Page 8 - PresidentReport2024Portrait

our world? Ultimately, the strategic planning process we undertook provides us with a
comprehensive plan that will help HAC and its next President navigate the next decade.

During your term as President, the College has grown and expanded significantly. The
Helmsley Building was built, you advocated for the establishment of the Azrieli Center
for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and Employment, and launched The
Blender – HAC’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to name just a few of the
new developments you initiated. In your view, what were your main achievements as
President?

I can name several. First of all, I introduced the idea that, in addition to being an academic
institution, HAC also has a social mission. We don’t only teach, but we also have a social
responsibility towards society, towards our students, and towards the City of Jerusalem.
Everyone here will tell you that we are on a mission to promote social mobility, and the
internalization and daily implementation of this mission is what makes us so unique.

A second achievement is that we successfully embrace and promote the concept of a
diverse campus: we have invested a lot of effort bringing in the right people who can help
us fulfill the needs of our diverse student body, including professional coordinators for the
different student populations (e.g., Ethiopian-Israelis, the ultra-Orthodox, Arab-Israelis,
new immigrants, etc.).

“In addition to being an academic institution, HAC also
has a social mission. We don’t only teach, but we also
have a social responsibility towards society, towards
our students, and towards the City of Jerusalem.”

A third achievement of which I am especially proud, is that HAC has become a well-
known College with a stellar reputation, thanks to our successful graduates who are
everywhere today. I have always maintained that you can compromise on everything
except on academic excellence. When I was Chair of the Department of Biotechnology,
I had to call in a lot of favors so we could find places for our graduates to complete their
internships. Today these labs and companies are running after us. A recent survey of these
graduates from 2019-2021 revealed that 84% are working in their chosen professions.

A fourth achievement is the establishment of the Azrieli Center for Diversity and Inclusion
in Higher Education and Employment, and specifically our Career Counseling Center
(located within the Azrieli Center), a project that was made possible with the generous
help of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation. It is important that we show our students
that we are not only going to help them graduate, but we are also going to help them find

“I am especially proud that HAC has become a well-
known College with a stellar reputation, thanks to our
successful graduates who are everywhere today.”

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