NEWS@BGU Summer 2007 אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב NEWSLETTER OF BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV Guilford Glazer School of Business & Management Named Full Board of Governors Coverage Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has Pages 7-19 announced the naming of the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management. This Prof. Amos Oz Receives Spain’s development was made Prestigious Prince of Asturias possible through the generosity of Guilford Award for Literature and Diane Glazer of Los 2 Angeles, California in Special Program to Recognize recognition of the strength and potential of the 11 year Arabic Handwriting old School of Management. Developed The Diane and Guilford Glazer Building 3 “The Glazers’ decades-old commitment to investing in Israel, with a new focus on the Negev and particularly Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, reflects their steadfast support New Tool To Prevent Soil of the nation’s long-term growth and development,” University President Prof. Rivka Carmi and Ground Water said upon making the announcement. “We are honored that the Glazer family believes Pollution Developed in our potential and look forward to working with the Glazers to realize their dream of training a new cadre of managers for the region.” 21 Prof. Shaul Ladany The impressive building housing the Guilford Glazer School, designed by Danish-Israeli Recognized by the architect Ulrike Plessner, will be named, “The Diane and Guilford Glazer Building.” Opened in 2003, the Building includes state-of-the-art computer laboratories, the Jeremiah Sundell Olympic Movement Executive Auditorium, seminar rooms, faculty and administration offices and the Eva and 24 Irwin Simon Trading Room that enables students to engage in real-time trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Real estate developer and businessman Guilford Glazer is a long-time supporter of Israel. Together with his wife, media personality Diane Glazer, he has devoted his time and philanthropic activity to strengthening Israel’s economy and image around the world. He was the primary mover behind a Rand Corporation study titled “The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State,” which sought to create a blueprint for a viable Palestinian state as part of a business initiative to ensure Israel’s safety and stability. “This naming is a significant event that recognizes the impressive growth and activity of the School,” said Dean of the Guilford Glazer School, Prof. Arie Reichel. “The endowment of the School provides us with an opportunity to expand our research activities and develop educational and entrepreneurial programs to encourage future Israeli-Palestinian cooperation that embodies the Glazer quest for peace through innovative business ventures.” The rapidly expanding School offers a variety of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs designed to prepare students for the management challenges of the 21st century. There are currently 2,192 students enrolled, including 38 Ph.D. students. NEWSLETTER OF BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEVProf. Amos Oz Receives Spain’s Prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Literature 2 @ 3 Prof. Amos Oz has won the prestigious In a statement made upon notification of Prince of Asturias Award for Literature winning the prize, Oz said, “If I have to NEWS2007 given by the Prince of Asturias say in one word what my entire literary BGU Foundation in Spain. The Israeli author work is all about, I would say ‘families’. was chosen by a jury headed by Spanish If I had two words, I would say ‘unhappy Royal Language Academy director families’. If I had more than two words, Victor Garcia de la Concha. The Award you would have to read my works.” will be bestowed upon Oz and his co- winners — including musician Bob Dylan Former winners of the Asturias literature and former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore, prize include Mario Vargas Llosa, who each won in separate categories Günter Grass, Doris Lessing and Arthur for their contribution to humanity, by Miller. Last year’s winner was American King Juan Carlos of Spain in an October writer Paul Auster. ceremony. Prof. Amos Oz focusing especially on advocating peace Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe is the Oz, a long-time member of the amongst peoples and condemning all patron of the Asturias Foundation, Department of Hebrew Literature, is forms of fanaticism.” which distributes eight awards Israel’s preeminent author. According annually. The awards are made in to the minutes of the jury, Oz has Oz has written 18 books in Hebrew, as the fields of communication and “fashioned the Hebrew language into well as several hundred articles and humanities, scientific and technical a brilliant instrument for literary art and essays. His works have been translated research, social science, arts, letters, for the truthful disclosure of the most into more than 30 languages. The Amos international cooperation, international dire and universal realities of our time, Oz Archive is located at the University. understanding