NSU Presidential Photographs Collection - Biographies

              NSU Presidential Photographs Collection - Biographies
Warren J. Winstead (President 1965-1969)
Warren J. Winstead was born November 10, 1927 in Virginia. He obtained his B.A. and M.S. from the University of Richmond. He later obtained a C.A.S. and Ed.D. from Harvard University in Education. Winstead served as Director of Education for the United States Army servicemen and their dependents in Europe before coming to Nova University in 1964.
Warren Winstead resigned as President of Nova University of Advanced Technology on November 3, 1969 with nine months notice. Dr. Abraham Fischler, Dean of the Hollywood Education Center, was appointed Executive Vice President in his stead (and later elected President in August 1970).
Winstead married Elizabeth Ferguson in 1959 and their son was born in 1960.
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Alex Schure (Chancellor 1970-1985)
Alex Schure founded New York Institute of Technology in New York City in 1955 and served as its President until 1982. He established NYIT campuses in Manhattan at Columbus Circle - Lincoln Center and in the 1960s, in Old Westbury, along Long Island's Gold Coast.
Among Schure's other significant accomplishments was the creation of NYIT's Computer Graphics Laboratory in 1974. This facility led to some of the first breakthroughs in the field of computer graphics. In 1975, Schure directed the first computer-animated feature film, Tubby the Tuba, alongside Pixar co-founders Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, who worked at the NYIT lab.
In 1977, Schure also helped launch NYIT's College of Osteopathic Medicine, the first osteopathic medical school in New York and the only medical school in Nassau County.
He served as Chancellor of Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from 1971-1980. After stepping down as NYIT President in 1982, Schure served as the school's chancellor until 1991. In 2001, Schure became President of the New York College for Wholistic Health, Education, and Research in Syosset, N.Y.
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Abraham S. Fischler (President 1970-1992)
Abraham S. Fischler was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 21, 1928. Over the years, he worked as a public school teacher, university professor, and author, before his appointment as President of Nova University. He graduated from City College of New York in 1951 with a Bachelor’s in Social Sciences before pursuing graduate degrees. He earned a Master’s in Science Education from New York University (1952) and an Ed.D. from Teacher’s College at Columbia University (1959).
His career in academia began in 1959 as an assistant professor of education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 1962, he moved with his family to work as an associate professor (later professor) at the University of California Berkeley. Through a colleague, he learned of the new education experiment taking place in Broward County, Florida and thus his future association with Nova Southeastern University begun.
In 1965, he was appointed the James Donn Professor of Education in charge of the science education Ph.D. program in the Behavioral Sciences Center. His appointment officially began on July 1966. He also served concurrently as Dean of Graduate Studies.
In late 1969, he was appointed Executive Vice President by the Board of Trustees after the first university president resigned suddenly. In September 1970, he was appointed President of Nova University by the Board of Trustees. He served in this capacity for twenty-two years until his resignation in July 1992.
Fischler married wife Shirley Balter on April 5, 1949. They raised three children together, Bruce, Michael, and Lori.
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Stephen Feldman (President 1992-1994)
Stephen Feldman was born on September 11, 1944 in New York. He graduated from City University of New York in 1966 with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. Feldman continued his education at CUNY, obtaining a Master’s in business administration (1968) and a Ph.D. in Business (1971). He co-authored two books and published articles in the area of finance and investing.
Dr. Feldman began his career in academia in 1969 as an associate professor in the Department of Banking, Finance, and Investments at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He left Hofstra University in 1977 to become the Dean for the Ancell School of Business at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. In 1981, Feldman became the President of Western Connecticut State University and remained in the post for eleven years. In February 1992, Stephen Feldman was appointed President of Nova University, effective July 1992.
His resignation took effect on June 30, 1994, two years before his contract was set to expire. After leaving Nova, he became the Vice President at Ethan Allen, Inc. He married Constance, a fellow student from CUNY, in 1969. They have two children, Jennifer and Timothy.
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Ovid C. Lewis (President 1994-1997)
Ovid C. Lewis was born in 1932 in Shelby, North Carolina. He was a lawyer, professor, and university administrator throughout his professional career before becoming President of Nova Southeastern University. He graduated with his B.A. in Chemistry from Duke University. He later earned an B.A., J.D., and LL.M. from Rutgers University. Lewis completed his studies with a J.S.D. from Columbia Law School in 1970. Dr. Lewis published many articles over the years.
From 1965 until 1976, Dr. Lewis worked as a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In the two years following, he worked as a professor at Northern Kentucky University-Chase School of Law. In 1978, Dr. Lewis was appointed Professor and Dean for the Law Center at Nova University, four years after its initial founding in 1978. From 1984 until his appointment as interim President in 1994, Dr. Lewis served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Nova. He retired in 1998 when Ray Ferrero, Jr. was selected as the next University President.
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Ray Ferrero, Jr. (President 1998-2010; Chancellor 2010-)
Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D., became the Chancellor of Nova Southeastern University in January 2010. Prior to that, he served as the fifth president of Nova Southeastern University from January 1998 to December 2009. He is recognized as being a visionary leader who is strongly committed to the growth and improvement of the university and the community it serves. He is a distinguished lecturer, a tireless civic activist, a prominent trial attorney, and a man devoted to his family -- wife Raquel, daughter Denise Rae, and son Raymond Gregory.
Ferrero’s involvement with the university began in 1984 as a member of the Board of Trustees. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from October 1988 until September 1995. He then held the post of Vice Chairman until becoming President in 1998. During his six years as chairman of the Board of Trustees, Ferrero played a major role in bringing about the merger of Nova University and Southeastern University, which ultimately resulted in the university’s current position as the largest independent university in the southeast and the seventh largest in the United States.
George L. Hanbury (President 2010-)
Dr. George L. Hanbury II is the sixth President of Nova Southeastern University. Before that, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Nova Southeastern University. Previously, he has served as the City Manager of the following cities: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Portsmouth, Virginia, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Dr. Hanbury received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Virginia Tech, and a Master's degree in the same field from Old Dominion University. He received his doctorate in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University.