Business Leaders Inducted Into NSU’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Business Leaders Inducted Into NSU’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Cathy and James Donnelly Announce $250,000 Gift

Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship inducted three well-known business leaders–Angelo Elia, Steven W. Hudson and Roger Penske–into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame at its 27^th annual event held recently at Signature Grand in Davie.

At the event, it was announced that Cathy and James Donnelly, a 2014 Hall of Fame honoree and founder and chief executive officer of Castle Group, are making a $250,000 gift to Realizing Potential – The Campaign for Nova Southeastern University. The gift benefits the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship and will be used to establish a program in property management as well as scholarships for undergraduates enrolling in the program. The new curriculum, which Donnelly helped develop based on his 25 years of experience in community association management, is designed to attract top talent to enter the industry.

“The addition of this new minor will set us apart from other business schools,” said J. Preston Jones, D.B.A., dean of NSU’s Huizenga College of Business. “We also expect it to help keep students in South Florida because there’s such a demand for employees with property management skills.”

Jones congratulated the 2016 Hall of Fame honorees, calling their entrepreneurial spirit “inspiring.”  He said, “Each honoree is exceptional in their respective fields and it is my privilege to know them.”

The honorees were:

• Angelo Elia, the acclaimed Italian-born chef/restaurateur whose roster of dining establishments includes three Casa D’Angelo restaurants (Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Paradise Island/Bahamas), as well as a growing chain of small plate Italian eateries – Angelo Elia Pizza, Bar, Tapas (Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Delray Beach and Coral Springs).
• Steven W. Hudson, CEO of Hudson Capital Group (HCG), a private firm that invests and manages money in private equity, select start-up ventures and real estate holdings. Since inception, HCG has developed over 3,000 apartments and condo units in Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando and Dallas. Additionally HCG, through its affiliate companies, owns and manages warehouses, retail centers and office buildings throughout South Florida. 
• Roger Penske, racing legend and founder and chairman of Penske Corporation, a closely-held, diversified, on-highway, transportation services company whose subsidiaries operate in a variety of industry segments, including retail automotive, truck leasing, transportation logistics, transportation component manufacturing and professional motorsports. Penske Corporation manages businesses with revenues in excess of $25 billion, operating in over 3,300 locations and employing over 50,000 people worldwide. 

James and Cathy Donnelly serve on NSU’s Campaign Leadership Cabinet for Realizing Potential. The cabinet is comprised of community leaders who have committed their time, energy and personal generosity to champion NSU’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign. The philanthropic campaign goal is $250 million with $125 million of that total to be directed towards students, $75 million for faculty and $50 million designated for 21^st century education.

To see videos featuring the Hall of Fame honorees, please visit: www.nova.edu/halloffame. For more information on the Realizing Potential campaign, please visit: realizingpotential.nova.edu.

About the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship: Serving more than 4,000 students, NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in areas such as accounting, finance, human resource management, public administration, supply chain management and more. The college is housed in the five-story state-of-the-art Carl DeSantis Building on NSU’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida. Programs are also available at multiple locations and online. For more information, please visit: http://www.business.nova.edu

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution with more than 24,000 students, 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. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU and realizingpotential.nova.edu for more information on the largest fundraising campaign in NSU history.