The Halmos Legacy🦈

Last issue we welcomed you to the new Halmos College of Arts & Sciences family. The Halmos College, spanning disciplines from oceanography to graphic design, takes its name from the Halmos family.

The History of the Halmos Name

Escaping from post-World War II Hungary, Steve Halmos and his family arrived in New York City when he was 3 years old. Growing up in Miami, Mr. Halmos started his first business with The Miami Herald at the age of 15, where he delivered over 100 newspapers each day. After receiving his diploma from Coral Gables High School, Mr. Halmos graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering before moving on to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In 1969, while he was still at Georgia Tech, Steve and his brother decided on a new business venture: credit card protection. At the age of 21 with no experience in this field and only $52, the pair co-founded their new business, SafeCard. SafeCard created a convenient hub where consumers could register all their credit cards and contact one toll-free number if any issues arose with any of their accounts. Over a span of 23 years, Safecard grew from a start-up into the largest credit card protection service of its time. Working with high-profile issuers such as Amex, Chase, ExxonMobile, & JCPenney, SafeCard earned a spot on the New York Stock Exchange where it stood as the only company from Fort Lauderdale. In addition, Steve & his company received national recognition multiple times, being named to “America’s 1,000 Most Valuable Companies” by Business Week as well as CEO of both the Year and the Decade.

After his retirement at the age of 44, Steve developed a fresh interest in real estate, where he quickly climbed the ladder to become one of the largest owners of commercial real estate in downtown Fort Lauderdale. He also continues to invest through his private company, Halmos Holdings. Beyond business, Steven Halmos has a passion for supporting his community and has served as Chair for several fundraising campaigns, like the ones that helped build the Museum of Science & Discovery and the Jack & Jill Children’s Center, and another that helped name the Terry Stiles School of Real Estate at NSU’s Huizenga College of Business.

Steve Halmos has jumped at seemingly every opportunity to give back to his communities, from mentoring MBA students at Harvard Business School where he served on the Global Alumni Board, to serving on the board of trustees for various organizations such as Nova Southeastern University, the Jack & Jill Children's Center, Boys & Girls Clubs, and the Museum of Discovery & Science. In partnership with the Jack & Jill Center, the Halmos Family ensured that all graduates of the Madelaine Halmos Academy Elementary School have a college scholarship awaiting them at the time of their high school graduation.

With his roots planted deep in South Florida, Steve Halmos remains active in the Fort Lauderdale community where he and his wife, Madelaine, reside. "Madelaine and I take pride in the fact that our name will forever appear above the doors of NSU's Halmos College. The college, students, and faculty that walk its halls make us proud every day," says Steve. We are extremely grateful to Mr. Halmos and his family's generous support of the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences, our students, our faculty and staff, and our vision.

It's Time to Come Home...

NSU Homecoming & Alumni Week 2022

Join us for NSU’s 2022 Homecoming & Alumni Week (November 7-13)!

The week's events kickoff early on Saturday, November 5th with the 17th Annual Sallarullo’s Race for Champions 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Special Olympics. The Halmos College of Arts & Sciences will have a team at the race– help us achieve our goal by joining our team, supporting, or donating on our team page!

From enthralling alumni talks to movie nights on the Alvin Sherman Library lawn, we've jam-packed the week with plenty of events to keep you entertained. Don’t forget to check the NSU Alumni Website for the full event schedule; you won't want to miss these events!

The week will wrap up on Saturday, November 12th at 4pm with the Backyard Beach Bash, hosted by the HCAS at the Marine Environmental Education Center (MEEC) at the Carpenter House. Join us for a night of food, fun, & friends! RSVP for the Beach Bash below.

In honor of Homecoming, we will also be giving away 2 raffle baskets to alumni who follow our social media pages (@HalmosDean_NSU). One will be HCAS-themed while the other will be OC-themed. Once you have followed, fill out the "Raffle Basket Entry" form linked in this section to confirm your entries! 1 Follow = 1 Entry. There are 4 total entries per person (4 pages to follow). Winners will be announced at the Backyard Beach Bash (if you cannot attend, we can ship the prize to you!).

NSU Cares: Hurricane Ian Relief

Hurricane Ian has caused unimaginable damage along its path. Our hearts go out to all affected, especially our Shark family members near the NSU Fort Myers campus.

The NSU Cares team at Nova Southeastern University has received an influx of emergency aid applications following Hurricane Fiona and now, Hurricane Ian, from students and alumni.

We encourage you to donate to help Sharks in distress or apply for aid if needed.

Apply for Aid

Donate

Congratulations to "Above & Beyond" Alumni Award Winner: Missy Dore, PhD!

Missy Dore, Ph.D, an NSU alumna & current Director of Academic Support and Administration for the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences, was recently awarded the "Above and Beyond" Award by NSU's Alumni Association. This award is given to an alum who works to promote various events and initiatives at Nova Southeastern University.

Throughout the year, Dr. Dore helps to organize many activities with the university including annual beach cleanups for NSU's Global Day of Service, college fundraising campaigns, and Homecoming activities each Fall. She is also a founding member of Team Mako, an NSU Faculty/Staff Organization that links to events and campaigns throughout the year. Most proudly, Dr. Dore recounts being the point person in the most successful crowd funding campaign that raised over $5,000 from 17 states for the Saving the Bees Initiative.

