Dedication of the Kekst International Office

The Weizmann Institute unveiled the new Gershon Kekst International Office, the former home of Prof. Ephraim Katzir, a renowned biophysicist at the Institute who served as the fourth President of Israel. The Office will serve the large and growing community of international students, postdocs, and visiting scientists—thereby making Institute guests feel at home away from home.

At any given time, nearly 100 visiting faculty members from various parts of the world are on campus, and about 800 per year. The number of international students and postdocs has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

The new International Office offers assistance with visas, medical insurance, arranging ulpan courses to learn Hebrew, help in navigating the housing market, registering children for school, and offering job search support for spouses.

The late Gershon Kekst was a Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute, and served in many leadership roles in the American Committee. He was awarded a PhD honoris causa in 1995, and he and his wife Carol Kekst were generous donors to the Institute over many years. Notably, they established the Kekst Family Institute for Medical Genetics, which has made key discoveries in this field.

Prof. Haim Harari, President Emeritus of the Weizmann Institute, and Prof. Irit Sagi, Dean of the Feinberg Graduate School, both spoke at the event, as did Prof. Daniel Zajfman, President of the Weizmann Institute.