MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Harpaz
954-762-5244, jharpaz@hotmail.com

FAU Celebrates Broward Community Leaders at

Beachside “Shindig” Event

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (March 3, 2006) - Florida Atlantic University is hosting a “Seaside Shindig” event on Friday, April 7 beginning at 5 p.m. in celebration of its university partners and Broward community leaders.  The festivities will feature a New England style clambake, live music and dancing.

“We greatly appreciate the ongoing support of University alumni and friends,” said Joyanne Stephens, vice president of Broward campuses.  “Our community partners are the key to our successes, and we are excited to honor their service and dedication to FAU.”

The Seaside Shindig is a fund-raising initiative to benefit the University and students through the Broward Vision Fund.  The fund supports emergency scholarships for students.  Proceeds from the event will also go toward the establishment of a Broward room in the Marleen and Harold Forkas Alumni Center which will be built on FAU’s Boca Raton campus.  In addition, the event will present “Wave Rider” awards spotlighting Broward corporate, community, civic and alumni partners. 

"This event is important to the community on so many levels," said Ray Monteleone ’92, chairman of the FAU Broward Alumni Roundtable and member of the FAU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.  "Through this celebration, we will recognize our University advocates while benefiting student scholarships and an alumni project."  

The Seaside Shindig will be held on April 7 from 5 to 9 p.m. on the beach of the FAU SeaTech campus, 101 North Beach Road, in Dania Beach.  Sponsorship and underwriting opportunities are available.  For more information and reservations, contact Sheri O’Neill, associate director of university advancement, at 954-762-5275 or soneill5@fau.edu.

- FAU -

Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the university serves 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts eight colleges - the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering & Computer Science, and Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs.

Florida Atlantic University’s Broward campuses include the Davie, Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach locations.  Each has its own unique character and emphases.  The Davie Campus is FAU’s largest partner campus, predominantly undergraduate, offering more than forty-five 2+2 degree programs with Broward Community College.  The Fort Lauderdale-Downtown Campus is in an urban setting and has a strong blend of programs for urban professionals with graduate programs in business and public administration, and programs in the creative industries, including architecture ,computer animation, graphic design, and multimedia studies.  The Dania Beach SeaTech Campus is an ocean engineering research and graduate education center.