Dear Governors, As we convene for the 26th Board of Governors Meeting, it is a good time for me to sum up my almost four years as President of the University and, in effect, more than five years at the helm of this dynamic institution.
Most significant, however, has been the growth of our Graduate School. Graduate students now comprise more than 25 percent of the student body, a percentage that parallels established universities in Israel and abroad. Furthermore, almost half these graduate students come from outside Haifa and the north. These figures put us much closer to fulfilling our objective as a research university that can make meaningful contributions to science and society—and an institution with nation-wide, not just regional, appeal.
In line with our burgeoning graduate studies, the country’s higher education system, in the form of the Council for Higher Education, has recognized the University’s academic competence—and if I dare say, excellence—by granting us independence in granting the doctorate in any field. We hope, as a result, to see many more Ph.D. candidates here in the next few years.
When I first occupied the President’s office, the University had two Faculties, and a third—Law—was just established, and two Schools. We now have five Faculties, with the establishment of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies and the upgrading of Education from School to Faculty. The only such Faculty in the country, I might add. And we have added a Graduate School of Business.
The Faculties are, of course, the frameworks for the departments and various courses and programs of study. New departments have been introduced, engendered by both new and changing demands of the younger generation: departments like human services (which is the only one of its kind in the country), theater, communication, computer sciences. The range of new courses, as well as the unprecedented growth in student body, has meant finding—and sometimes cultivating—appropriate faculty.
Although our aspiration was to be known in Israel and abroad as a research university, we did not want to lose sight of our students, who come here to be taught. Research and excellence in teaching complement each other in higher education, and improving teaching skills has been emphasized in the last few years. Research continues apace, however, and this Board of Governors Meeting will see the inauguration of several research centers indicative of the range of interests of our faculty: national security studies, interdisciplinary study of feelings, pilgrimage and tourism.
Perhaps the most visible dramatic change in the University in the past four years has been that which has taken place in the campus landscape. When I settled into my 27th floor office, the view was still the one that Oscar Niemeyer had imparted to it more than two decades earlier and that had remained almost static since the topping off of the Eshkol Tower in the late 1970s. The University, however, with its 85,000 square meters of built-up space, was about to burst at the seams. I saw it as one of my prime objectives to realize the implementation of the New Master Plan.
The result is a new aerial view of the campus as 30,000 square meters of built-up space were added in a span of less than four years. It was not the end of our construction boom, though, and 30,000 square meters more of classrooms, faculty offices, and research laboratories will become a part of the new campus look in the next two years. This includes the IBM research center, which will become a permanent feature of our campus landscape. University publicity has often spoken of providing students with an aesthetic learning environment. This applied in the past to the internal space of the original edifices. The new architecture now incorporates this aesthetic in the facade of our buildings. Similarly the special attention being paid to gardening has added much to the new look of the campus.
The academic and physical growth I have described has not been without cost. In 1992/93, the operating budget was $49,000,000. This year, it is $103,000,000; in other words, the operating budget has more than doubled in half a decade. This year’s budget, furthermore, does not include building development at a budget of $30,000,000. I am happy and proud to say that our operational budget has been solvent. Despite rapid and continuing development, we are not mired in debt in our regular budget. In the light of our rapid academic and physical development, however, we certainly need to increase our fundraising efforts and donations.
I think back to the time when I was a young, nervous undergraduate student starting out in a new young campus overlooking Haifa on Mt. Carmel. We were both green then. Competition for students, such as it was, came from the universities in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Essentially, the northern region was then a vacuum, which the University of Haifa stepped in to fill. How different the situation is today as regional colleges and foreign extensions continue to dot the country, offering competition for students as never before. Nevertheless the demand for many of our programs surpasses their ability to accommodate all applicants. Along with our growth in numbers of students and square meters, it pleases me greatly to say that our reputation has grown concomitantly.
It is difficult to point to one source of satisfaction as my present term of office comes to a close. The University has come a long way certainly since the days when I was a student here and even since the time I took office. We can all look with pride at what has been accomplished, and I say “all” because many share in the responsibility for the University’s progress—the management team, faculty members, administrative staff, students, and friends. If there are multiple sources of pride and satisfaction, I can also say that we are fully occupied with plans to prepare the University of Haifa for the challenges of the next millennium.