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The Boca Raton Tribune C O M M U N I T Y

PBSC receives $700,000 in federal funds to expand respiratory care lab Lynn promotes Gareth Fowles to VP of university advancement

Palm Beach State College will receive $700,000 in federal funds to expand and enhance its clinical training lab for students in the Respiratory Care Associate in Science degree program.

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who was responsible for getting the funding in the 2022 fiscal year budget recently signed by President Joe Biden, made a for mal announcement at a press conference April 13 in the Lewis Center on the Palm Beach Gardens campus.

“Palm Beach State College is especially recognized for the important role it plays in responding to the workforce needs of our community,’’ Frankel said. “There are millions of people who suffer from lung disease that kills four million people annually, so it’s not surprising that the employment of respiratory thera p i s t s — w h o t a ke care of patients who have trouble breathing— is projected to grow at something like 23% in the next 10 years, much faster than most occupations, with a median wage of about $62,000.”

The 33-year-old Re s p i r a t o r y C a r e program, led by Dr. Nancy Latimer, professor and department chair, is recognized by the American Medical Association and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. Students who complete the program are eligible to take the national board registry exam to become registered respiratory therapists, and the job placement rate is 100 percent. It plays a key role in filling the pipeline of respiratory care professionals in Palm Beach County, which became more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. “What’s interesting about health care and health sciences in general is that it’s always changing, always growing. If we’re going to ensure that our students are ready to go to work right away, we need an opportunity to ensure that what they have here is the same as what they will see in the hospitals. This (funding) will give us that chance,’’ said PBSC President Ava L. Parker, J.D. The constr uction work is expected to begin in December. Ed Willey, dean of Health Sciences, who was the founding clinical coordinator of the Respiratory Care program, said the lab was last reconfigured in 1989 and “renovation is certainly needed.” “This is a wonderful recognition for P B S C . T h e p a s t two years with COVID-19 was person-

“Palm Beach State al for us. The short-

College is especially age of health care workers, combined recognized for the with worker burnimportant role it plays out, and the impact of the pandemic on in responding to the all our lives — perworkforce needs of our sonal and professional —has led to a community.” greater need for respiratory therapists trained to work on the front lines of patient care in Palm Beach County,” said Dr. Becky Mercer, associate dean of academic affairs on the Palm Beach Gardens campus. “These congressional funds mean that our respiratory care students will have upgraded teaching laboratories in which to train in electrocardiography, pulmonary function testing, adult, neonatal and pediatric mechanical ventilation, intubation, arterial blood gases, aerosol therapy and more.”

Lynn University announced Dr. Gareth Fowles ‘99, ‘01 will become vice president for enrollment and university advancement. Prior to his appointment, Fowles served as vice president for enrollment management.

In his new role, Fowles will oversee the strategy and management of the university’s fundraising programs, as well as continue to lead the Office of Admission, Student Financial Services and the student success team.

“Gareth’s deep affinity for our university and his relentless drive to identify innovative approaches to institutional opportunities makes him a valued and integral member of our leadership team,” said Lynn President Kevin M. Ross. “We are excited to see how he aligns our enrollment and development efforts to identify resources and secure funding to support student success.”

Fowles will bring his data-driven approach and more than 20 years of experience at Lynn to the Office of Development. Under his leadership since 2010, Lynn’s enrollment has increased by 61%, first-year retention increased by 29% and six-year graduation rates improved by 19%.

Prior to his role as vice president for enrollment management, Fowles has served as special assistant to the president, director of regional development and director of Alumni Affairs.

A Lynn alumnus and former studentathlete, Fowles was recr uited from his hometown of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to play for the nationally-ranked Fighting Knights soccer team. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in business administration and his MBA in international business from Lynn, Fowles earned his Doctor of Education in higher education leadership from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fowles will succeed Senior Vice President of Development Gregory J. Malfitano ‘74, ‘75, who will transition to senior major gifts officer as of July 1.

FAU Receives $28 Million Scholarship Gift to S uppor t Medic al Educ ation

Florida Atlantic University received an estate pledg e of $28 million from John and Ann Wood to support scholarships for students enrolled in the Charles E. Schmidt Colleg e of Medicine. T his is the largest scholarship gift in FAU’s histor y and the largest known scholarship gift to a Florida public university’s medical school.

This transfor mative gift in memor y of their son, Robert A. Wood, will create the oppor tunity for a debt-free tuition for aspiring physicians. It also is the hope of John and Ann Wood that it will inspire others to join in and increase scholarship support to cover the tuition of every FAU medical school student. T he cur rent cost of in-state tuition and fees per medical student for one year is $35,000, which amounts to $140,000 for four years. Students from outside of Florida also may participate and will receive a scholarship for the instate tuition rate.

