Rockefeller president joins U.S. university leaders in Israel to explore collaborative opportunities

A delegation of presidents and chancellors from top U.S. universities, including Rockefeller’s Marc Tessier-Lavigne, travel to Israel this week to explore opportunities for bilateral academic partnerships and collaboration. The visit has been arranged by Project Interchange, a non-profit educational institute of the American Jewish Committee, which is an advocacy group based in New York.

The delegation, which includes presidents and chancellors of the University of California, Berkeley, the Texas State University System, Barnard College and Scripps College, will visit Israeli universities for a series of meetings in areas such as brain science, environmental sustainability, biotechnology, diversity and women’s leadership. The group will discuss research initiatives and innovation taking place at institutions including Tel Aviv University, Technion and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as the unique academia-to-industry technology transfer system that has helped the country foster numerous start-up businesses.

The seminar will offer broad exposure to the complex issues facing Israel and the region, with the delegation scheduled to meet with senior government, academic and civil society leaders across the Israeli social and political spectrum, and traveling to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders.

The program marks Project Interchange’s 7th annual flagship seminar for university presidents. Previous seminars have resulted in prominent collaborations between participating universities and their Israeli counterparts, including Cornell NYC Tech, the university campus on Roosevelt Island that is a partnership between Cornell University and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.