Ben Guefen Elected to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Board of Governors
Ben Guefen Elected to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Board of Governors
August 9, 2011
HOUSTON, August 9, 2011 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) recently elected Houston philanthropist Ben Guefen to its Board of Governors.
Ben Guefen is currently a vice president on the national board of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Americans for Ben-Gurion University), and has played a leadership role in Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s Greater Texas Region since 1997. In 2004, he received Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s David Ben-Gurion Leadership Award. For the past two years, Ben has helped spearhead development of the University’s Living Legacy Society, which has been growing rapidly.
Commenting on his philanthropic efforts for BGU, Guefen says that “the mission of tzedakah is to give and it’s easy to sign the check if you have the money. But it’s more difficult to give of yourself—your time, your intellect. The reward is what you feel. Giving to BGU, you’re rewarded by seeing something grow in front of your eyes.”
Guefen, a retired financial services professional, and his wife Arline have been longstanding supporters of BGU and have made numerous significant contributions. Today they are proud members of the University’s Negev and Living Legacy Societies.
Ben has always been heavily involved in Israel’s agricultural development. As a member of the Zionist youth movement, he left his native Mexico in 1947 at age 18 to join a farming kibbutz in the Negev “and help build the Jewish State.” His most significant contribution to BGU has been his ongoing support for cutting-edge research to produce new fruits and products for Israeli agriculture.
The Guefens are also supporters of two of the University’s social outreach programs to disadvantaged communities in the Negev: “Kidumatica,” an imaginative gifted program in mathematics for schoolchildren, and most recently, Sandy’s Activity Center, a new component of the University’s Open Apartments Program, established in memory of Sandy Breslauer, a close friend and noted humanitarian who passed away last year.
Ben and Arline both find BGU’s growth inspiring and try to instill their charitable outlook in their own children. Ben’s oldest son Rudy has been instrumental in building the Americans for Ben-Gurion University chapter in San Diego.
“Ben’s role in Americans for Ben-Gurion University has always been one of leadership with commitment to local community and worldwide Jewry,” says Deborah Bergeron, director of Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s Greater Texas Region. “He gives of himself and inspires others to do so as well. Our regional board is very proud of his appointment to Ben-Gurion University’s international board of governors.”
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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