and sports. Prof. Moshe Justman Elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Moshe Justman was elected Dean People’s University, otherwise known as of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Renmin University in Beijing; Universitat Sciences. He will replace Prof. Avishai Autonoma de Barcelona; and as an Henik who has completed a six-year Ameritech Fellow at Case Western tenure. He will assume the position on Reserve University in Cleveland. August 1, 2007. Justman is currently director of the A member of the Department of Economics and Society Program at Economics since 1982, Justman’s the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and research interests include the political a member of the University’s Executive economics of education, growth and and Finance Committees. In the past, income distribution, the economics of he served as Chair of the Department innovation and technology policy and of Economics, Deputy Editor of the regional development. He received his Economic Quarterly (Rivon leKalkala), B.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics and a member of the National Steering Prof. Moshe Justman M.Sc. in Mathematics, both from the Committee on Science and Technology Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Infrastructure, the Executive Council to the Israeli Ministries of the Interior; his Ph.D. in Business Economics from of the Israel Economics Association Education; Industry and Trade, Labor Harvard University. He has served and the Executive Committee of the and Welfare; the Jewish Agency; and as a Visiting Professor at Carnegie International Joseph A. Schumpeter the Ohio Science and Technology Mellon University in Pittsburgh; China Society. He has served as a consultant Commission. NEWSLETTER OF BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV European Center Special Program to Recognize Takes Student Arabic Handwriting Developed Study Tour The Centre for the Study of European 2 @ Politics and Society (CSEPS) organized 3 the first of its kind academic study- NEWS BGUtour to institutions in Brussels of the European Union, NATO headquarters and Jewish communities in Europe. The four-day tour was conducted as part of the EU Jean Monnet Module, titled “The European Union, Israel and the European Jewish Communities” and taught by CSEPS director Dr. Sharon Pardo of Department of Politics and Government. Eighteen students from the Department and the Pilots’ Academic Program Dr. Jihad El-Sana became “Israeli ambassadors” to Researchers from the Department of advantage in using handwriting instead Europe. They met with senior officials, Computer Sciences have succeeded in of typing, especially in developing European decision-makers and leaders developing a prototype for a recognition countries. Today, there is already a of the Jewish communities in Brussels. program that identifies Arabic system in existence for identifying Latin Participants discussed various questions handwriting in real time, with a success handwriting in high percentages, but pertaining to the EU, relations rate of more than 97%. Developed by there is no system to identify Arabic between Europe and countries in the Dr. Jihad El-Sana and Masters student handwriting, which is used by around Mediterranean basin and the Middle Fadi Biadsa, the system allows the user one-sixth of the world’s population. East, and to relations between the EU to write on an electronic screen, which then analyses the text and translates it “The identification of Arabic handwriting and Israel. into printed letters in a thousandth of is difficult because it is joined and most a second. of the Arabic letters contain dots either Pardo explained, “In a meeting with above or below the letter. It should be leaders of the Jewish community, Using calculative geometry to analyze stressed that we have an obligation students were able to hear first-hand the graphs, forms and dots that build to maintain the same style of writing about the hardships of European Jewish the hypothetical reference points, the without change. For example, in some communities and the problems of anti- system identifies average handwriting models of hand-held computers – even Semitism, assimilation and emigration.” and is built to learn new types of in Latin letters – there is a small change handwriting through use. in the letters so that it will be possible to identify them as fast as possible without Before leaving for Brussels, the students A mouse and keyboard are the most errors.” participated in two preparatory common devices used to pass textual meetings at the Foreign and Defense information to a computer. The On the economic potential of the Ministries to familiarize themselves development of hand-held computers development El-Sana said, “We are with the official positions of the and devices – which allow writing on talking about a target population of State of Israel regarding European a small screen by hand – require new around one billion people who speak organizations and institutions. methods of handwriting identification Arabic, Urdu and Kurdish who could and its translation to printed text on be potential users.