NSU Law Earns 2019 Diversity Matters Award for Innovation


Ft. Lauderdale/Davie FLA., June 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Shepard Broad College of Law was awarded the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) 2019 Diversity Matters Award for Innovation at the May 2019 LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference. This award is presented to the law school that demonstrated the most creativity in their program agenda and in targeting its audience. Among NSU Law’s pipeline programs, LSAC highlighted the interdisciplinary program, “Make an Impact with Law and Medicine Day.” This program introduced more than 40 South Florida high school students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to a wide variety of medical and legal practices. The diversity initiative was co-sponsored by the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine and the Shepard Broad College of Law under the direction of Elena Marty-Nelson, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Public Impact and funded through an LSAC Diversity Matters grant.

“Outreach efforts focusing on middle and high school students are essential for the legal profession,” noted Jon Garon, Dean of the College of Law. “When law schools work with middle school and high school students, they expand the educational opportunities for those students and promote a society governed by the rule of law.”

The Law and Medicine Day program empowered students to recognize health disparities and to think of ways of addressing legal and medical hurdles through interdisciplinary collaboration. The high school students came from four South Florida high schools: Somerset North Lauderdale, Somerset Miramar, Mater High Hialeah Gardens, and Pinecrest Glades.

The following NSU faculty were instrumental in the program’s success. Dean Jon Garonand Dean Johannes Vieweg of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine who introduced the program and discussed its theme. Professor Emerita Lynn Epstein and Professor Roma Perez who conducted a Negotiations Lab with the students. Professor Andon Placzek of the Medical School who led the students through a simulated medical school class. Professor Florence Shu-Acquaye, Associate Dean Elena Marty-Nelson, and Assistant Dean Farzanna Huffizulla of the Medical School who served on the panel on social determinants of health and social justice. Also integral to the success of the program were students from both the College of Law and the Medical School who facilitated the group discussions and sessions with the high school students.

For additional information, contact Kathleen Perez at Kperez1@nova.edu or 954 262-6295.

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Shepard Broad College of Law:Nova Southeastern University’s College of Law offers a cutting edge, skills-centered academic program in three-year full-time and four-year part-time divisions. NSU Health Law and Legal Research and Writing programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report. With its redeveloped clinical programs, every NSU Law student is guaranteed a live-client experience. In-house clinical studies are supplemented by full-time field placement opportunities practicing law in Florida, across the United States, or select locations throughout the globe. To solidify student success after graduation, NSU Law pioneered a curriculum on the business of lawyering through the NSU Law Leadership Academy. NSU Law students have a myriad of curricular opportunities, including a rich, diverse curriculum, concentrations in International Law, Health Law or IP, Technology and Cybersecurity; dual degree programs abroad in Rome, Barcelona, or Prague; dual degree programs at many of NSU’s other 17 colleges; and much more.  For more information, please visit www.law.nova.edu.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU):Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 200 National Research Universities and located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa Bay, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education's criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU.

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(L) Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Public Impact Elena Marty-Nelson works with students
(R) Nikette A. Neal, M.D., FAAP speaking with high school students

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