Vice President for International Affairs and Third Mission, Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach

The school develops various academic degree programs and assists in recruiting and integrating doctoral and post-doctoral students. The school also promotes student exchanges and short-term study programs for international students.

Alongside teaching and research missions, Bar-Ilan University has taken on a third mission - contributing to society and strengthening Jewish-cultural resilience.

The Vice President's Office works to promote the many initiatives at Bar-Ilan advancing social justice, equality, and tolerance. It also encourages the development of new social initiatives within the university, other initiatives that support the community and Israeli society, as well as initiatives to strengthen mutual connections with Diaspora Jewry.

Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach is a faculty member in the Psychology Department and a clinical psychologist. She completed her degrees at the Hebrew University and did her post-doctorate at CUNY in New York as a Fulbright Fellow. Among her roles at the university, she served as head of the Clinical Program and director of the Community Service Clinic, member of the Institutional Ethics Committee, chair of the Gender Studies Program, and Academic Director of the International School. In 2024, following the "Iron Swords" war, she co-established the University Resilience Center, which she currently oversees.

Prof. Tuval-Mashiach's research areas include: understanding resilience resources, post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth following terrorism and war, identity challenges and identity reconstruction in coping with trauma, gender aspects in dealing with trauma, as well as research and development of interventions and treatment processes, and the experience of therapists, patients, and the therapeutic relationship. Specifically, she focuses on the importance of constructing trauma narratives and the power of testimony in trauma healing. Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach is a world-renowned expert in narrative and qualitative text analysis.

Given her expertise in trauma and treatment of terror and stress victims, she was invited about a decade ago to join NATAL (Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center), where she serves as chair of the professional steering committee and as a consultant and expert for international crisis, disaster, and trauma interventions. Additionally, she has been invited to speak at the UN on various occasions about developing resilience, the role of community in supporting trauma survivors, and psychological responses of individuals and communities following trauma.

Prof. Tuval-Mashiach leads a large research laboratory studying resilience, trauma, and identity, where she supervises many doctoral and thesis students. Over the years, she has supervised more than 35 doctoral students and more than 45 master's students. She has published over 100 articles and chapters and co-authored two books. She has received competitive research grants and excellence awards throughout her career, including the Schoff Fellowship for Academic Excellence and Post-Doctorate, and the Brandeis University Fellowship for Research Scholar. In 2020, she won the " קטן KATAN[RT1]   award given to outstanding female researchers who combine social action with their work.

 [RT1]It's a family anme, of the prize donor☺️