$15 million gift to Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot Branch

"The Robert H. Smith Family Foundation pledged a $15 million challenge grant to transform the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences in Rehovot, Israel.

The gift will be the cornerstone of the university's and American Friends of Hebrew University's "Feeding the Future through Sustainable Agriculture" campaign, a $51 million reorganization and expansion plan that will broaden and accelerate the University's cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in plant and animal sciences, biochemistry, nutrition and environmental studies.

In recognition of the Foundation's generosity the Faculty will be renamed "The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences." American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU) is launching a $15 million fund-raising campaign, seeking support from other American philanthropists and foundations.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is located on three campuses in Jerusalem and a fourth in Rehovot, is one of the world's leading academic and research institutions. Faculty and alumni have won six Nobel Prizes in the past five years."

Source: $15 million gift to Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Staten Island Advance (9 May 2008) [FullText]