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FAU’s Board of Trustees Appointments BOCA RATON, Fla. (March 19, 2015) – The Florida Board of Governors has appointed Michael T.B. Dennis, M.D. and reappointed Anthony Barbar ’78 to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees. Jeffrey Feingold, D.D.S. and Robert Rubin also have received reappointments from Florida Gov. Rick Scott. All terms are scheduled to end in 2020. FAU Trustees are a 13-member group responsible for cost-effective policy decisions appropriate to the University’s mission, the implementation and maintenance of high-quality education programs, the measurement of performance, the reporting of information and the provision of input regarding state policy, budgeting and education standards. ? “FAU celebrates the reappointments of Anthony Barbar, Dr. Jeffrey Feingold and Robert Rubin to its Board of Trustees and the new appointment of Dr. Michael Dennis, said FAU President John Kelly. “The university is extremely fortunate to have community leaders of their caliber on its governing body. “We extend sincere thanks to David Feder as he leaves the Board at the conclusion of 10 years of dedicated service to the University,” Kelly said. “He has made contributions of great value as a Trustee and we’ll always consider him a member of the FAU family.” Dennis succeeds former BOT member David Feder. He is the founding chair of the advisory board for the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU, where he champions the College’s medical priorities, which include student scholarships, helping to propel the innovative program’s growth and success. A retired board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dennis is founder and president of Hand-XTenders, a company that creates instrumentation for the operating room and devices to increase the function of the manually disabled from which all profits go to charity. He is an officer of the Florida Institute for Health Innovation, and a member of the Finance Committee of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. In addition, he founded the Medical Education Forum of the Palm Beaches and funded the preparation, publication, and distribution of the 2013 Regional Medical Care Guide for residents of Palm Beach County. “I am truly humbled and deeply honored to have this opportunity to help promote FAU to new heights of educational excellence,” Dennis said. "As founding chairman of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Advisory Board, I have greatly enjoyed working with the administration and academic components of the University in helping to develop a first class, independent medical school – the first and only in Palm Beach County,” he said. “Looking to the future, the community will continue to see enhanced delivery of education and services throughout FAU, and I am committed to aid that advancement in every way possible.” Dennis received his Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard and his M.D. degree from the University of Florida in 1968, with extensive externships at Guy’s Hospital, London, and Johns Hopkins. He completed his internship and surgical residency at Stanford. While at Stanford, Dennis single-handedly developed a primary care physician assistant/nurse practitioner program, which graduated its first class in 1973 and remains operative. In response to these efforts, he was appointed by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to the Health Manpower Commission, which funded primary care residencies throughout California, and to the Special Medical Practice Act Committee to make appropriate changes to state law. Barbar is currently serving his second term as chair of the FAU BOT. “I am honored to be reappointed to Florida Atlantic University’s Board of Trustees,” Barbar said. “Under Dr. Kelly’s leadership, FAU is on a path to become America’s fastest-improving university, and to be part of that journey is very exciting.” Barbar is president of Barbar & Associates, LLC and leads all aspects of the licensed real estate brokerage firm. He currently oversees the real estate needs of numerous corporate clients and provides consulting services, as well as evaluates companies’ needs, investment strategies, site selections, planning, relocation and commercial leasing transactions for an array of major South Florida companies. Barbar was considered one of the youngest executives to be involved in the acquisition, planning, designing, financing, development and sales of large upscale residential communities. He also has been involved in the assembling and planning of a major commercial mixed-used project. Barbar earned a bachelor’s degree in international business from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. -FAU- About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.