OPT Visionary - Fall 2016

COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY • 47 NSU’s College of Dental Medicine provided pro-bono dental services to 750 schoolchildren and special-needs patients in South Florida on February 5, 2016, to help kick off the American Dental Association (ADA) Foundation’s Give Kids A Smile Day program. The children received examinations, cleanings, oral health education, and preventive and restorative services, which were valued at more than $300,000, at no cost. The ADA Foundation selected NSU, from among 1,500 sites throughout the United States, as the Give Kids A Smile Day national launch site due to the university’s leading efforts since the pro- gram was launched more than a decade ago. u Class of 2017 dental students Sarah Sweetnam and Jay Ghiya prepare to perform an exam on a pediatric patient. NSU has several goals set as it launches its Realizing Potential: The Campaign for Nova Southeastern University philanthropic crusade. Goals include scholarships and research opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds; breakthrough stem cell research; new therapies for patients with cancer and autism; and interprofessional colla- boration in science, technol- ogy, engineering, arts, and mathematics, to name a few. The campaign is the largest philanthropic effort in the university’s more than 50-year history and in the history of Broward County. During the campaign, officials plan to raise $250 million, with another $300 million secured through sponsored research, service, and training projects. NSU seeks to raise the $250 million by December 2020 to support excellence for its students, faculty members, and 21st-century educational initiatives. Coupled with the university’s goal of raising another $300 million, this campaign is part of NSU’s Vision 2020 goal to raise more than $500 million in external funding. NSU has already raised more than half of the support in both philanthropy and sponsored projects since launching the silent phase of the campaign in July 2008. u NSU Aims to Raise More Than $500 Million by 2020 Dental College Kicks Off National Gives Kids A Smile Program On January 30, 2016, NSU’s Board of Trustees and campaign leadership members joined George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU president and chief executive officer, to announce the official public launch of Realizing Potential at the university’s annual Celebration of Excellence gala.