EDUCATION INTERVIEW
High aspirations ‘Audacious claims’ reflected in higher university ranks, fundraising targets
George Hanbury President & CEO – Nova Southeastern University What were some of the major factors behind your jump in the university rankings in 2020? In 2010, when I became president, I began working with faculty and staff to develop a strategy leading up to 2020. We made some audacious claims about what we aspired to be. We established matrices that would secure national rankings, increase academic undergraduate standards, and leverage our professional programs to attract the best and brightest undergraduates. We also aimed to raise $250 million in philanthropy and $300 million in external research grants that would make us a premier research institution that attracts businesses in biotechnology to South Florida. We exceeded both these goals, having raised more than $311 million in philanthropy and $305 million in research grants. In 2020, we met or exceeded all of our goals, aside from attracting international students, which was complicated by COVID-19 and immigration policy. We had our largest undergraduate class in history in the middle of a pandemic. We expanded our two medical schools in Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale, and we still had a record number of applications (more than 16,000) for our MD and DO programs combined. We have seen nothing but huge increases across all our healthcare programs. Having met the Vision 2020 goals, what is the next step in your strategic plan? We have now extended Vision 2020 to Vision 2025 because we not only want to be recognized as a preeminent university of quality but also a preeminent university nationally ranked in the Top 100. We are already the youngest nationally ranked doctoral university in the Top 200. In addition to seeing success in higher education, that success has spread to the 2,000 students in pre-K
through 12th grade on our college preparatory campus. What does the new innovation center mean for the university and the local community? We hope to have that open this summer. The research we’re undertaking is substantial, and the innovation center will help us to attract researchers and students, as well as a knowledge-based industry. By the time we develop the academical village, we will have almost a $6 billion economic impact in the region. Auxiliary services, such as a hotel conference center, will come in and we will be the economic development engine for the Fort Lauderdale Economic Council. Our goal is to integrate the industry in such a way that venture capital companies and angel investors can come to the campus directly to hear pitches. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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