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About Dr. Richard H. and Mrs. Julia Rush

Dr. and Mrs. Richard H. Rush have spent 50 years collecting art, automobiles and antiques across the United States and Europe, and sharing a wealth of knowledge with others. Their bold financial decisions, captured in 12 books and more than 700 articles, detail the advantages of investing in things of beauty, not only for profit but for joy as well. Hoping to kindle an appreciation of art, they have left a legacy of treasures to museums, colleges and universities around the world.The Rushes began giving to Florida SouthWestern State College in 1994, when they provided the seed money for a garden flanking the Barbara Mann Hall. "In this life we want to do everything we can to help others," Mrs. Rush says. They subsequently procured an exquisite bronze statue, called Romeo and Juliet, from the estate of George T. Delacorte Jr. They went on to provide funding for student art show prizes, scholarships, and the renovation of the Richard H. Rush library. "I feel you should use your money for the improvement of people, particularly those who need it," Dr. Rush says. Although they have spent a lifetime among the rich and famous - Harry Truman, J. Paul Getty and Jeanne Dixon - their philosophy grew from harsh personal experience. When his father died suddenly, Richard was six, and quickly came to appreciate the value of a nickel. His widowed mother moved to a farm in Connecticut where life required both pluck and enterprise. "To go to college I didn't have a penny. We didn't have any money. The taxes were defaulted and the mortgage was defaulted so how was I going to go to college? There were no jobs to be had. The brick factory was paying $1 a day so I decided to raise chickens. My aunt gave me enough money to buy the chickens and I raised and sold them until I had enough to go to a nearby college." His grit, determination and keen mind won him admission to Dartmouth the following year, and a degree in business that opened the door to success. He subsequently entered Harvard on a full scholarship, graduating from the Harvard Business School with a doctorate in commercial science. Shaped by the school of hard knocks, he vowed to help others whenever he could. "In those days," he says, "I didn't have anything and I wished somebody would give it to me and they didn't. When I later had ample resources, I thought about giving. FSW's tuition is far less than any other college," he says. "Education is the key to success and if education can be made affordable, why not help people?"Great Grandson of Philip Freneau, "The Poet of the American Revolution," who is credited as having saved the country from "monarchy" through his publication the "National Gazette." Great grandnephew of General Phil Kearny, Civil War General and New Jersey's most prominent soldier. Grand Nephew of America's first Consul General and Minister to Japan, Townsend Harris, who through his determined-negotiating of the American Japanese trade treaty, signed in 1858, opened Japan to trade with the west. Harris, before going to Japan, founded the free College of the City of New York as President of the New York Board of Education (see the 1846 photograph of Townsend Harris, from a Daguerreotype in the City College Archive and Museum and the photograph of General Philip Kearny in France in the 1850s.) Also a copy of a miniature of Richard's Uncle Oskar Gunkel who lived in Constantinople-Istanbul and was the Oil Representative in the Middle East for The Standard Oil Group. He gave Richard's grandmother and mother all of his elegant furniture and paintings on his return from Constantinople and they furnished their Connecticut home with these. (1923). The Connecticut house in Tylerville, Connecticut, had been an Inn in the Seventeenth Century. (1680s) Richard's father purchased the house in about 1918-1920 when Richard was a little boy and the family needed to get out of the city of New York in the heat of the summer. Richard's father died a few years afterwards, in 1921, and the house became the main home for Richard and his mother and grandmother. On his mother's side, a great great grandfather who came to America in 1638, (Michael R. Vreeland) was given by the Dutch Crown two thousand acres in what is now Leonia, New Jersey. The house came down to Richard Vreeland, Richard's grandfather. - RICHARD HENRY RUSH family background as listed in Who's Who in America

Lorraine Canty

Professor, Nursing Edit This Profile Email: Lorraine.Canty@fsw.edu Phone: Extension: Location: Department:

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Jennifer VonderwellScience Lab Manager II - LeePhone: 2397323743Extension: 33743Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise AgricultureAgriculture And BiosystemsBiologyEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyResource ManagementGeology (see Also Volcanoes)Natural ResourcesPlantsResearchScienceMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyStatistics (see Also Mathematics)

