New Miles Nadal Fund Will Reward Israel’s Bravest

The Miles S. Nadal and Family Duvdevan Scholarship Fund will ensure reserve combat soldiers have every chance to complete their degrees
07 November 2017

An important new project has been established by TAU Governor, benefactor and Honorary Doctor, Miles S. Nadal of Toronto. The Miles S. Nadal and Family Duvdevan Scholarship Fund will award 10 partial scholarships per year to undergraduate and graduate students who have served their military service in the elite IDF Duvdevan unit.

 

The Fund will give recipients comprehensive tailored support to ensure they stay on track and successfully graduate. Nadal Scholars will be offered three types of vital assistance: Scholarships for tuition and books; academic assistance such as tutoring, videotaped lectures and photocopying vouchers; and psychological therapy, support groups and career counseling when necessary. The first 10 scholarships will be awarded in the current 2017-18 academic year.

 

Responding to a unique need

Over the last years of rocket attacks, terror attacks and military operations, the burden of defending the State of Israel has fallen on the shoulders of the young men and women serving in combat units – particularly elite ones such as Duvdevan. The physical and psychological toll on these brave young people is immense.

 

After completing their mandatory service, these young Israelis remain on reserve duty as they study for degrees at TAU and other universities. They face a number of special difficulties that disrupt their everyday lives, including being called up for long periods of active duty and sometimes receiving only a few days’ notice before having to report for duty. As a result, they miss lectures, exams and assignment deadlines. Sometimes students fall so far behind that they drop out altogether.

 

Most Israeli university students must work to support themselves and often hold down several jobs in order to make ends meet. When reserve combat soldiers are called upon for extra service they not only lose key courses or even an entire semester, but can also lose their jobs. In addition, they  must deal with psychological problems generated by the trauma and stresses of the war experience. Even if they do not miss a large amount of course material, many find it difficult to return from a combat situation to the classroom and concentrate on their studies. In short, the situation for many such students is difficult unless they receive dedicated, wide-ranging assistance. 

 

The Nadal Fund was established specifically to help offset these difficulties.

 

Another notch in the Nadal TAU belt

​The Fund represents another in a long line of projects established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Miles S. Nadal​ at TAU. Last year, he inaugurated the Miles S. Nadal Home for Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the site of TAU Ventures – an ambitious initiative aimed at combining all the entrepreneurial activity on campus. In addition, in 2012 he established the Miles S. Nadal Institute for Technological Entrepreneurship to encourage innovation at the University, especially among the up-and-coming generation of creative thinkers and inventors.  

This latest contribution is a clear demonstration by Mr. Nadal and his family of their deep commitment to the young people who have risked their lives for the Jewish state as they embark on another stage in their lives – the path toward personal fulfillment and the realization of their academic potential.

 

 

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