Prof. Rafi Melnik has been appointed President of Reichman University

Prof. Rafi Melnik has been appointed President of Reichman University (formerly the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya). Melnik will replace the university's founder, Prof. Uriel Reichman, who retired in September. Melnik has so far served as vice president of academic affairs at the university, and in September was appointed acting president. At the same time, Reichman was appointed chairman of the university's board of directors.
Melnik, 74, was previously dean of the University School of Government, one of the founders of the School of Economics, and a faculty member at the School of Business Administration. He has held other public positions, including a member of the Monetary Committee of the Bank of Israel, a member of the Advisory Committee to the Minister of Finance and a member of the Advisory Committee to the Economic Council of the Prime Minister's Office.
In the last 20 years, Melnik has developed and published the Melnik Index, which analyzes in real time the level of activity in the economy based on various indicators. In August, the Council for Higher Education approved the transformation of the Interdisciplinary Center into a university, named after Reichman, thus officially making the Private College the first private university in Israel. The approval was given despite opposition from the council's Planning and Budgeting Committee (PTA). In doing so, the Interdisciplinary Center completed a move that began years ago, at Reichman's initiative, and with the encouragement of recent education ministers, to turn it into a university.
Reichman said in response: "Our university has been a mission and a life's work for me. I am ending my role as president with a great sense of security in the future of the institution, and with Prof. Melnik's success.