Steven Chase

Professor, Art Edit This Profile Email: Steven.Chase@fsw.edu Phone: (239) 432-7334 Extension: 16634 Location: LEE U-220 Department: School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Christopher Berg

Adjunct Faculty Edit This Profile Email: Christopher.Berg@fsw.edu Phone: Extension: Location: Department: School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

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Kimberly HiltonProfessor, ChemistryPhone: 2397323406Extension: 33406Location: COLLIER H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise ChemistryComputingComputers and EducationDiversityEducationE-EducationEducation ResearchIndigenous EducationProfessional Studies in EducationScience EducationLeadershipLearning (see Also Education)E-LearningLearning in Science and TechnologyMetalsScienceTechnologyTechnology Education Martin McClintonAssoc. Vice President, Academic AffairsPhone: 2394326798Extension: 16798Location: LEE I-214E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise ChemistryEducationCurriculumEducation PolicyScience EducationScience Sandra Tirado Dela EspriellaAdjunct FacultyPhone: Extension: Location: H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise BiologyBiotechnologyEcology (see Environment)Environment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)GeneticsNatural ResourcesScienceMicrobiologyMolecular Biology Elimelec MedinaProfessor, Biology & Environmental SciencesPhone: 9416375698Extension: 55698Location: HENDRY GLADES/CURTIS H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise BiologyBiotechnologyEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyEnvironment IssuesScienceCoastal SciencesMicrobiologyMolecular Biology Katrin Koel AbtProf., Anatomy & PhysiologyPhone: 2394899262Extension: 11262Location: HENDRY GLADES/CURTIS H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise AnthropologyBiologyEducationE-EducationGermanScience EducationEmotional IntelligenceEmotional healthEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyGermanLawCrimePsychologyAnimal BehaviorResearchAssessmentMeasurementScience Jennifer VonderwellScience Lab Manager II - LeePhone: 2397323743Extension: 33743Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise AgricultureAgriculture And BiosystemsBiologyEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyResource ManagementGeology (see Also Volcanoes)Natural ResourcesPlantsResearchScienceMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyStatistics (see Also Mathematics) Gabriel GaidosProfessor, BiochemistryPhone: 2394773515Extension: 14015Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise BiochemistryChemistryScienceMolecular Biology

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Christy Bessette

Clinical Coord., Dental Hygiene Edit This Profile Email: Christy.Bessette@fsw.edu Phone: Extension: Location: LEE A-142 Department: School of Allied Health

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Bruce WarrenAssociate Access Services Coordinator-CollierPhone: 2397323123Extension: 33123Location: COLLIER Building GE-Mail:   Areas of Expertise Children (see Also Education)ComputingDataDatabasesEducationSociology and EducationHuman DevelopmentPopulation Studies (see Also Migration)PsychologyHuman BehaviorHuman Behavior - Child abuseScienceDomestic ViolenceSociologySocial Science ResearchStatistics (see Also Mathematics)

Visual Arts

Our objective is to train innovative, systemic thinkers who stretch the boundaries of society through their visual interpretation of the complexity of our culture. We encourage the role of artists as the creative problem solvers who both reflect and shape our time in history. Our goal is to inform, challenge, stimulate and supply formal knowledge to assist in the formation of a limitless artist. To this end, we offer a variety of avenues for student engagement:Introductory and Advanced classes in Painting, Drawing, Conceptual Art and Installation, Photography, Abstract Painting, Figure Drawing, and CeramicsFoundation courses (Basic design, Three-Dimensional design and Color Theory)Multiple scholarships in Art that are advertised throughout the yearArt Club and Film Society where students can collaborate and share ideas outside of class to foster a vibrant campus cultureHost Art 48, an interdisciplinary art competition that offers students the opportunity to earn prestige through their work and win moneyThree exhibition spaces for student work, and stage student exhibitions each semester, one of which offers cash prizes for student workParticipate in Art Walk in downtown Fort MyersLearn About Scholarships

