BOG 2022: Psychology Seminar Room Dedicated to French Friends

With photos of her late parents, Woolf and Helene Marmot, perched next to her, Claire Shilo listened attentively to the successive tributes to the couple by TAU faculty, the former University President and French Governors. 

The moving ceremony on May 12 marked the dedication of a seminar room in memory of TAU Governors Woolf and Helene Marmot at the School of Psychological Sciences during TAU’s 2022 Board of Governors meeting. 

For 25 years, the Marmots were dedicated supporters of TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences. Given the exceptional legacy and “fingerprint” they left on the School, it was fitting that that the Room be dedicated to them, said former TAU President Prof. Joseph Klafter. Klafter commended Woolf’s “great commitment to TAU,” stating that he was a “poster boy of what a Governor should be, with an unconditional love for the University.” 

Woolf Marmot, a former member of TAU’s French Friends Association, died in 2020, a week after his 100th birthday. He was an active member of the French Friends Association until the end of his life, participating in the Association’s annual trips until his last days. His wife Helene predeceased him by several years. 

Several psychology faculty as well as President of the French Friends Association François Heilbronn shared their warm memories of Woolf. In recognition of the Marmots’ generosity, Head of the School Prof. Barak Segev noted that he was a recipient of the Marmot scholarship during his studies and that his students still receive it. 

For her part, Claire Shilo said that her father “was a devoted employer, partner and friend. He built a lot, gave a lot and loved a lot.” She concluded by saying that her parents contributed to the School of Psychological Sciences because “they believed in the importance of helping people make changes in their lives.”