Tel Aviv University announced the formation of a new Equality and Diversity Commission to be led by Professor Neta Ziv. The new Commission, which will report directly to the University President, will deal with all aspects of equality and diversity on campus, including gender, Arabs, first-generation university students, people with disabilities, the LGBT community, members of the Ethiopian community, and the ultra-Orthodox. The Commission will act to promote equality and diversity in the faculty, the administration, and the student body. Professor Ziv will start her new role in August 2021.

The appointment fulfills the recommendations of a Diversity Committee appointed by TAU President Professor Ariel Porat to examine the issue. The Committee, headed by Professor Sigal Alon, recommended that the new unit outline a comprehensive university policy, set goals, and help senior TAU office holders promote equality and diversity in the areas under their responsibility.

Professor Ziv says that the Commission will operate jointly with existing units to expand programs that have been implemented in recent years, particularly for first-generation university students and students with disabilities, the integration of Arabs and other groups in the administrative staff, and increasing the number of women and Arabs on the academic faculty at all levels. 

“I’m greatly honored to have been asked to head the formation of the new unit and work on issues I have studied, taught, and been active in for more than thirty years,” Professor Ziv says. “I believe that a diverse, equal campus is critical for achieving the academic excellence we strive for. But this is also an ethical matter. As a body that relies on public and community resources, the University is obligated to reflect the diversity of the Israeli public at large and become a sphere where every group enjoys a sense of belonging in an equal and respectful manner.”   

“To strive for equality and diversity on the campus is not only a social objective of the highest importance,” says Professor Porat. “A diverse academic faculty ensures a higher academic level for the university and its units; a diverse student body makes the experience of studying at the campus more meaningful; and a diverse administration provides the campus community with the sense that the university belongs to everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, or nationality.

“I’m proud that Prof. Neta Ziv responded favorably to my request to assume the position of establishing the new Commission. Anyone who knows Neta knows that she is both a fully ethical individual and someone who gets things done, a rare combination of traits. For many years, she headed the Law Faculty’s legal clinics and made them a source of pride for the Faculty and University as a whole, nationally and internationally.”