Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University is a private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale and Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over 150 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs. The university offers professional degrees in the social sciences, law, business, osteopathic medicine, allopathic medicine, health sciences, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, education, occupational therapy, and nursing.
As of 2024, more than 20,000 students were enrolled at Nova Southeastern University and the university had more than 216,000 alumni. With a main campus located on in Davie, Florida, NSU operates additional campuses in Dania Beach and Tampa-Clearwater, and other locations throughout the state of Florida, as well as in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Denver, Colorado.
The university was founded in 1964 as the Nova University of Advanced Technology on a former naval outlying landing field built during World War II and first offered graduate degrees in the physical and social sciences. In 1994, the university merged with the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences and assumed its current name.
Nova Southeastern is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and also has numerous additional specialized accreditations for its colleges and programs. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High research activity" and as a "community engaged" university.
History
1960s
The university, originally named Nova University of Advanced Technology, was chartered by the state of Florida on December 4, 1964. The name comes from the site where the Nova Education Experiment was conducted, a project funded in part by the Ford Foundation and the federal government with the goal of creating a series of schools spanning elementary to university-level education. With an inaugural class of 17 students, the university opened as a graduate school for the social and physical sciences. The university was originally located on a campus in downtown Fort Lauderdale but later moved to its current campus in Davie, Florida. A portion of the site of this campus was once a naval training airfield during World War II, called the "Naval Outlying Landing Field Forman". The remnants of the taxiway surrounding the airfield are still present in the form of roads used on the campus. After World War II, the federal government made a commitment to the Forman family, from whom the land was purchased, that the land would only be used for educational purposes. This led the land to be used for the creation of the South Florida Education Center, which includes Nova Southeastern University, as well as Broward College, McFatter Technical College, and satellite campuses of Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida.1970s
On June 23, 1970, the board of trustees voted to enter into a federation with the New York Institute of Technology. The president of NYIT, Alexander Schure, PhD, became chancellor of Nova University, and Abraham S. Fischler became the president of the university. The university charter was amended and "of Advanced Technology" was dropped from its corporate name. In 1971, Nova University received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.In 1972, the university introduced its first off-campus course of study in education. In 1974, NSU opened a law school, with an inaugural class of 175 students. The law school was named after one of the university's founders, Shepard Broad. The same year, the university began offering evening courses on campus for undergraduates, and changed its name to Nova University. The following year, in 1975, the law school received approval from the American Bar Association.
1980s
In the early 1980s, the university received a $16 million gift from the Leo Goodwin Sr. Trust. In 1985, NSU ended its collaboration with NYIT and began offering its first online classes. In 1989, enrollment reached 8,000 students, with nearly 25,000 alumni.In 1981, outside of Nova University, a group of osteopathic physicians, wanting to enhance medical education in the region, established the Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in North Miami Beach. This was the first osteopathic medical school established in the southeastern United States.
Rapid expansion over the course of the decade also resulted in the addition of several new programs at Southeastern College. Pharmacy and optometry, amongst other programs, were added to the school. The school then renamed itself into the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences.
1990s
During the 1990s, both Nova University and Southeastern University expanded, adding a dentistry program and increasing distance education programs. In 1994, Nova University merged with Southeastern University of the Health Sciences to form Nova Southeastern University, adding the colleges of osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, optometry and allied health to the university. Following the merger, many of the health programs relocated to their current location on the Davie campus. In 1993, the Miami Dolphins opened a training center on campus.2000s
The William and Norma Horvitz Administration Building, a two-story postmodern structure, was built at a cost of $3 million, which houses the office of the president and numerous other administration departments. In 2001, the Alvin Sherman Library for Research and Information Technology Center was completed and also serves as the largest public library facility in the state of Florida. In 2004, the Carl DeSantis Building opened, housing the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. The building is a, five-story facility, and cost about $33 million.In 2006, the University Center opened, which includes a 5,400-seat arena, a fitness center, a performance theater, art gallery, a food court, and a student lounge. Five residence halls on the main campus serve undergraduate, graduate, health professions, and law students, with a capacity for housing 720 students in approximately of living space. In 2007, a 501-bed residence hall called "The Commons" opened.
The university attracted negative attention in 2006 when it ended a contract with subcontractor UNICCO after more than 350 of its employees, almost all of them minorities, opted to unionize with SEIU; the university's action contrasted with the reactions of the administrations of other south Florida universities to the organization of their janitorial staff.
In 2008, NSU, in partnership with the National Coral Reef Institute and the International Coral Reef Symposium, held the largest coral reef symposium in the world, which included representation from 75 countries in attendance. In 2008, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale joined the university. Originally founded in 1986 and located in Fort Lauderdale, the museum focuses on contemporary art work, particularly of the cultures of South Florida and Latin America. The NSU Art Museum is based in a 83,000 square-foot building, with a 256-seat auditorium and permanent collection of more than 7,000 works.
2010s
was the sixth president of Nova Southeastern University, assuming the position of president in January 2010.In 2014, NSU opened a new campus in Puerto Rico, with master and doctoral programs. In April 2015, NSU announced a significant restructuring of its schools and colleges, adopting an all-college framework, to take effect the following July. Two new colleges were established: the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine and the Farquhar Honors College. The inaugural class of the medical school consisted of 53 students, with courses commencing on July 30, 2018. The college became South Florida's fourth traditional medical school.
In January 2019, the university opened the NSU Write from the Start Writing and Communication Center in the Alvin Sherman Library on the main campus in Davie. The center offers writing and communication assistance to all NSU students as part of the university's Quality Enhancement Plan, which is part of reaccreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Following a $50 million donation from the Kiran C Patel Foundation, NSU's Tampa Bay campus was relocated to Clearwater. It now houses the second DO degree program, which accepted its first class in fall 2019, along with several additional allied health programs.
2020s
The Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation opened in July 2021. The $20 million center occupies on the fifth floor of NSU's Alvin Sherman Library.In March 2020, NSU received criticism for hosting 150 visitors on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite known cases of confirmed COVID-19 on campus at the time. Two weeks prior, six cases were identified in individuals who traveled to Ireland as part of a school-affiliated trip.
In July 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs found more than 80 women were subject to pay disparities compared with male colleagues; the university agreed to pay $900,000 in back pay.
Harry Moon became the seventh president of the university in January 2025.
Academics
Through its 14 colleges, the university awards associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. The university offers 37 degrees at the doctoral level, and master's degrees are offered in 58 subjects. About 264 programs of study are offered, with more than 250 undergraduate majors.Several degrees are offered online.
The university also houses NSU University School, a fully accredited, independent, college preparatory school that serves students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
Health Professions Division
NSU maintains a Health Professions Division, currently composed of seven colleges, including two accredited medical schools. The College of Osteopathic Medicine operates the Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, which is one of six training centers in the US funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Through the respective colleges, residency training is offered in medicine, dentistry and optometry.NSU is one of three U.S. universities offering both M.D. and D. O. medical programs. NSU produces more health care providers with terminal degrees than any other university in the U.S.. NSU is the top provider of physicians in Florida. NSU is among the top 5 U.S. universities graduating the most physicians.