Where Research Meets Responsibility

At a moment when societies around the world are grappling with uncertainty, trauma, and rapid change, universities are being called upon to do more than educate. They must engage. They must respond. And they must help repair what has been broken.

At Bar-Ilan University, this responsibility is not an add-on to academic life; it is foundational and what sets us apart. Alongside world-class research and rigorous scholarship, Bar-Ilan advances what the institution refers to as its “Third Mission”—contributing to society and strengthening Jewish-cultural resilience. Combining knowledge, expertise, and values as a vehicle for social change, this institutional model insists that excellence and impact are inseparable.

It is a mission that is visible in Bar-Ilan’s response to real-world needs: from resilience-building initiatives that support wounded soldiers and trauma-affected communities, to academic programs that translate psychological research into healing frameworks, and interdisciplinary efforts that bring scholars, practitioners, and students together in moments of national and global challenge. The Third Mission asks a simple but powerful question: How does what we know help others live better, stronger lives?

One young researcher who reflects this ethos is Shany Cohen, a PhD student in Bar-Ilan’s Faculty of Engineering. Shany works in electro-optics, designing advanced meta-optic devices—flat, high-performance optical components that could one day transform cameras, autonomous systems, and space technologies. Her work exemplifies the university’s commitment to research excellence with real-world application.

Yet Shany’s story is not defined by research alone. Alongside her academic work, she has organized seminars to support fellow graduate students, tutored undergraduate students during reserve military service, and volunteered to help deliver Shabbat meals to families in need. For her, intellectual rigor and responsibility to others are not competing values—they are mutually reinforcing.

Shany is a recipient of the Mordecai z”l and Monique Katz Graduate Fellowship Scholarship, an award that reflects a profoundly Bar-Ilan vision of education. Established in honor of Drs. Mordecai and Monique Katz, the fellowship recognizes not only academic achievement, but character, leadership, and commitment to community.

For nearly three decades, the Katzes were pillars of the Bar-Ilan family. Mordecai Katz served as Chairman of Bar-Ilan’s Board of Trustees, helping guide the university through periods of remarkable growth. Together, they invested deeply in Bar-Ilan—supporting scholarships, research, and major campus initiatives—driven by a belief that the future is built by empowering people of integrity and vision.

Their philanthropy was never about recognition. It was about continuity: ensuring that promising students could pursue their work without financial constraint, and that the university could continue to educate leaders grounded in both excellence and values. Through the Katz Fellowship, that legacy lives on—not as a monument, but as momentum.

This is how Bar-Ilan’s Third Mission takes shape: through research that addresses real needs, through students who understand leadership as service, and through donors who recognize that the most meaningful investments are in human potential.

At American Friends of Bar-Ilan University, we are proud to steward partnerships that make this work possible. We see, time and again, how philanthropic vision—like that of the Katz family—intersects with academic purpose to produce impact that ripples outward, from individual lives to communities to societies.

Bar-Ilan University does not ask whether it should engage with the world’s challenges. It assumes that responsibility—and acts on it. That is the power of a university guided not only by knowledge, but by mission. And it is why Bar-Ilan continues to be a source of light, resilience, and leadership in an ever-changing world.