“ T h e F a i r f a x Wo o d S c h o l a r s h i p Fo u n d a t i o n wa s i n s p i r e d by t h e s ocial and educational work of our eldest son, Br uce Fairfax Wood, a New Jers e y - b o r n P r i n c et o n g r a d u a t e a n d chief engineer of Pres-T-Con Limited, a large, familyowned prestressed concrete business. His effor ts on the i s l a n d o f Tr i n idad were centered on the reeducation of teens that had left school at age 11 and in improving the lives of the poorer village folk,” said philanthropist John Wood. “Once we relocated to Boca, we b eg a n givi n g sch o l a r sh i p s fo r un d erg raduates in need of assistance. After

the Mar jorie Stoneman Douglas disaster, 10, four-year scholarships were given to graduates of that school each year, with 53 scholars cur rently being assisted. After reading of the massive debt medical students incur red, we decided to include the FAU Colleg e of Medicine into our scholarship prog ram, with an ultimate aim of 80 students. Realizing there are many others in the community who could assist, we are anticipating this gift will inspire them to join in and make FAU’s College of Medicine tuition-free. The world has ‘Doctors without Borders’ – we need ‘Doctors without Debt.’” T his marks the third gift to FAU’s C o l l eg e o f M ed i ci n e fr o m th e Wo o d family. T heir previous gift in 2021 established the Robert A. Wood FAU Medical Scholars Fund and was created to support 10 medical students through all four years of medical school. In 2022, they increased their impact, providing s ch o l a r s h i p s u p p o r t t o 2 0 a d d i t i o n a l students for a total of 30 medical students. Today’s gift continues to expand on that initial commitment. This marks the third “More than 60 gift to FAU’s College y e a r s a g o, F l o r id a A t l a n t i c w a s of Medicine from the f o u n d e d o n t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t

Wood family. h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n should be available to all who sought it,” said FAU President John Kelly. “This extraordinary gift from Ann and John Wood will enhance the University’s ability to attract and retain outstanding medical students from an ar ray of backg rounds, and suppor t them on their journey to become knowledgeable and caring physicians.”

Americ an Heritage Schools ’ Palm Beach Campus Pre-Law Program Wins 2022 Florida State High School Mock Trial Competition

The prestigious American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach Campus Mock Trial Team was named State Champions of the 2022 Florida High School Mock Trial Competition. Madison Smith, a junior at American Heritage Schools, also earned the prestigious Top Attorney award.

T h e 1 6 schools in the finals represented 16 Circuits from the 20 Judicial Circuits in Florida. T he team competed in four preliminar y rounds, then qualified for the fifth and final round. Led by attor ney coaches, Ani Porter, Kelly Harris, and Ada m M c M i ch a e l , American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach Campus Mock Trial team was the only team to have won all of the rounds during the entire tournament.

T h e F l o r i d a High School Mock Trial Program was designed in 1991 by Annette Boyd Pitts and for mer Florida Bar Executive Director, Marshall Cassedy. Hundreds of student participants have g raduated, attended law school, and become members of the Florida Bar or other state bar associations. In the program, students learn critical thinking skills, legal reasoning, analysis, and professionalism, in addition to the structure and function of the courts and the legal process.

“We value preparation, discipline, and team harmony,” said attorney Ani Porter, Pre-Law Program Director, Palm Beach Campus. “It is our priority to foster a healthy, productive, fun and ethical learning environment for our students, whom we envision will be future leaders of our country.”

American Heritage Schools’ Pre-Law team also earned yet another first-place ranking at a nationwide competition and a new title, 2022 Yale University Moot Champions, due to the brilliant teamwork of senior, Sara Shim, and junior, Rebeca LopezAnzures. The Shim/Lopez-Anzures team showed poise, confidence, and superior understanding of complex constitutional issues. In the Championship round, they outperformed their tough opponents, and last year’s champions, from the Boston Latin School to claim the 2022 Yale University Moot Court Championship title.

Ninth-grade duo Katherine Chaffee

and Kayli Harris, rising stars and first-time Moot Court competitors, placed fourth in the same competition after putting forth an incredibly strong performance. Additionally Jonah Samara earned seventh place and Lindsay Brauner eighth place, both in the Top Attorney category. D u r i n g t h e s a m e w e e k e n d of the Yale Moot Cour t Competition, another five teams competed at the 2022 Princeton Moot Court C o m p e t i t i o n , a highly competitive competition which this year focused on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. All five teams made it past the four preliminary rounds. The 9th grade team, Sophia Reynoso and Maia Merkel-Leavitt, outperfor med their peers and placed top 8 in the entire competiThe 16 schools in the tion. 9th grade stufinals represented dent, Sophia Reynoso, and 10th grade 16 Circuits from the student, Pooja Gu20 Judicial Circuits in door, earned individual top attorneys Florida. awards. American Heritage Schools’ PreLaw prog ram is a 4-year honors program taught exclusively by practicing attorneys and judges. Each year students take unique law school level courses that no other high school offers, such as Trial Advocacy, Constitutional Law, Homicide Law, and Criminal Law. The program culminates in a senior year internship when students experience the practice of law in real life. Seniors leave campus a few times per week to rotate through different law firms, agencies, offices, and courtrooms throughout South Florida. They also visit judges in Circuit Court, the County Sheriff ’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s office. The connections that the seniors make with practicing judges and attorneys are invaluable and often result in future law school acceptances and employment. American Heritage is the top private school in the nation in Mock Trial and Moot Court competitions. The Palm Beach Campus Pre-Law Program also received first place at Denver’s Mock Trial Competition in October 2021.Practicing veteran criminal attorneys and judges coach the middle school Mock Trial/Moot Court and High School Mock Trial/Moot Court students.