Congratulations, Dr. Missy Dore, for being named this year's "Above and Beyond" Award Recipient! We are grateful to have you as a part of the Dean's Staff.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Halmos Professor, Dr. Stephen J. O'Brien, Wins

The Explorer's Club 2022 Lowell Thomas Award!

Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien, biology professor in the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences, was recently named a 2022 Lowell Thomas Award Recipient by The Explorers Club. This award, recognizing past recipients such as Sir David Attenborough, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., and Sylvia A. Earle, is given annually “to a group of explorers to recognize excellence in domains or field of exploration."

The 2022 Lowell Thomas Award will recognize leading professionals in Conservation Genetics. Awarded along with Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien are geneticists Chao-ting Wu, George Church, Harris Lewin, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Oliver Ryder, & Samuel Wasser. The awardees were recognized at the Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner, hosted by the Explorer Club’s New England Chapter, on October 1st in Boston, MA.

2022 Lowell Thomas Award Page

Golden Age of Science Webpage

Congratulations,

Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien, for this outstanding achievement!

"I am deeply humbled by the honor of being named a Lowell Thomas Awardee by the Explorers Club. I am particularly blown away by being included in the esteemed list of 2022 awardees, each a personal hero of conservation science and implementation AND all dear friends and colleagues of mine," notes Dr. O'Brien. "We all offer our sincere gratitude to The Explorer’s Club for their recognition of Conservation Genetics for commendation this year."

In addition to his professorship at Nova Southeastern University, Stephen O’Brien is Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics at St. Petersburg State University in Russia. Students, colleagues and supporters will have a chance to hear about Dr. O’Brien’s work during the Department of Biological Sciences Fall 2022 Lecture Series, The Golden Age of Science: Adventures & Maturation Into the History of Science. This series, organized and directed by Dr. O'Brien, will bring some of the biggest pioneers of science to NSU from all over the country to speak on their work and experience in the field.

The Department of Biological Sciences invites you (in-person or virtually) to watch The Golden Age of Science Fall 2022 Lecture Series. Lectures are on Tuesdays/Thursdays @ 4pm from October 18th - December 8th. Visit the series website below to view the full schedule.

Center for Applied Humanities Relaunch a Success

The Center for Applied Humanities (CAH), formerly known as the Center for Humanities, relaunched in the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences on September 6, 2022. “The new name accurately reflects the Center’s mission,” says the CAH Director, Dr. Marlisa Santos. In applied humanities, practitioners explore the way these disciplines are applicable to human issues to create positive change, both locally and globally.

The Chair of the Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP), Dr. David Kilroy, spoke about the Center’s mission at the re-launch event. "I am very excited for the future of the newly relaunched NSU Center for Applied Humanities. While continuing to honor and explore the profound historical role the humanities have played in shaping human knowledge, values and institutions, the Center's emphasis on applying values derived from the humanities to address and understand real world contemporary problems and issues stands out as a truly innovative and unique initiative,” Dr. Kilroy explained. Home to various disciplines in the humanities such as history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, politics, film, and cultural studies, the CAH devotes itself to the study and application of humanities to the human environment.

Alongside the new name reveal, an undergraduate think tank program called IN-SIGHT was unveiled as part of the Center for Applied Humanities. IN-SIGHT fosters collaboration between students, faculty, and local businesses and organizations. As these local groups encounter challenges within their work, NSU students & faculty from the CAH offer solutions from a unique, humanities-based perspective. “[The Center’s mission] is perhaps exemplified by the IN-SIGHT student think tank which, over the course of the next academic year, will address the theme of "Waste and Opportunity" through a humanities lens,” says Dr. Kilroy. IN-SIGHT has paired students with backgrounds in political science, philosophy, biology, and medical humanities, with the group Montachem International, Inc., a plastic fabrication company based in Fort Lauderdale for the 2022-2023 year. Leading the group is DHP professor, Dr. Amanda Furiasse. “We are delighted to have community partners like Montachem International Inc. who recognize the value of the humanities by putting their support behind projects such as this. We look forward to working on similar collaborations with other like minded organizations in the years to come," says Dr. Kilroy.

At the event, Dr. Santos explained that we can expect to see an array of events this year hosted by the Center for Applied Humanities. The first event the new CAH hosted was a series for Hispanic Heritage Month. Florida Humanities, Research Reverberations (a faculty research series), and Crossroads (its annual student humanities conference), awarded a grant for the Hispanic Heritage Month events, which featured a talk from internationally-renowned poet Richard Blanco, a panel with business leaders of El Dorado Furniture, and an opportunity for the Hispanic community to gain research strategies to build a family tree, led by Hispanic-Judaic genealogy expert & author, Genie Milgrom.

To learn more about the Center for Applied Humanities and see a full calendar of events, visit the Center’s webpage below. You can also follow along on the CAH and DHP social medias: @nsu_humanities & @nsu_dhp ! If you would like to donate to the Center, visit the link below & select "Halmos College of Arts & Sciences" then "The Center for Applied Humanities" for the "Gift Area".

Center for Applied Humanities Website

Give to the CAH

So many great things are happening at the HCAS!