FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Dr. Harry K. Moon officially became Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) seventh president and chief executive officer today (Jan. 1), succeeding Dr. George Hanbury, who had been president and CEO for 14 years.

Dr. Moon had been NSU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, overseeing most of NSU’s administrative and auxiliary units, as well as its clinical health care operations since 2018. He led the integration of NSU’s 30-plus clinics to create NSU Health, a university-affiliated health care network. He also led the university’s COVID Response Team through its rapid transition to fully online learning during the pandemic, enabling NSU to sustain and increase enrollments.

Dr. Moon, an internationally renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has had a distinguished medical career and has been instrumental in the development of medical, research, and educational programs in South Florida for the past quarter century.

“Just as physicians pledge to uphold the highest standards in medicine, I pledge to uphold the highest standards in leading our university,” Dr. Moon said. “My commitment is driven by a deep-seated dedication to the well-being and success of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader communities we serve.”

Before joining NSU, Dr. Moon’s career included several executive positions for Cleveland Clinic Florida. He was president and chairman of the Board of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a member of the foundation’s Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2003. As chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Cleveland Clinic Florida from 1997 to 2003, he established an integrated academic medical center in South Florida.

Dr. Moon was named Dr. Hanbury’s successor by the NSU Board of Trustees in September 2023.

“Dr. Moon is very decisive,” said Charles L. Palmer, chairman of NSU’s Board of Trustees. “His biggest strength is his analytical ability. He’s going to analyze the facts, get the right information, and then make decisions based on that. Five years from now, I think we’ll be very, very high on the scale of universities in the United States as a research university as well as one that’s broadened the health care portfolio of this university.”

The founder and president of Himmarshee Surgical Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dr. Moon has been a clinical associate professor of surgery in NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine since 2008. He was appointed professor of anatomy in NSU’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences in 2024.

Dr. Moon joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1984 and served in administrative and medical positions, including head of microvascular surgery; head of the microvascular surgical, teaching, and research laboratory; and chairman of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He was chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Health Plan from 1992 to 2001.

Dr. Moon is a civic leader and has served on the boards of numerous Florida-based non-profit organizations and corporations.

He was elected in 2024 as a Fellow ad hominem of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCSEd), the oldest surgical college in the world, founded five centuries ago. He is a frequently published researcher and sought-after speaker in the United States and abroad.

A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), Dr. Moon earned his M.D. degree in 1978 from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and completed surgery residencies at the University of Hawaii, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Tulane University.

Dr. Moon was an outstanding and decorated high school athlete in Alabama, an all-state basketball player, and a state record-holder in the decathlon, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, 440-yard dash, and mile relay. He earned an athletic scholarship to Tulane.

Dr. Moon and his wife, Ann Marie, live in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and have four adult children and four grandchildren.

Source: https://news.nova.edu/news-releases/dr-harry-k-moon-becomes-nova-southeastern-universitys-seventh-president/