The University of Southern California recently concluded an educational visit to Israel that included an exploration of the country’s advanced science and technology sector, strengthened ties to the research and teaching community, and produced high-level discussions with leaders in government, industry and cultural organizations.
With a delegation comprised of USC Trustees, deans, faculty members, and senior administrators, USC President C. L. Max Nikias, Mrs. Niki C. Nikias, and USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett attended meetings with leadership and scholars from four prominent Israeli institutions of higher education: The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University, The Weizmann Institute of Science, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Technion President Paretz Lavie gave a private talk to the delegation on the historic partnership the organization is undertaking with Cornell University: to build a “high tech hub” in New York City at the invitation of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The new campus will encompass 300,000 square feet of space on Roosevelt Island by 2017 and more than 2 million square feet by 2037. At the Weizmann Institute of Science, the delegation members were briefed by Vice President Haim Garty on the structure of this organization that focuses solely on research and graduate programs, and together they discussed the current governmental funding shift in priority from basic science to technology transfer programs. The USC delegation met with four Israeli faculty members who recently joined the Weizmann faculty after returning from the U.S. as post-doctoral researchers. Meetings at Tel Aviv University and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem gave the delegation members insight into the continuing importance of global education at these two comprehensive universities; as each university described efforts to diversify the student experience for Israeli students and to attract students from all over the world to their institutions for scholarly exchanges.
The visit also afforded an opportunity to explore the relationship between government priorities, private industry, and research, as President Nikias and the delegation met with a diverse leadership group that included the President of Israel, Shimon Peres; Joseph “Yossi” Vardi, chairman of International Technologies, and one of Israel’s high-tech veterans; Manuel Trajtenberg, an economist who is chair of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel; Colonel Dr. Eyal Fruchter, the head of Mental Health Department of the Israeli Defense Force Medical Corps; Eran Lerman, the Deputy National Security Advisor of the National Security Council; and Isaac Ben-Israel, an Israeli military scientist who is currently the chairman of the Israeli Space Agency and the National Council for Research and Development.
The visit also included several visits to cultural institutions, including The Israel Museum, where one of the major exhibits includes a show by USC Roski School of Fine Arts faculty member, Sharon Lockhart, that captures the work of Israeli movement and dance theorist, Noa Eshkol. Later in the evening, the delegation explored the Charlotte Bergman House, home to an extensive collection of modern art originally curated by the legendary 20th century art patron.
The USC delegation concluded the visit with a special visit to Yad Vashem, the world’s largest repository of information on the Holocaust. During a tour accompanied by USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen D. Smith, USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Mrs. Niki C. Nikias met Holocaust survivor Asher Ud, who shared his testimony of his childhood experiences in the Lodz Ghetto of Poland. Dr. and Mrs. Nikias participated in a memorial ceremony to honor those lost in the Holocaust, laying a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance.
For further information on the USC Delegation to Israel, view the newsletters from Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; view the photos on Flickr; read the remarks given by President Nikias at Yad Vashem; or read the article in The Jewish Journal.