PROFESSOR ASHER COHEN: PRESIDENT OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY

Professor Asher Cohen is the President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its former Rector. After graduating with a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Psychology from the Hebrew University, Professor Cohen completed his doctoral and post-doctoral studies at the University of Oregon in the United States.

He then served as a senior lecturer at Indiana University, before returning to the Hebrew University’s Department of Psychology in the early 1990s. He was appointed senior lecturer in 1992 and received full professorship in 2005. Between 2008 and 2012, he served as Head of the Department of Psychology.

Professor Cohen conducts research in the cognitive sciences, focusing on the relationship between humans’ perception system and response mechanisms in situations that require rapid motor responses. He developed a theoretical model that successfully predicts situations in which abilities will decline when performing two tasks.

In 2012, Professor Cohen was appointed Rector of the Hebrew University. In that capacity, he led the recruitment of top researchers from Israel and abroad, created new and innovative academic programs, updated curricula, and worked with the Student Union to improve the educational experience for HU students.

In 2017, Professor Cohen was elected President of the Hebrew University.

In the past, Professor Cohen headed the Association of Senior Academic Faculty at the Hebrew University. He currently serves on the board of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning.

Professor Cohen is married and is the father of two children.