By Rebecca Kendall, Director of Communications

It has 3,800 research projects underway, 30 percent of Israel’s doctoral students are enrolled there and it conducts 40 percent of Israel’s civilian scientific research. It has also been ranked the 72nd best university in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, one of the three most influential and widely observed international university rankings.

For these reasons and countless others, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is an important place to Patty Glaser and Samuel Mudie, who recently created a permanent endowment to support UCLA students who wish to study there. The Sam Mudie and Patty Glaser Scholarship is intended to encourage students of diverse backgrounds to attend Hebrew University in Jerusalem for a semester or full year and gain first-hand knowledge about Israel and its citizens.

“It’s a hugely prestigious and wonderful institution that does research and trains students beyond anything I can imagine,” says Glaser, who is a member of the Hebrew University’s board of governors. “Israel is such a small country, so it’s amazing that an institution there can be so highly ranked. I think UCLA students will benefit significantly from being there, and I think that Israel will benefit significantly from having them.”

Cost is a key factor that often discourages UCLA students from studying abroad, says Maura Resnick, deputy director of UCLA’s Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, so generous gifts like the Sam Mudie and Patty Glaser Scholarship are critically important.  “The many students who will benefit from these scholarships will return with a new understanding of Israeli society and the complexities of the region, and will be able to share their experiences with others on campus. The study abroad program at Hebrew University is a perfect complement to the courses, lectures and cultural events sponsored by the UCLA Nazarian Center to reveal the reality of Israel in all its dimensions.”