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Israel Allows Colleges to Compete for Government Research Funds

April 11, 2011, 12:26 pm

For the first time, higher-education institutions in Israel will receive government funds for research, reports Ynet News. Until now, government research support has been restricted to Israel’s eight public universities. Israeli colleges have traditionally concentrated on teaching. Those that sought to do research were forced to seek financing from philanthropists and other donors. “I’m sure that this day will be remembered as the day that launched a new chapter in college development as it is unthinkable that a situation exists where someone from academia is told that they aren’t allowed to engage in research,” said Manuel Trajtenberg, chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of Israel’s Council for Higher Education, responsible for the distribution of government funds for higher education.

“This agreement recognizes the new situation and requirements of the colleges, which have changed since they were set up at the start of the 90s,” said Aliza Shenhar, chairwoman of a leading association of college leaders. Israeli universities fought to prevent the colleges from receiving government financing, fearing it would eat into their own budgets.

A change in the law regulating higher education that came into effect in the early 1990s led to the establishment of some 30 higher-education colleges around the country, many of which receive no public funds. A majority of Israeli students now study in colleges rather than the country’s public universities.

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  • nkwills

    In the present economic climate, layoffs are common and tenured status is ignored. In the face of such a challenge, it is an advantage to have  a network of other local institutions available particularly if your spouse is employed in the area, you own a house that would have to be sold for a move, etc. Ask yourself, “what if I lost this job? How quickly could I find another one”?

  • oatmeal

    Two institutions have tried to “poach me.” One involved the president meeting me at a conference and having a long conversation followed by an invite to the campus. I did not take the job that was offered (for many reasons). Another involved a colleague who became a Dean and wanted me to go to the new institution. I just could not go there for many reasons. Both times it was very flattering though I am not sure I was an established scholar at that stage. 

  • goodeyes

    My experience is that excellent candidates are rare.   It is a sellers market if you want the best.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/cshunt312 Courtney Hunt

    I’ve been a Deborah Tannen fan for a long time, and I have to confess my disappointment at learning that she assiduously avoids digital media. As an individual, she’s certainly within her rights, but as a scholar I expect more, especially given her focus on linguistics and communication. There is an incredibly rich opportunity, for example, to test and expand her earlier ideas about communication differences between men and women by exploring if and how they manifest themselves in cyberspace. I guess someone else will have to take up that challenge…

    Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD
    Founder, Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community
    Founder, Global Center for Digital Era Leadership (GCDEL)

  • midcareerprof

    As someone teaching in an authoritarian country at the moment, I think it is essential that we consider issues of free speech and gender equity in evaluating the “success” of any American-based educational institution overseas.  No accredited American college/university should legitimize repression, suppression, or sexism.  They want us (desperately) — make them agree before you lend your name!

  • rthezel

    Leaders of U.S. institutions certainly should consider thoughtfully whether their institution is legitimizing inequities and injustice or whether the presence of and teaching by U.S. faculty might have a beneficial effect on the part of a culture that enslaves.  It would be ironic to be offering the “liberal” arts, as does NYU, yet failing to engage in human liberation–intellectually, physically, spiritually.

  • heidi_marshall

    I can’t help but wonder what percentage of students from these countries/regions are beginning to enroll in online offerings from these institutions and others in place of f2f branch campuses. 

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