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Bar-Ilan University, which was established in 1955, undertakes to blend Jewish heritage and values with excellence in modern science and scholarship. Prof. Pinkhos Churgin was the founder and first president of the University, which bears the name of Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan (Berlin), a religious Zionist leader in pre-State Israel.
Since its founding 50 years ago, the University has grown to become one of Israel's leading institutions of higher learning. Bar-Ilan has produced more than 75,000 graduates, who may be found in important positions throughout the Israeli economy and the Jewish world.
Bar-Ilan University houses Israel's largest schools of education and social work, and the globe's premier faculty of Jewish studies. The University has prominent scientific research institutes in physics, medicinal chemistry, nano-technology, mathematics, brain research, economics, strategic studies, Land of Israel studies, Jewish law and philosophy.
Today, more than 30,000 students from all walks of Israeli life study at Bar-Ilan University and they constitute a model of co-existence between the religious and secular. The main University campus is situated in Ramat Gan, and five regional colleges operate throughout Israel. Under the leadership of the current University President, Prof. Moshe Kaveh, Bar-Ilan is in the midst of a building and expansion campaign, with the main campus slated to double its size by the year 2010.
Over the past five years, Bar ilan has doubled the number of doctoral candidates, who today account for some 1,500 students. The University pursues scientific excellence, and many of its academic faculty have earned international acclaim and prestigious prizes for academic achievements. Some 40 prominent universities around the world maintain formal academic cooperation agreements with Bar-Ilan .
Bar-Ilan University is particularly proud of its community outreach programs aimed at improving and helping the Israeli public at large and Diaspora Jewry. These include programs for the elderly, disadvantaged, gifted youth, Jewish communities and educational institutions abroad.
The architectural plans for the campus expansion are innovative and varied. Three examples appear on the Bar-Ilan stamp – the Wohl Centre, which is under construction; the Nagel Jewish Heritage Center; and the Gonda (Goldschmied) Brain Research Center. The Wengrowsky Visitors Center and Observatory - the Bar-Ilan landmark - similarly may be seen on the stamp.
Bar-Ilan University
The Department of Public Relations
