Los Altos Philanthropist Jacob Dayan Elected to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Board of Governors

SAN FRANCISCO, June 20, 2013-- Los Altos philanthropist Jacob (Coby) Dayan has been elected to the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Board of Governors.

Coby Dayan currently serves on the national board of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) as assistant treasurer and is also chairman of AABGU’s Village Committee, which is raising funds for a new student housing complex, American Associates Village, at BGU’s Sede Boqer Campus.  

Over the years, Coby and his wife, Riki, have endowed student scholarships at BGU, supported the University’s community outreach programs and provided a lead gift for the American Associates Village that will allow the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies to double the number of applicants it can accept. Members of the illustrious Negev Society, the Dayans have also chaired a major gifts mission to BGU, and established a memorial garden on the Beer-Sheva campus in memory of their parents. 

"It is an honor to be elected to BGU's Board of Governors," says Coby. "Knowledge is power. Differences in Israel are huge. Some people are educated and some are not, and some are poor. Closing that gap is the most important thing Israel can do to secure its future, and we have to help with that.”

Coby was born in Israel. He served in the Israeli Air Force and took part in the Six Day War. He moved to California and became a pioneer in the semiconductor industry. He was also a member of the advisory board of Silicon Ventures LLC.

Dayan graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He and his wife live in Los Altos Hills.

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel’s southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev. AABGU is headquartered in Manhattan and has nine regional offices throughout the U.S. including one in the Bay Area. For more information, contact northwest@aabgu.org, 415-927-2119 or visit www.aabgu.org.

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