Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari

This past spring, Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari was appointed Vice President of Hebrew University, a first-of-its-kind role created to strengthen diversity and inclusion.

As part of her new role, Khoury-Kassabri has been responsible for broadening the ranks of the university’s academic staff and student body with members from underrepresented communities in academia, including ultra-Orthodox Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians and people with disabilities.

“I feel confident that my experience both inside the classroom and in senior roles at the university will serve me well in promoting the strategic goals and inclusionary values of this great institution,“ Khoury-Kassabri shared following her appointment. Previously, Khoury-Kassabri served as Dean of HU’s Paul Baerwald School of School of Social Work and Social Welfare.

This is the first time in Hebrew University’s history that a member of the Arab community has been appointed to a senior position of vice president. It is also the first time that an Israeli a university created a senior role to strengthen diversity and inclusion.

“Multi-culturalism and diversity are at the very heart of Hebrew University,” said President Prof. Asher’s Cohen, in support of Khoury-Kassabri’s appointment. “For this reason we made the decision to formally create a senior position at the university that will focus on implementing these principles and the strategy to get us there. Professor Khoury-Kassabri is the ideal candidate. She champions diversity without compromising on academic integrity or professionalism.”

Khoury-Kassbari holds three degrees from HU’s School of Social Work and Social Welfare. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago and was a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work. In 2014, she was appointed Advisor to the President of Hebrew University to increase Arab access to higher education and served in key positions on various committees, including head of HU’s Steering Committee for Israeli Hope in Academia. In 2018, she was appointed Dean of HU’s School of Social Work and Social Welfare. Her areas of research are school violence, juvenile delinquency and cyberbullying.