President, Deans and Directors

President

Prof. Yifat Bitton – President, graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with an LL.B. and an LL.M., (magna cum laude). Additionally, she holds an LL.M. (with Honors) from Yale University Law School. She received her Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law School and has and spent her postdoc year as a Fulbright fellow at Harvard University Law School. Prof. Bitton was appointed as President of Achva Academic College of Education and Science on October 1, 2020, following a 11-year term as Associate Professor at the College of Management Striks Law School in Israel. During her career, she has served as Adjunct Professor at various Israeli law schools. Prof. Bitton taught for 5 years as an Affiliated Transnational Visiting Professor at Peking University School of Transnational Law. She was also a visiting professor at New York University. Prof. Bitton is a legal academic and social activist, specializing in gender equality, anti-discrimination and tort law and have published substantially in these fields. Prof. Bitton has been shortlisted twice (2016 and 2017) for Israel’s Supreme Court, making history as the youngest woman to ever appear on the list and the first woman of Mizrahi descent.

Prof. Bitton is the Director and Founder of a number of civil society non-profit and pro-bono legal organizations and currently serves as the Chair of "Tmura Center" for the promotion of equality, which she co-founded 15 years ago. For her long-lasting human rights work, Prof. Bitton has won myriad social and legal awards and prizes, among them: The Aliance Prize for Education and Social Change; The Minister of Social Equality and President's Award for Organizations Fighting Violence against Women (Tmura); "Honoris Causa" Award of the Israeli Bar Association; The Safra Award for Excellence and Contribution to Israeli Society; The Hadassah Foundation Bernice Tennenbaum Prize for innovative feminist; The Human Rights Activist Award of The London Human Rights Annual Dinner and Dafna Izraeli Fund’s Prize for Israeli Feminist Leadership. Prof. Bitton was also Nominated Forbes' 50 Most Influential Women in Israel.

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Etty Grobgeld

Dr. Etty Grobgeld - Chief Executive Officer earned her B.Sc. in Chemistry and her M.Sc. cum laude in Organic Chemistry from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Departments of Chemical Physics and Biological Regulation, followed her dissertation, Metabolic Alterations and Cell Death Induced by DNA-Damaging Drugs; Multinuclear NMR Studies of E. coli. and Human Breast Cancer Cells. Dr. Grobgeld is a member of the Achva Academic College School of Sciences and School of Education. She promotes excellence in college teaching and played a leading role in establishing the Achva Center for Teaching and Learning. Dr. Grobgeld was appointed General Director of Achva Academic College in October 2015. Prior to that, she served as Rector. Her career reflects her dedication to Achva and its growing significance for higher education in southern Israel

 

Dean of the School of Advanced Studies

Prof. Gaby Shefler - Dean of the School of Advanced Studies a senior clinical psychologist and a training psychoanalyst. He completed his studies at the Hebrew university of Jerusalem where he also was a faculty member, head of clinical training programs in [psychology director of the Freud center for Psychoanalytic studies and the Sigmund Freud Professor of psychoanalysis. For 44 year he was the Chief psychologist of Herzog Medical center in Jerusalem. Along the years he trained and supervised hundreds of interns in clinical psychology, clinical supervisors in psychology. In 2018 he joined as Chief Psychologist and director of training to the foundation of the Community clinic of the department of psychology at the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. In 2019 he Joined Achva Academic College, as a faculty member of the Culture sensitive clinical psychology program.  

 
Prof. Shefler is one of the few pioneer investigators of psychodynamic psychotherapy in Israel. He carried out the first Random clinical trial on the long-term outcomes of time limited psychodynamic psychotherapy. In addition he carried out numerous outcome and process studies of short term dynamic p[psychotherapies and is now involved in a study investigating the outcomes of long tern psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy with sever patient on a national sample. He trained numerous therapists in brief and time-limited psychotherapies both in Israel and abroad, published three books and over thirty articles on the subject. 
For 10 years Prof. Shefler was a member of the Ethics committee of Israel psychologists association, seven of the as the chairperson of the committee. For 12 years he was the academic director of Ethics in Psychology at the Mishkenot Sha-Ananim ethics center in Jerusalem, organizing local and international study days and conferences. He is one of the first teacher of professional ethics in 

Dean of the School of Sciences

Prof. Eitan Ben-Dov - Dean of the School of Sciences earned his Ph.D at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Life Sciences. Thesis: Mosquito larvicidal activity of Escherichia coli with combinations of genes from B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. Prof, Ben-Dov has served, since 2003, as Adjunct Research Scientist, at the National Institute for Biotechnology and Department of Biotechology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and as Senior lecturer at Achva Academic College. Under his leadership, the School of Sciences at Achva has developed and opened new and meaningful study programs which are likely to change reality in the south. The programs take the unique regional needs and characteristics of the residents of the south into account, with their capacity to improve the paramedical infrastructure and provide an important opportunity for the regional population.

Dean of the School of Education

פרופ' אורית אבידב אונגר

Prof. Orit Avidov-Ungar - Dean of the School of Education earned (year 2000) her Ph.D in Educational Administration, at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Thesis topic: Empowerment among teachers who have a leading role). She had received (1993) her M.A degree with honors in Educational Administration, from Tel Aviv University. Thesis topic: Implications of computerization at the school administration on the relationships among officials at the school. Since 2001, Orit has served in several positions at Achva Academic College, while the two recent (before the current one) were: Head of the Research Authority and Head of The School of Advanced Studies.

 

Dean of Students

דיקן הסטודנטים - ד"ר מיכל רביבו שטיינר

Dr. Michal Revivo - Dean of Students, earned (year 2011) her Ph.D. Summa cum laude at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Management. Thesis: Entrepreneurship and Self Employment and Entrepreneurship Support Programs for Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities. She received (2004) her M.Sc. degree cum laude in Business Science, from Tel Aviv University. Since 2011, Michal has served in her current position as the Dean of Students at Achva Academic College, while continuing her position as lecturer in the field of Human Resource Management. Under Michal' management, the dean of students professional staff members Initiated and leads varies of support programs that promote excellency, multiculturalism, as well as accessibility of underprivileged population to higher education. Some of those programs are unique initiation and granted the unit with honorable prizes from the Consul of Higher Education and from civil organizations.

Head of Academic Development

ד"ר ראיסה גוברמן

Dr. Raisa Guberman - Head of Academic Development earned her Ph.D at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her Post Doctorate, made at The University of Haifa, was on Cultural and intercultural aspects of creativity in mathematics teaching, as well as, on Identification of mathematical creativity in 5th - 6th grade students. Previously, she served as Head of School of Education at Achva Academic College.