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President Emeritus

George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.

Dr. Hanbury served as the sixth President (from 2010) and chief executive officer (from 2011) of Nova Southeastern University through January 1, 2025. Prior to his appointment as president, he was NSU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer for 12 years.

Upon taking office, Dr. Hanbury refocused the university’s mission and vision, establishing eight core values to guide the university into 2020 and beyond: Integrity, Academic Excellence, Student Centered, Innovation, Opportunity, Scholarship/Research, Diversity and Community. Under Dr. Hanbury’s leadership, NSU became one of only 59 universities in the nation to hold the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s dual designation of both “Community Engaged” and “High Research Activity.”

As president and CEO, Dr. Hanbury led NSU through two decades of extraordinary achievement. During his tenure, NSU set undergraduate enrollment records, elevated its academic stature to new heights, and raised more than $1 billion in research and philanthropic support for the first time in its history.

Before entering higher education administration, Dr. Hanbury led a successful 30-year career as city manager of the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Portsmouth, Va., and Virginia Beach, Va. Dr. Hanbury holds a bachelor's degree from Virginia Institute of Technology (Virginia Tech), a master's degree in public administration from Old Dominion University, and a Ph.D. in public administration from Florida Atlantic University.

Dr. Hanbury has been honored by many organizations and was named South Florida Business Journal's Ultimate CEO in 2020. He received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Boy Scouts of American South Florida Council, and the 2019 Guy Harvey Conservation Award, among others.

He was also named the 2017 Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate, was a City of Fort Lauderdale Walk of Fame inductee, received the 2015 Sun Sentinel Excalibur Award, the 2014 South Florida Business Journal Ultimate CEO Award, and was named Fort Lauderdale's Downtowner of the Year in 2013.

As President Emeritus, Dr. Hanbury will continue to be a member of the faculty in public administration at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship and is working on a book about transformational leadership as seen through the lens of his rich personal history and experiences, lessons learned from mentors and leaders he's known and worked alongside, and his extraordinary career in public service and higher education.

See Dr. Hanbury's Recent Communications