Rivka Carmi: A Leader for the Negev
Rivka Carmi: A Leader for the Negev
May 23, 2012
New Jersey Jewish Standard — Prof. Rivka Carmi, M.D. is well aware that being the president of a university in the Negev is not without its challenges.
This past spring she made the decision to delay the start of the semester at BGU’s Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva because of rocket attacks from Gaza.
BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi
“For many years, we presented ourselves as the safest place in Israel,” says BGU President Prof. Carmi.
“Most wars were in the north. Operation Cast Lead changed all that. Now we are a real front.”
Among the other challenges she faces is fulfilling the University’s mission of developing the Negev, a region which in a sense remains “unequal” to the rest of Israel in terms of public perception and physical population.
“BGU is not like any other university,” she says. “It has a national role. It’s not just an institution of higher education, research, and learning. It has an impact on its neighborhood.”
However, if anyone can lead the way to overcoming the challenges facing BGU, it’s Prof. Rivka Carmi.
She is the first woman to serve as president of an Israeli university (elected in 2006) and is the first female chair of the Committee of University Heads in Israel, a position she holds today. She was also first female dean of a medical school in Israel.
Prof. Rivka Carmi is especially proud that Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been voted the number one choice in undergraduate education by Israeli students for several years running, that it participates in many consortiums with government agencies and private corporations, and that it provides outreach to underprivileged Bedouin, Ethiopian, and Russian immigrants.
Read full article on the New Jersey Jewish Standard website >>
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