BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

16

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Ernest Scheller, Jr. Gate of Innovation, the North Campus' main gate, will be inaugurated in October 2026 Victor Hadad, Director of the Sylvan Adams Sports Center, inspects damage to the Jacqueline Ann Ayrton Sports Hall. June 2025

An Iranian missile attack during Operation Rising Lion in June 2025 scored a direct hit on the Soroka University Medical Center, destroying a building that held BGU teaching and research labs, and damaging multiple buildings on the Marcus Family Campus and Sylvan Adams Sports Center.

IN MEMORIAM Sahar Baruch, z”l was supposed to start his electrical engineering studies the week after October 7, 2023, but was murdered in captivity in Gaza. He was laid to rest in Kibbutz Be’eri in early November 2025. Naomi Shaanan, z”l, a retired BGU librarian and devoted activist on behalf of the hostages, was tragically killed by a direct Iranian missile strike on her home on June 24, 2025. Master Sgt. (res.) Alon Farkas, z”l , a 3rd year student in the School of Cognitive & Brain Sciences, was killed in combat in June 2025.

Naomi Shaanan, z”l

Sahar Baruch, z”l

Alon Farkas, z”l