DeSantis boosts Florida universities in Israel

For the first time in years, a Florida governor has initiated his governorship by highlighting the success and talents of our public and private universities. In meeting after meeting, the Governor Ron DeSantis put education and research on the table as a bridge to building better and stronger cooperative relationships with the people of Israel.

Words are not deeds. The Florida education sector must now deliver. During the visit, the governor announced a $5.2 million National Institute of Mental Health grant to fund a collaboration between researchers at FIU and Tel Aviv University (TAU). We are looking to leverage our respective strengths and collaborate in other areas such as autism and emergency management. Likewise, several other Florida colleges and universities signed important agreements during the trip.

I am confident Florida higher education will meet and exceed the governor’s expectations. Beyond these initial steps in providing a platform for our universities and colleges, the governor’s confidence in us must be repaid in the future with even higher levels of impact. During the trip, the governor noted that Florida now has the country’s highest-ranking university system. This is the result of the performance standards articulated by the Board of Governors, then funded by the state legislature, and our commitment to improve so that our students experience a high quality education, timely graduation, and great employment opportunities.

The governor’s early support for higher education in Florida is appreciated. We have shown that we can improve and have impact in job creation and innovation at the same time. Floridians have already seen this and our Israeli partners will soon benefit as well. Special thanks to an open-minded governor who, just starting out, is empowering our hardworking universities and colleges beyond anything we could have expected.