Zvi Galil Assumes Presidency of Tel Aviv University
Monday, July 2, 2007

Former Columbia University Dean of Engineering and Applied Science Returns to Serve His Alma Mater

Tel Aviv University alumnus Zvi Galil, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a leader in the field of computer science, assumed the office of president of TAU in June 2007.

Formerly the dean of Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, Dr. Galil returns to the school to lead his alma mater into the 21st century. A native of Israel, he graduated summa cum laude from TAU with an M.Sc. degree in 1971, and went on to receive his Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University in 1975 before joining Columbia in 1982.

Dr. Galil recognizes the strong bonds between Columbia and TAU as well as his adopted home of the U.S. and his original home of Israel. “I look forward to continuing a dynamic, positive relationship with the American Friends of Tel Aviv University and collaborating with our friends in the United States as research and academics take a more global role in the future of our planet and society. This is an age of globalization in higher education. TAU and Columbia are separated by an ocean, but that has less meaning than at any prior time in human history,” he said.

“Tel Aviv University is more than my alma mater,” Dr. Galil said of his decision to return to the school. “My late father was one of its six founders, I earned my B.S. and M.S. degrees there, and met my wife there. I served on its faculty full-time for six years and jointly with Columbia until I became dean. I was asked to take on the presidency to help realize its full potential ― being the premier university in Israel and in the top tier of universities worldwide.”

Dr. Galil is the author of over 200 scientific papers, the editor of five books, and has given more than 150 lectures in 20 countries. He has also served as the chief computer science adviser to the Oxford University Press in the United States.