A moving tribute to Professor Gad Alon, on the twentieth anniversary of his death, was the opening event of this year's Board of Governor's meeting.
Professor Alon served as President of Shenkar for 11 years, from 1976 to 1987. Professor Alon was a beloved and admired President who established Shenkar's position as an institution of higher education. During his term, all of the institution's departments received accreditation from the Council for Higher Education, and the foundations were laid for research activity at Shenkar. Professor Alon also trained a generation of graduates, his students, in the fields of textile technology.
The large audience that assembled for the evening in his honor included Gad's wife, Leora, and their three children, Yoav, Uri and Hila, other family members and friends, members of Shenkar's Board of Governors, employees of Shenkar, retirees who had the privilege of working with him many years ago, as well as graduates who studied at Shenkar during Gad's tenure. At the reception, there was great excitement amongst the guests, some of whom had not seen each other for decades.
The moderator at the event was Oded Drori, a Shenkar alumni who received the first diploma ever granted by the school and is now a member of the Board of Governors. Moving words were spoken by Professor Amotz Weinberg, President of Shenkar; Professor Yuval Yassur, a friend of the Alon family; Kenneth Marks, a friend of the family and a Shenkar supporter during the institution's early years, who had made a special trip from England to attend the event; and, Dr. Yoav Alon, Gad's son, whom many remembered as a small child accompanying his father and became everyone's favorite.
A poignant film was produced for the event by Hila Alon, Gad's daughter, who is in movie production. In the film, she tells the story of Gad as a family man and as the President of Shenkar. The film combines interviews with Shenkar personnel and with alumni, who told amazing stories. For example, Nissim Mizrahi who began his studies at Shenkar when the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973 and was injured in the war. He had to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time, and Gad personally went to the hospital to teach him. Dr. Kizil Ziad, a graduate of Shenkar and now a senior lecturer at the college, recalled that Gad was the one to inspire him to pursue an academic and research career.
During the evening, a film was screened that had been sent by Avishai Nevel, a Shenkar graduate and one of Gad's students, who unfortunately was unable to attend.
Professor Daniel Wagner from the Weizmann Institute concluded the evening with a fascinating lecture on "Nanotubes and Nanocomposites: The Future."
To view the film , please press here: 
