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Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev,
a Philosopher, Is Elected President Says Social Responsibility
Should Be a Strategic Goal for the University
 The
Board of Governors elected the University’s Rector, Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev,
the next President of the University of Haifa at the Board’s first
plenary session of its 32nd Meeting. He will take office on October
1, 2004, succeeding Prof. Yehuda Hayuth, who steps down after ten
years in the presidency.
In his acceptance remarks, Ben-Ze’ev laid emphasis on the social
responsibility of a university. “This is the natural progression of
a university,” he told the governors, adding his belief that it
should be a strategic goal for the University of Haifa in the coming
years. It was not, though, an easy task, he noted.
Referring to the economic problems that all Israeli universities are
currently facing, he said: “Financial hardship requires giving up a
few crumbs, but in such a way as to increase the entire pie.”
Returning to his main theme, he explained, “Being socially
responsible means being aware of all levels, encouraging research
with a social orientation, and instituting training program for
workers in the community.” He wanted, he said in summing up his
ideal, to stretch university programs beyond helping just the
individual so that they would become a model for other universities.
Calling the University dear to him—he gained his B.A. and M.A.
degrees here and then returned after going abroad and gaining his
doctorate at the University of Chicago to teach and rise through the
ranks to the top academic and administrative posts—he listed two
qualities that are required to succeed in carrying the University
forward. One was creative thinking. The other was hard work. Both he
will bring to his new position, he said. In regard to the latter
quality, he joked: “In the future I shall have less time to read
books, but I hope I will have time for three meals a day.”
A philosopher, Ben-Ze'ev is considered one of the world's leading
specialists in the study of emotions. His research has focused, as
well, on the philosophy of the soul and the study of sensory
perception. He set up the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of
Emotions at the University.
Among Ben-Ze'ev's books are Hebrew and English editions of Love
Online: Emotions on the Internet (Cambridge University Press, 2004),
which has been translated into a number of other languages.
Prior to assuming the top academic administrative position as
Rector, he had served as Dean of Research and Director of the Haifa
University Press. Among other positions he had held, Ben-Ze'ev headed
the University's Academic Channel, the cable TV channel the
University initiated and runs with other universities and whose
broadcasts are available throughout the country. He was also
chairman of the Philosophy Department.
Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev is married and has two sons.
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In
This Issue:
Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, a Philosopher, Is
Elected President Says Social Responsibility Should Be a Strategic
Goal for the University
President Hayuth’s Last
Report to Governors: ‘I leave behind me … a University that is well equipped,
financially and academically, to meet the challenges ahead’
Prof. Manfred
Lahnstein Re-Elected Chairman of University’s Board of Governors
Executive
Committee Approves New Vice-Presidents
University Confers
Honorary Doctorate on Lord Jacobs, Sammy Ofer, Prof. Bernard Cohen, and Yitzhak
Ben-Aharon
Jacobs Building
Dedicated
Sammy and Aviva Ofer
Observation Gallery Dedicated
Kluger Building Dedicated
Honorary Fellow
Bestowed on Alex Samuel
Hatter, Fraenkel, and
Recanati Fellowships Awarded
Guy Bar-Oz, a
Zooarcheologist, Awarded Dusty Miller Fellowship
Werner Otto
Fellowships
Beijing and Haifa Cooperate
to Help the Aged Tsinghua University Hosts UH Contingent
Prof. David Kushner:
Expert on Turkey Reflects on His Cairo Assignment
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