The University of Utah became the first American academic institution to sign a formal cooperation deal with Ariel University, the Israeli campus located in the West Bank city of Ariel, the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Southwest announced on May 19.
According to the press release, University of Utah president Dr. Taylor Randall and Ariel University president Prof. Ehud Grossman put their signatures to a five-year memorandum of understanding that can be extended by mutual consent. The agreement establishes a framework for joint research projects, student and faculty exchanges, shared academic conferences, and the mutual use of teaching materials and scientific publications.
The consulate said the pact was brokered with the help of Consul General Israel Bachar, whose Los Angeles office “played a central role in establishing the connection between the two universities and encouraging dialogue between them.”
“This is an important step that marks a new chapter in academic cooperation between Israel and the United States,” Bachar said in the statement, adding that the initiative “proves the connection between peoples transcends politics and focuses on what truly matters—advancing technological knowledge, student exchanges and links between medical faculties and artificial intelligence.”
Bachar also praised both universities for “brave” engagement at a time when “campuses are being taken over by protesters in keffiyehs calling for a Palestinian state ‘from the river to the sea.’”
Data science and computer science programs collaboration
The consulate noted that both institutions have made major investments in medical training and research—Ariel University’s Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson School of Medicine and the University of Utah’s Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine—creating “a natural platform for collaboration in medical innovation, public health and biomedical research.” Data science and computer-science programs at both campuses were highlighted as another area ripe for joint work.
Ariel University, founded in 1982 and chartered as a full university in 2012, is situated in what Israel terms Judea and Samaria. While most foreign governments consider Israeli civilian communities there to be settlements, Ariel has grown into a 17,000-student institution known for interdisciplinary research. The University of Utah, the state’s flagship public university, enrolls roughly 35,000 students and lists global engagement among its strategic priorities.
Under the deal, each university will appoint a coordinator to manage the cooperation program. Both sides said they expect the first joint research projects and exchange visits to begin during the coming academic year.