Prof. Riad Agbaria, Director of BGU's School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Health Sciences, has been appointed advisor to the Rector for Arab Student Affairs. As part of his new duties, Prof. Agbaria will draft university policy in these matters in cooperation with Rector Prof. Zvi HaCohen.
Prof. Agbaria was born in Umm el-Fahm in 1959 and completed his doctorate in clinical pharmacology at BGU in 1990. Since joining the University faculty in 1998, he has initiated and been involved in many community projects to promote minorities, including the unique Medical Cadets program, which prepares Bedouin high school students for the medical professions.
There are more than 100 graduates of the program, including 6 female Bedouin doctors. Currently, there are 110 Bedouin students in the Faculty of Health Sciences, including 15 in the Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School.
Agbaria is also a former head of the Robert H. Arnow Center for Bedouin Studies and Development.