About George & Mary Jo Sanders

Considered one of Lee County’s pioneer families, George and Mary Jo Sanders moved to Fort Myers in 1941. Married in 1937, these high school sweethearts became actively involved in the community and were an integral part of the growth and development of Fort Myers as we know it today. Passionate advocates of education, George and Mary Jo were early supporters of Florida SouthWestern State College. In 2004, the Mary Jo Sanders Garden of Inspiration on the Lee campus was dedicated in honor of Mrs. Sanders, who loved gardening and worked tirelessly throughout her life on the beautification of the Fort Myers community. The legacy of George and Mary Jo Sanders lives on at Florida SouthWestern State College through the recent gift of Asian Porcelain. Acquired by the Sanders throughout their 63-year marriage, this delicate artwork was created by artisans hundreds of years ago working with primitive dyes, a coal or wood kiln, and two bare hands. It was the dedication and passion of these early artists that drew the Sanders to this extraordinary artwork. A piece of history that students, and the Southwest Florida community, can now enjoy first-hand as part of the Sanders Porcelain Collection at Florida SouthWestern State College.

Knowledge Network

Kimberly HiltonProfessor, ChemistryPhone: 2397323406Extension: 33406Location: COLLIER H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise ChemistryComputingComputers and EducationDiversityEducationE-EducationEducation ResearchIndigenous EducationProfessional Studies in EducationScience EducationLeadershipLearning (see Also Education)E-LearningLearning in Science and TechnologyMetalsScienceTechnologyTechnology Education Alessandro CesaranoProfessor, Foreign LanguagesPhone: 2394326602Extension: 16602Location: LEE L-102E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise EducationAssessment And Evaluation In EducationCurriculumEducation ResearchForeign LanguageItalianLearning Languages And EducationPedagogySpanishLanguage/literacy/linguisticsLinguisticsLearning (see Also Education)E-learningExperiential LearningLanguage LearningLearning And EducationTeaching And LearningTechnologyTechnology Education Kenneth BelcherProfessor, Information Systems TechnologyPhone: 2394326795Extension: 16795Location: LEE K-201E-Mail: Vitae   Areas of Expertise ComputingComputers And EducationDataData MiningDatabasesHuman Computer InteractionTechnologyTechnology EducationWeb

Soumya Bhattacharya

Professor, Chemistry Edit This Profile Email: Soumya.Bhattacharya@fsw.edu Phone: (239) 732-3407 Extension: 33407 Location: COLLIER N-220 Department: School of Pure and Applied Sciences Education (Degrees and Certifications) PhD, Chemistry (2014)

Krista Biasella

Digital Archivist Edit This Profile Email: Krista.Biasella@fsw.edu Phone: (239) 433-8022 Extension: 11622 Location: LEE J303A Department: Library - Lee Campus - Richard H. Rush Library

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Cheban AcharyaProfessor, MathematicsPhone: 2394899431Extension: 11431Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise Mathematics (see Also Statistics)Statistics (see Also Mathematics) Angus CameronAssoc. Dean, Pure & Applied SciencesPhone: 8636746027Extension: 66027Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise BiologyEcology (see Environment)EducationScience EducationEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyEnvironment IssuesEnvironmental ChangePsychologyAnimal BehaviorStatistics (see Also Mathematics) Bruce WarrenAssociate Access Services Coordinator-CollierPhone: 2397323123Extension: 33123Location: COLLIER Building GE-Mail:   Areas of Expertise Children (see Also Education)ComputingDataDatabasesEducationSociology and EducationHuman DevelopmentPopulation Studies (see Also Migration)PsychologyHuman BehaviorHuman Behavior - Child abuseScienceDomestic ViolenceSociologySocial Science ResearchStatistics (see Also Mathematics) Jennifer VonderwellScience Lab Manager II - LeePhone: 2397323743Extension: 33743Location: LEE H-130E-Mail:   Areas of Expertise AgricultureAgriculture And BiosystemsBiologyEnvironment (see Also Marine And Sustainability)EcologyResource ManagementGeology (see Also Volcanoes)Natural ResourcesPlantsResearchScienceMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyStatistics (see Also Mathematics)

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Andrew Chu

Technology Services Spec. I - Collier Edit This Profile Email: Andrew.Chu@fsw.edu Phone: (239) 732-3100 Extension: 33100 Location: COLLIER J-129A Department: Office of Information Technology

Robert Cappetta

Professor, Mathematics Edit This Profile Email: Robert.Cappetta@fsw.edu Phone: (239) 433-8001 Extension: 11601 Location: LEE U112G Department: School of Pure and Applied Sciences