Darden Professor Gal Raz Brings Israeli Ambassador to UVA
On 11 April 2013, University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Gal Raz brought Dr. Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, to the University of Virginia. In an event co-sponsored by U.Va.’s Darden, the Miller Center and the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, Raz introduced Dr. Oren by describing the Israeli entrepreneurial spirit and his experience of taking students to his home country.
“I started an MBA course in which I take 30 of our students to Israel every year for a course focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation in Israel. The most important feature of the course is that the students conduct a four-week project with an Israeli startup company to help with their strategy to penetrate the U.S. market,” said Raz. “The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., has been very helpful in arranging the trips.”
Dr. Oren provided the audience of students, faculty and community members snapshots of his time as ambassador. Each vignette demonstrated the importance of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. As an historian, Oren discussed the context of the relationship, dating back to the Puritan settlers in New England. He noted that Israel’s Declaration of Independence is closely based on Thomas Jefferson’s seminal document.
Oren talked about Israel’s advanced technology sector and its vast number of startup companies. According to the ambassador, “Israel is a high tech giant. It has the most start-up companies in the world behind the U.S.” Some of the innovations to come out of Israeli companies include intuitive searches for Internet browsers, a robotic device that allows paraplegics to walk and a special medical bandage to stem bleeding that helped save former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ life.
The U.S.-Israeli relationship also includes trade, and Israel is a major customer of American imports. Oren says that Israel is also an outsourcer. One example is the company Sabra that recently opened its new hummus plant in Virginia.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press Contact
Molly Mitchell
Associate Director of Content Marketing and Social Media
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu
