D EAN ’ S M ESSAGE FROM I SRAEL 2010

Recently, I, along with the Provost and deans from the Colleges of Engineering and Music visited the University of Haifa, Ben Gurion University, Technion, Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University in Israel. The purpose of our trip was to explore opportunities for UNT to partner with Israeli universities in student exchange programs, as well as, identify potential research collaborations. Israel boasts some of the top ranked universities in the world. There are few better places for UNT’s faculty and students to become more engaged.

We all know the transformative power of international travel. Innovative ideas do not recognize international boundaries. Now more than ever, our students need to understand the challenges and opportunities facing them in the global workforce. Likewise, university research emphases are being globalized. Establishing more research collaborations with Israeli faculty will strengthen UNT’s research enterprise. Fortunately, virtually all of our top faculty have research collaborations with faculty outside the US, including some with Israeli colleagues.

We received warm welcomes and identified concrete collaboration opportunities at each Israeli university we visited. We were particularly struck by the reciprocated desire from these universities to partner with UNT. Potential CAS collaborations include immediate prospects for the Departments of Political Sciences and Mathematics. In Political Science, we are exploring a partnership between UNT and the University of Haifa. This involves an intriguing national security course that would be team-taught, giving UNT students an opportunity to travel to Israel to study beside Israeli students. Can you imagine a more intellectually engaging experience than studying national security issues on the ground in Israel?

Tel Aviv University’s Department of Mathematics ranks among the top 25 in the world. As a mathematician, I am especially excited about hosting members of TAU’s esteemed faculty at UNT, enhancing ongoing research collaborations between TAU and UNT math faculty. Beyond the College of Arts and Sciences, UNT is in the process of developing an International Seminar in Technological Entrepreneurship with Ben Gurion University, involving student teams from both universities acting as consultants to Israeli start-ups. The teams will prepare business plans for the purpose of raising capital. This course will give students an opportunity to analyze a company's market position and create a high level strategic plan. Not only have the universities we visited earned levels of global recognition that UNT aspires toward, but I was struck by how extremely sophisticated they were in terms of fundraising. The amount of external support these institutions receive is remarkable. It was almost comical to see that not even an elevator or bench escape the opportunity to be named on these campuses.

We were also fortunate to have a chance to visit sites around the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem. During the two days we spent touring, I got a profound sense of the extremely complex political situation that is so much a part of this country’s identity. Despite the political conflicts, the depth of religious devotion among the people I encountered was very touching.

There was an undeniable sense of spirituality, particularly in Jerusalem where I spent Friday evening walking THE Stations of the Cross in company of people from all over the world. Frankly, it is hard to articulate the experience. Visiting Israel was a transformational experience, one which I look forward to more of our faculty and students having the opportunity to share.