OUI Honorary Fellows for 2015 recognized at May graduation ceremony
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Honorary Fellows with President and Chancellor
Top, right to left: Zeruya Shalev; Prof. Kobi Metzer, President of the OUI; Justice Dorit Beinisch (President of the Supreme Court, ret.), Chancellor of the OUI.
Bottom, right to left: Prof. Ahmad Natour, Prof. Ruth Gavison; Haim Gouri; Dr. Rabah Halabi.
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OUI alumni – some of their stories
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Nurit Koren, recently elected to her first term as a member of the Knesset, is a graduate of the OUI. In an interview in The Jerusalem Post, she shared her thoughts on education and getting ahead, citing her BA from the OUI, which she earned at age 38, as a mother of four children. Koren is a "great believer in willpower, determination and the ability to change our lives…" which is part of the OUI mission.
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Ofir Tzuman, a lawyer from Rehovot, feels connected to the DNA of the OUI, which, he explains, "is based on values of equal opportunity, accessibility, social justice, self actualization and promoting the weak." Tzuman earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the OUI, while founding and managing its Debate Club. He also helped found the OUI Student Association.
Tzuman published a book on preventing sexual harassment, and established a professional forum for organizations addressing the issue. For the past six years, he has been teaching ethics in the MBA program at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and more recently began teaching this subject at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
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Meet Penina Tovin, married with four children, she resides in the ultra-Orthodox community of Elad. Tovin recently completed her bachelor's degree at the OUI, while overcoming multiple obstacles. She took advantage of the OUI’s flexibility and worked towards her degree at her own pace. For anyone hesitating, she has a clear message: "It's possible. It's difficult and it's [a long process], but it's worth it!" Tovin is now vice principal of a school in Shoham, and plans to begin her master's degree next year.
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OUI researcher studies breaking of taboos in Holocaust remembrance
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The academic coordinator for the OUI Master's Program in Cultural Studies, Dr. Liat Steir-Livny was interviewed in The Jerusalem Report on the subject of Holocaust humor ("Culture Report," June 1, 2015). Subsequent to publication of her book, Let the Memorial Hill Remember: Holocaust Representation in Israeli Popular Culture [Hebrew], Steir-Livny has earned recognition as an authority on previously untouched aspects of Israeli-Jewish collective Holocaust memory. Dr. Steir-Livny observes that while expanding the boundaries of the prevalent discourse and breaking taboos, recent humoristic perspectives of remembrance are also a manifestation of the way in which Holocaust memory has become an integral part of the identity of Jewish Israelis.
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The 2015 Biennial Ergomas Conference
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The 2015 Biennial ERGOMAS (European Research Group on Military and Society) Conference was hosted by the OUI, from June 8-12. Prof. Yagil Levy, OUI Department of Sociology, Political Science, and Communication, has chaired ERGOMAS since 2013, and is its first chairperson from outside of Europe. At a time when threats of international boycotts and an academic ban of Israel are escalating, this conference drew 150 participants, 100 of them from abroad, including Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Cameroon and Egypt. Guest of honor, Prof. James Burk, of Texas A&M University, delivered the opening keynote address. Burk serves as chairperson of the American Interuniversity Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, and is internationally recognized as one of the leading researchers in the field.This was the largest international conference held at the OUI in recent years.
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Participants, senior researchers in the field of military-society relations studies, mostly from the disciplines of sociology and political science, represented university and military academic colleges, research entities of defense ministries and armies, as well as a considerable number of young scholars. The engagement of the U.S, Canada, and other NATO members in Iraq and Afghanistan, and various peacekeeping missions in other areas (such as Kosovo) have inspired the research of ERGOMAS scholars. Over one hundred papers were presented at simultaneous sessions, complementing three plenary sessions. All of the conference presentations can be accessed here: conference program.
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Defined tracks of study for a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and Management have recently been introduced to the existing degree program offered for more than ten years. Students may specialize in information systems or production and operations. This adaptation satisfies current professional market demands, and brings the OUI program in line with curricula at other Israeli academic institutions. This two-track program, approved by the OUI Senate, was developed by Prof. Zippy Erlich, Dr. Diamanta Benson-Karhi and Prof. Nitza Geri.
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Prof. Aviad Heifetz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affiars, announced that the Council for Higher Education, at its March 24, 2015 meeting, granted the OUI authority to award a master's degree in social psychology, with or without a master's thesis.
The OUI Senate decided, in May 2015, to rename The Research Institute for Policy, Political Economy and Society: The Institute for Policy Analysis.
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Open Radio, the new Open University radio station, made its fledgling broadcast online on May 22, 2015, and will soon be broadcasting on 103.6 FM. A team of broadcasters, all OUI students, will be sharing their original materials. The team has been mentored by Israeli radio star, songwriter, and singer Dori Ben-Zeev.
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