Conference Call: New Research on Preventing Dropout from Hig...

Please join us on April 23rd at 12pm EST for a conference call on: Helping low-income and minorty students succeed: New research on preventing dropout from higher education High dropout rates among low income and minority students in Israel is one of the major challenges faced by higher education institutions. Join us for a discussion of recent research commissioned by the Gilbert Foundation, entitled: "Institutional Retention Programs in Israeli Higher Education." This research is a first of its kind and explores dropout patterns and retention policy in Israel's universities and colleges. Recent data published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicates that "only half of students complete their degrees within the standard time, an additional 27% attain their degrees later on and nearly a quarter drop out prior to completion." According to analysis of this research, Arab students are a distinct group within this issue. The call will bring together three experts on this issue: Laurie Heller - Gilbert Foundation in Israel Laurie will discuss Gilbert's nvolvement in promoting higher education for the Arab community in Israel, and why Gilbert decided to fund this innovative research. Dr. Anat Gofen - Hebrew University Anat is the primary researcher and will provide a brief summary of the study, its methodology and findings. Prof. Daoud Bshouty - Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Daoud is Dean of Undergraduate Studies and will offer his perspective from the field. He will discuss measures the Technion has taken which have led to a decrease in dropout rates among Arab students from 28% in 2003 to almost 10% in 2012 Please RSVP to [email protected]. Call-in instructions will be sent in advance. Speaker Bios Laurie Kleinmann-Heller, C.S.W. - Since 1975, Laurie Kleinmann-Heller has been actively involved in the funding, organizational development and social service areas of Jewish communal work in the US and Israel. For ten years as the Coordinator of Overseas Supplemental Planning and Allocations, Senior Overseas Executive and Director of the Legacy Fund of the UJA Federation of New York, Laurie directed the allocation process including all aspects of funding and monitoring of funds totaling between $5 and $13 million a year. Prior to that she oversaw planning and allocations for half of the Jewish Community Centers in N.Y. Her extensive Jewish Community Center experience includes: Assistant Director, Community Centers of the NY Federation; Director of Extension Services of the Jewish Community Centers of Yonkers, initiating and overseeing the operations of four separate extension centers; and Director of the Singles Programs for the 92 Street Y, one of the most successful singles programs in the NY area. Laurie has a BA from Yeshiva University and a MSW from Hunter College. Making Aliyah with her family in 1993, she currently lives in Jerusalem where in 1999 she founded Laurie Heller and Associates, a consulting firm for Israeli non-profit organizations and American based foundations. Dr. Anat Gofen Sarig - Since 2008 Anat has been a lecturer at The Federmann School of Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prior, she was a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Federmann School of Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Anat's doctoral research was also conducted at The Federmann School of Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Anat complete her MBA and her BSc. in Computer Science and Business Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has received numerous grants and awards for her research, including a Post Graduate Grant from Yad Hanadiv in 2008 for Academic Career among Women in Sciences. Prof. Daoud Bshouty - Dean of Undergraduate Students and Professor of Mathematics, Prof. Daoud Bshouty has pioneered geometric function theory of one complex variable, mathematical statistics and analytic probability theory. He has also innovated a Technion vision of multicultural harmony and continuously strives to improve life at Technion City on all levels. At age sixteen Professor Bshouty started his undergraduate studies in Mathematics at the Technion, completing his D. Sc. in 1976. Between 1976-1978 he did postdoctoral studies at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and at Indiana University in Bloomington.. In 1978 he joined the Technion as an associate professor where he continues to teach today. His sabbaticals were spent researching at Indiana University, Universite de Montreal,Universite Laval, Bowling Green State University, and University of California at Irvine. Throughout these years he has been serving the students at the Technion and in particular the Arab ones. Professor Bshouty was nominated as Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Technion and began to serve in this position in January 1st, 2012.