Horizons Fall 2013

1960s 1965 The facilities for Nova are built in Davie, Florida, on what had been Forman Field, a training field for naval aviators during WWII, which, in 1961, was designated by President John F. Kennedy for educational use only. The Physical Sciences Center and the Physical Oceanographic Laboratory are established. Nova University receives several gifts that allow the construction of the Rosenthal Student Center, as well as establishing an endowed chair in physics. 1961 The not-for-profit South Florida Education Center, Inc. is incorporated. The center is the idea of The Oatmeal Club, a group of forward-thinking South Florida pioneers who met weekly to discuss the future of Broward County and its growth. 1964 Nova University is chartered by the state of Florida as Nova University of Advanced Technology. The university starts to receive gifts to enable it to begin construction. The first structure on Nova’s main campus was a mailbox. From this humble beginning grew today’s Nova Southeastern University. 1967 Classes at Nova University formally begin. There are 17 faculty members, some of whom are pictured above, and 38 staff members on hand to teach the 17 students. Today, the average class size remains small, at about 22 students, and there are no teaching assistants. After receiving a gift from Louis Parker, the university begins construction on the Louis Parker Physical Sciences Building. 1970s Researchers work with incubators at the Leo Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, which had formerly been known as the Germ-Free Life Research Center.