BGU & YOU | Spring 2025

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A Legacy of Impact The Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation

As Ben-Gurion University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and medical school celebrate their 50th anniversary, we proudly acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of the Goldman family of New York . Their unwavering support has played a pivotal role in the school’s continued success, as well as in other key university initiatives beyond the health sciences. We extend our deepest gratitude to these exceptional friends. The Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation was established by Irving Goldman,

was originally known as the “Beer-Sheva Experiment.” Its mission was groundbreaking: to revolutionize medical education with innovative admission procedures, and a pedagogy that emphasized a holistic approach, treating patients as embedded in their specific social and cultural contexts. Many aspects of this pioneering model have since been adopted across Israel and around the world — making the experiment a resounding success. By the mid-1990s, the Faculty of Health Sciences was in increasing demand, training a growing number of health professionals in a range of disciplines to serve both the Negev and the nation at large. However, this growth coincided with major government budget cuts and the enactment of the National Health Insurance Law, requiring the Faculty to reassess its future direction. This period of uncertainty made it clear that strategic planning was essential to ensure the continued success of BGU’s medical school and the healthcare system it supported.

a WWII veteran and successful real estate entrepreneur, to honor his late wife and uphold his commitment to philanthropy. Through the Goldman Family Foundation , Joyce and Irving’s children — Lloyd Goldman (current Chair of BGU’s Board of Governors), Katja Goldman Sonnenfeldt , and Dorian Goldman (Chair of the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation) — have ensured the ongoing development and excellence of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The Goldmans’ engagement with BGU began in 1983, with a modest contribution toward scholarships. Within a little over a decade the Foundation had become a major donor, actively shaping the medical school’s future. In 2014, the Goldman name was inscribed upon the President’s Pillars, in recognition of their transformative generosity. A Revolutionary Approach to Medical Education BGU’s medical school, which welcomed its first class in 1974,

Irving and Joyce Goldman, 1961