About
The Academic Excellence Center, responding directly to the Rector of the college is responsible for the advancement and development of pedagogical excellence and research activities at the college.
COLMAN’s position at the forefront of higher education in Israel is maintained by systematically ensuring the implementation and development of the highest level of practices in teaching and supporting the academic excellence of our teaching cadre from first-time graduate assistants to longtime faculty.
The Center’s activities include continuous training programs and seminars for academic staff, evaluations of study programs, including the carrying out of student polls, research and development of cross-faculty standards for syllabus development, teaching methods, classroom practices and technological aids, meeting the requirements of the Council for Higher Education in Israel and ensuring the best learning experience for our students.
The research wing of the Academic Excellence Center
The research wing of the Academic Excellence Center encourages and supports basic and applied research, and provides guidance, assistance, and comprehensive administrative support in submission of research proposals to various Israeli and international funds and institutes.
It distributes and initiates calls for papers, holds seminars, and grants funds for research proposals development, seed money for initial research, and publication expenses of books and papers.
The research wing organizes yearly seminars as a venue in which preliminary research is presented to the faculty, encouraging exchange of ideas and collaboration of various disciplines.
The research wing operates the college research ethics committee, ensuring all research conducted by the college’s faculty and students is subject to proper ethical regulations and guidelines.
The research wing also handles the college’s central research grants fund, supplementing, when needed, research expenses beyond regular schools’ and departments’ research funds to ensure ongoing excellence in research and the continual personal academic development of faculty members.
Our Directors
Prof. Benjamin Gidron
Research consultant
Prof. Benjamin Gidron, is a research consultant at the Rector’s Office and Prof. of Social Enterprises. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, University of Pittsburgh, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has been a visiting professor at University of Innsbruck, University of Perugia, University of Chicago, Heidelberg University, Brandeis University, and UCLA.
He founded the Israeli Center for Third Sector Research (ICTR) at Ben Gurion University, where he also developed the first M.A. program for NPO management, and served as the Founding President of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR).
His forthcoming book (co-authored with Inbal Abbou and Yisca Monnickendam-Givon), THE NEW SOCIAL ECONOMY IN ISRAEL was accepted for publishing by Resling.
His book (Co-authored with Stan Katz & Yeheskel Hasenfeld) MOBILIZING FOR PEACE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA, NORTHERN IRELAND AND ISRAEL/PALESTINE RECEIVED, was awarded the Virginia A. Hodgkinson Award for Best Research Publication in Nonprofit Organizations and Philanthropy.
Dr. Itamar Shabtai
School of Economics,
Dr. Itamar Shabtai, is a graduate of COLMAN and of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has been a visiting scholar at Claremont Graduate University. He is the Academic Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching at the College of Management, and the former Dean of the School of Economics at COLMAN as well as former head of the major in information systems at the MBA program at Hebrew University.
His main research interest is in the area of Healthcare Information Technology and medical informatics. His recent joint studies, Using Electronic Health Record Systems to Optimize Admission Decisions: The Creatinine Case Study, and EHR in Emergency Rooms: Exploring the Effect of Key Information Components on Main Complaints, were published in Health Informatics Journal, and the Journal of Medical Systems.
