Hebrew University to name School of Education in honor of Seymour Fox
“In naming our School of Education in his honor, we wish to acknowledge the profound influence he had on our university, and his lifelong passion for education and the institutions he built.”
By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZIUpdated: MARCH 11, 2016 01:40
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s School of Education will be named the Seymour Fox School of Education in honor of the school’s former head, the university announced on Thursday.“Seymour was an esteemed leader and visionary educator,” said Hebrew University president Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson.“In naming our School of Education in his honor, we wish to acknowledge the profound influence he had on our university, and his lifelong passion for education and the institutions he built.”Born in Chicago, Fox served as the head of HU’s School of Education for 14 years beginning in 1966. During that time he introduced new programs for early childhood education and curriculum writing, established the Melton Center for Jewish Education, and hosted visiting US and European educational scholars.Fox was also instrumental in developing Camp Ramah, a network of summer camps in the United States, Canada and Israel associated with Conservative Judaism.Later in his career, Fox served as the first president of the largest foundation for Jewish education in the world, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation – Israel, and founded with Morton Mandel the Mandel Leadership Institute. He also served as an adviser to several ministers of education in Israel.Fox died in 2006, at the age of 77.Fox’s son, David, said: “My family is deeply humbled by this dedication in honor of our father. His commitment to education remains an inspiration for teachers, students and other leaders in Israel and the Jewish community around the world.”The naming ceremony will be held on Monday at the Truman Institute at HU’s Mount Scopus campus.