November 19, 2007; New York -- The president of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Professor Menachem Magidor, will attend the Global Colloquium of University Presidents, hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The event will be held at New York University's Manhattan campus on November 28-29, 2007. The announcement was made today by Peter Willner, national executive director of the American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU).

The Colloquium will be attended by 25 presidents of the world's leading research universities: including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, University of Tokyo, Oxford and the Indian Institute of Technology, among others. Professor Magidor will be the only representative from a Middle East institution attending the colloquium.

The university presidents, along with expert faculty members, will address global climate change, outlining governance policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, they will identify the role of universities in relation to raising awareness and facilitating behavioral change.

Hebrew Universitys Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science is at the leading edge of research on global warming as it affects plants, animals, food production and the environment.

"The challenge is to find ways in which to provide high-quality food at lower cost, while at the same time not harming the environment, said Professor Magidor. "I look forward to joining my contemporaries from some of the worlds other top research universities and am confident that Israel and the Hebrew University can play a leadership role in helping to solve some of the most significant environmental issues facing humanity in the 21st century.

Earlier this month, Hebrew University inaugurated the International Center for Protected Agriculture in Semi-Arid Areas, the establishment of which, was enabled by Robert H. Smith of Washington, D.C. The Cente and the adjacent Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture were created to meet the needs of a growing World population.

For further information:
Rebecca Zeffert, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University, Tel: 02-588-1641, or Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, Tel: 02-5882910 or 052-260-8016. Internet site: http://media.huji.ac.il.