The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Hebrew: האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, HaUniversita HaIvrit BeYerushalaim; Arabic: الجامعة العبرية في القدس, Al-Jāmi`ah al-`Ibriyyah fil-Quds; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's oldest university.
The First Board of Governors included Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, and Chaim Weizmann. It is home to the world's largest Jewish studies library. Scholars who have been faculty members include Gershom Scholem, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Don Patinkin, Daniel Kahneman and Robert Aumann. Four of Israel's prime ministers are alumni of the Hebrew University, including the current prime minister. The Hebrew University consistently ranks amongst the top universities in Israel and in the world.
History
The dream of establishing a "University of the Jewish People" in the Land of Israel formed an integral part of the early Zionist vision. With the acquisition of the Gray Hill estate atop Mount Scopus, and the laying of the cornerstone for the university-to-be in 1918, the realization of the dream was on its way.
Seven years later, on April 1, 1925, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was opened at a festive ceremony attended, among others, by leaders of world Jewry including the University's founding father, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, distinguished academics and communal leaders of the Yishuv, and British dignitaries including Lord Balfour, Viscount Allenby and Sir Herbert Samuel. Also in attendance were Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hacohen Kook, the poet Haim Nahman Bialik and many others.
The University's first three research institutes - in microbiology, chemistry and Jewish studies - had 33 faculty members and 141 students. In 1931, the University awarded its first degrees, the Master of Arts, to 13 graduates.
Library
The Jewish National and University Library is the central and largest library of the Hebrew University and one of the most impressive book and manuscript collections in the world. It is also the oldest section of the university. Founded in 1892 as a world center for the preservation of books relating to Jewish thought and culture, it assumed the additional functions of a general university library in 1920. Its collections of Hebraica and Judaica are the largest in the world. It houses all materials published in Israel, and attempts to acquire all materials published in the world related to the country. It possesses over 5 million books and thousands of items in special sections, many of which are unique. Among these are the Albert Einstein Archives, Hebrew manuscripts department, Eran Laor map collection, Edelstein science collection, Gershom Scholem collection, and a collection of Maimonides' manuscripts and early writings.
In his will, Albert Einstein left the Hebrew University his personal papers and the intellectual copyright to them, as well as the right to use his image. The Albert Einstein Archives contain some 55,000 items.
In addition to the National Library, the Hebrew University operates subject-based libraries on its campuses, among them the Avraham Harman Science Library, Givat Ram; Mathematics and Computer Science Library, Givat Ram; Earth Sciences Library, Givat Ram; Bloomfield Library for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Mt. Scopus; Bernard G. Segal Law Library Center, Mt. Scopus; Library of Archaeology, Mt. Scopus; Moses Leavitt Library of Social Work, Mt. Scopus; Zalman Aranne Central Education Library, Mt. Scopus; Library of the Rothberg International School, Mt. Scopus; Muriel and Philip I. Berman National Medical Library, Ein Kerem; Central Library of Agricultural Science, Rehovot; and the Roberta and Stanley Bogen Library of The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Mt. Scopus.
The Hebrew University libraries and their web catalogs can be accessed through the HUJI Library Authority portal.
Campus
Hebrew University has four campuses, three in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. In 2003, it had a student population of 23,000.
Mount Scopus (Hebrew: Har HaTzofim הר הצופים), in the eastern part of Jerusalem, is home to the Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Human Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business Administration, Rothberg International School, Frank Sinatra International Student Center, Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies and the newly established School of Public Policy.
The Givat Ram campus, named for Edmond Safra, contains the scientific departments, as well as the Jewish National Library.
The Ein Kerem campus is located in the same complex as the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. Although the primary focus of the campus is the medical and dental departments of the university, the molecular biology department also finds its home there.
The Faculty of Agriculture and the School of Veterinary Medicine are located in the city of Rehovot in the coastal plane. The Faculty of Agriculture was established in 1942 and the School of Veterinary Medicine opened in 1985. These are the only institutions of higher learning in Israel that offer both teaching and research programs in their respective fields.
Research Highlights
HU researchers figure at the forefront of international science - from biotechnology and computer science to astrophysics and cancer research, from microbiology to solar energy and genetic engineering, as well as the humanities, including Jewish studies, social sciences and law.
- Nearly 40% of all civilian scientific research in Israel is conducted at the Hebrew University.
- About 3,800 research projects are in progress at the University, and 1,500 new projects are started each year.
- The University is home to 100 subject-related and interdisciplinary research centers.
- Thirty percent of all doctoral candidates in Israel are enrolled at the Hebrew University.
- Sixteen percent of all the research conducted at the University finds application in high-tech industry. The University sold $12 million of expertise to industry in 2001.
Faculties
- Faculty of Humanities
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, and The Robert H. Smite
- Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked 93 in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.
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