Degree in Learning Disability program is founded by Marilyn Segal.

The Family Center is established.

1979 Wendy Masi, Ph.D. establishes the Parent/Child program at the Family Center.

1980 The Family Center Preschool is established.

1981 The Mailman Family Center building opens its doors to the public on July 25th,
during designated “Family Week” in Broward County.

1982 The Child Development Associate (CDA) credential is added to the
educational opportunities at the Family Center.

1983 The “Alice In Wonderland” Playground is dedicated at the Family Center. The playground was sponsored by 35 donors who gave in honor of Mrs. Alice Harriet Mailman’s 85th birthday.

The Ft. Lauderdale Oral School, the precursor to the Baudhuin Preschool, is acquired by NSU and becomes part of the Family Center at the Davie Campus.

The Speech and Language program is established as a component of the Family Center.

1984 “Ring Around”, a program for parents and special needs children, designed to bring families together through the sharing of fun, developmentally appropriate activities, is established.

1985 The Family Center is established as the training coordinating agency for the Department of Family and Children for the mandated entry level early childhood training in Broward County.

1986 The Ft. Lauderdale Oral School is renamed the Ralph J. Baudhuin Oral School of Nova University. This school is the precursor to the Baudhuin Preschool of today.

1987 The center holds its first early childhood conference, “Beginnings”, with T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.

1988 The Family Center of Tampa Bay is established in response to an RFP from the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County to improve the quality of child care in that county.

1991 The first annual LoveJen Family Festival is held.

The Family Center is contracted by Child Care Connections, now named Family Central, to implement the evaluation component of their Child Abuse and Neglect Contract.

1992 Project PITCH (Program to Increase the Early Childhood Training
Capacity in Hillsborough County) begins by targeting 15 child care centers and providing them with intensive training and monitoring with the goal of becoming accredited by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children).

The Ralph J. Baudhuin Oral School changes its mission from a school for the hearing impaired to a school for children with autism spectrum disorder.

1993 A new wing housing the Bernice and Jack LaBonte Institute for Hearing, Language and Speech is added to the Baudhuin School building.

The Master’s Program in Family Support Services is developed by the Family and School Center and is implemented by the Fischler Center for the Advancement of Education.

The Family Center receives a $250,000 grant from the Children’s Service Board of Hillsborough County to develop Project PITCH to improve the quality of child care in Hillsborough County.

1995 Project PITCH expands the scope of services to include programs for families and becomes part of The Family Center of Tampa Bay.

The Family Center of Tampa Bay begins operating a job training and placement service to enable unemployed and underemployed individuals to begin or advance careers in child care.

The Autism Consortium is formed to consult nationally improving programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

1997 The Family Center and the Family Center of Tampa Bay collaborate with Wheelock College on the establishment of a director’s credential course.

1998 The Family Center is awarded a three-year grant from the Health Foundation and the A.D. Henderson Foundation to enhance the quality of infant-toddler care by training child care center directors in the components of quality and staff mentoring.

1999 The Family Center, in conjunction with The University of South Florida and Florida International University, is awarded a grant focusing on enhancing the quality of care in a cluster of child care centers servicing subsidized children.

2000 The Family Center is awarded funding from the Florida Children’s Forum for one of two premier pilots dedicated to creating a work environment that promotes high quality staff as a means of improving the quality of early care and education for infants and toddlers.

2001 The Master’s of Medical Science (MMS) with a Developmental Specialist Track program is established.

A clinic for hard-to-soothe babies under six months of age is established. The clinic is named BABY (Better Attachment for Baby and You).

Jim & Jan Moran give the institute a 3 million dollar challenge grant for construction of the Jim & Jan Moran Family Center Village and to provide ongoing support for outreach activities.

Ground is broken for the new 110,000 square foot Jim & Jan Moran Family Center Village, which will house all of the Institute’s programs under one roof.

2002 The Family Center is renamed the Mailman Segal Institute for Early
Childhood Studies after the institute’s founder, Dr. Marilyn Mailman Segal.

The Unicorn Children’s Foundation pledges $1 million to endow a chair to establish a developmental clinic in the Jim & Jan Moran Family Center Village.

The U.S. Department of Education awards the Mailman Segal Institute a $1.5 million grant to develop the Program for At-Risk Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children (PARITY).

The Broward County Children’s Service Council awards the Mailman Segal Institute a $500,000 grant to initiate a “Parents as Teachers” program utilizing therapeutic intervention and home visits with the goal of increasing parenting skills.

2003 The Jim & Jan Moran Family Center Village opens on June 12th. The
state-of-the-art, $18 million, 110,000 square foot facility will bring together all of the institute’s programs under one roof.

The Mailman Segal Institute, in conjunction with the Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services, introduces a suite of graduate courses in Autism Spectrum Disorder.