FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) College of Optometry and National Vision, Inc., have
mutually agreed to end their recently announced philanthropic agreement.
On September 25, 2018, NSU announced the College of Optometry had received a significant philanthropic
commitment from National Vision, Inc., one of the country’s leaders in the eye care industry. The endowment would have provided the
college with student scholarships, faculty research, and equipment for the college’s simulation lab. Also, as a result of National
Vision’s support, the College of Optometry agreed to rename the NSU National Vision College of Optometry for an initial term of 10
years. All terms under this agreement have been terminated.
“Although our organizations share many core values – particularly for serving our larger communities – we have
come to realize that the issues associated with corporate philanthropy in the health sciences are still too nascent,” said Dr.
George Hanbury, NSU’s president and CEO. “This topic deserves further thought and consideration over time from the broader
academic, professional, philanthropic, and alumni communities. To that end, the CEO of National Vision and I have mutually agreed
to end this philanthropic partnership. We greatly appreciate National Vision’s well-intended philanthropic gift and partnership,
and look forward to continuing to explore meaningful collaborations between our two organizations in the future.”
National Vision has been a long-time supporter of NSU and its quality optometry education program, including
having donated a major piece of equipment - a Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscope (BIO) simulator - to the College of Optometry's
training lab in 2015. The company has also sponsored numerous student events over the past few years.
“National Vision is and will always be an ‘optometrist-centric’ organization,” said Reade Fahs, CEO of National
Vision. “We will continue to assess the most productive and impactful approaches for investing in optometric education to do our
part in advancing the profession of optometry.”
About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
NSU is ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 200 National Research Universities and is a dynamic, private research university
providing high-quality educational and research programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels.
Established in 1964, NSU now includes 16 colleges, the 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research, a private JK-12 grade
school, the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development with specialists in Autism, the world-class NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale,
and the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center, which is Florida’s largest public library. NSU has
campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San
Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. Classified as a research university with “high research activity”
by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded
Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private institution in the United States that meets the
U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. For more information, please
visit www.nova.edu.
About National Vision Holdings, Inc.: National Vision Holdings, Inc. is one of the largest optical retail
companies in the United States with over 1,000 retail stores in 44 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. With
a mission of helping people by making quality eye care and eyewear more affordable and accessible, the Company operates five retail
brands: America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, Eyeglass
World, Vision Centers inside select Walmart stores, and Vista
Opticals inside Fred Meyer stores and on select military bases, and several e-commerce websites, offering a variety of
products and services for customers’ eye care needs.
Marla Oxenhandler | Office of Media Relations
Nova Southeastern University
954-262-5315 (office) | 954-770-9204 (cell)
marla.oxenhandler@nova.edu | www.nova.edu | @NSUnews
Kristina Gross | Director of Communications
National Vision, Inc.
470-448-2355
Kristina.gross@nationalvision.com
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