Dr. Allen Weiss recently walked through the medical building named in honor of him and his wife on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College. He saw the students interacting in the cutting-edge simulation lab and had to pause for a second.
“Sometimes, you get a warm, wonderful feeling knowing you did something good,” the president and CEO of NCH Healthcare System said to the crowd at the Port Royal Club on Nov. 4.
The FSW Foundation gave Allen and Marla Weiss the 2015 LIFE Award for their contributions to education. Since 2003, the foundation has honored locals who have made “outstanding contributions toward advancing academic opportunities for Collier County citizens,” said FSW President Jeff Allbritten.
“What (they) have done has been so impactful to our programs,” said Dr. Marie Collins, dean of the School of Health Professions.
Perhaps the most notable contribution the Weisses have made came in the form of the $1 million donation to help establish the Allen & Marla Weiss Health Sciences Hall. The facility includes the simulation lab where students get hands-on training in emergency room-like situations.
Marla Weiss has been a long-time math educator. She was the first computer science professor at FSW back when it was called Edison Community College. She’s continued to write about education, most recently speaking out against the “dumbing down” of math education in the Common Core standards. Her most recently book, How to Finally Fix Math Education, is due out in summer 2016.
Previous LIFE Award winners have included Dudley Goodlette, Fred Pezeshkan and Myra Daniels.
