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Slovak Consul in Florida an Academic Leader

Dr. Cecilia Rokusek is the new Slovak honorary consul for Florida. In that capacity she has been focusing on business, cultural and educational opportunities between Florida and Slovakia. A South Dakota native, she has served for 32 years in higher education as a teacher, scholar and administrator. At the same time she has maintained contact with her Czech heritage and is fluent in both the Czech and Slovak languages.

As she progressed up the academic ladder, she taught at a number of universities. She held several administrative positions in South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois before moving to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL where she was Vice President for Academic Affairs, among her other high-level jobs. After a stint at Winona State University, she is now on the administrative team at Nova Southeastern University where she is the Executive Director for Education, Planning, and Research and the Project Director for the National Center for Bioterrorism and All-Hazards Preparation and the Geriatric Education Center in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Rokusek was recently elected National Chair of the Health Division for the American Association on Mental Retardation. She holds a bachelor?s degree from Mount Marty College, South Dakota, a master?s degree in human nutrition from the University of Nebraska (where she was a Regent?s Scholar), and a doctorate from the University of South Dakota in adult and higher education administration.