"Prof. Chamovitz has the ability to lead, and can create the necessary and appropriate circles of cooperation within and outside the University," said presidential search committee head.
By JERUSALEM POST LITE STAFFUpdated: AUGUST 15, 2018 04:02BGU names Daniel Chamovitz as 7th president (August 14, 2018).(photo credit: DANI GUTFREUND/ JERUSALEM POST ARCHIVES)Ben-Gurion University of the Negev named Daniel Chamovitz as the school’s seventh president on Tuesday. Chamovitz, the current dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, will replace outgoing president Prof. Rivka Carmi.“Prof. Chamovitz has the ability to lead, and can create the necessary and appropriate circles of cooperation within and outside the university,” said presidential search committee head Asher Heled. “The search committee was impressed by Chamovitz’s academic stature in Israel and abroad. It believes he has the leadership skills, vision and the ability to lead significant processes of change and development, combined with proven academic administration experience. He is intimately acquainted with the higher education system and with trends in academic development in Israel and abroad.”Chamovitz, a US-born biologist, holds degrees from Columbia University in New York, and a PhD from Hebrew University. He wrote the popular science book, What a Plant Knows, in 2012, which has since been translated into 18 languages.“Prof. Chamovitz is an internationally recognized activist promoting plant sciences and their contribution to feeding the growing world population and is on the editorial board of several important scientific journals,” Ben-Gurion University said in a statement.Carmi will have completed three terms as university president when her final term expires in January 2019.Ben-Gurion University has about 20,000 students enrolled across five campuses.
