Tel Aviv University’s Board of Governors has named Prof. Ariel Porat as the university’s new president, succeeding Prof. Joseph Klafter after two terms at the helm of the institution.
Porat currently serves as a professor of Law at TAU and a visiting professor at the University of Chicago.
His appointment was confirmed on Sunday, the university said, after the Board of Directors unanimously approved the university search committee’s recommendation, and after the academic senate voted in his favor by a sweeping majority.
“It is a great privilege for me to head such a magnificent institution like Tel Aviv University,” said Porat, who was awarded the EMET Prize in 2014 for groundbreaking legal research.
“However, alongside this privilege, I also bear a heavy responsibility toward the university staff, students and Israeli society. I am proud to assume this responsibility. I will do everything to lead the university to new heights.”
Porat received his LL.B., LL.M. and J.S.D. qualifications at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law before completing his post-doctorate studies at Yale Law School.
In addition to his current roles at Tel Aviv University and the University of Chicago, Porat has also served as visiting professor at the University of Berkeley, Columbia University, New York University, Stanford University, University of Toronto and the University of Virginia.
As dean of the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law from 2002-2006, Porat established and led a university admission program for outstanding students from the periphery, which was subsequently implemented throughout the university.