George Schneiweis Wise (ג'ורג' וייז; April 6, 1906 – July 2, 1987) was an American sociologist who served as the first president of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv ( he, רָמַת אָבִיב, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great inf ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from 1963 to 1971.

Early life

George Schneiweis (later Wise) was born in

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk a ...

White Russia White Russia, White Russian, or Russian White may refer to: White Russia *White Ruthenia, a historical reference for a territory in the eastern part of present-day Belarus * An archaic literal translation for Belarus/Byelorussia/Belorussia * Rus ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1906. He emigrated to the United States in 1926. He graduated from

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

in 1928 and got his advanced studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Wise taught Sociology at Columbia in 1930, a post he held until 1952. He became internationally known as an expert in Latin American and Israeli affairs, with a particular focus on

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

dictatorships that were common in Latin American politics at the time. In 1951 he wrote a biography of

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio José Ramón de La Trinidad y María Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870 until 1 ...

, the former dictator of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

which was published by

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

. A known

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

, he was chairman of the board for the

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its web ...

. In 1951, he was named president of the American Friends of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. In 1953, he was elected the head of the Hebrew University Board of Governors. As head, Wise led a major expansion program of the University, and still held the honor of "chancellor for life" at the time of his death. He became the first president of Tel Aviv University in 1963, serving as such until 1971, when he was succeeded by

Yuval Ne'eman Yuval Ne'eman ( he, יובל נאמן, 14 May 1925 – 26 April 2006) was an Israeli theoretical physicist, military scientist, and politician. He was Minister of Science and Development in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was the President o ...

. Wise was also director of the Center for Advanced International Studies and a member of the board of governors for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. Wise was the owner of George S. Wise and Co. and the Inter-American Paper Corp., both newsprint manufacturers. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', he built the "first

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...

plant" in Mexico.

Philanthropy

As a philanthropist, Wise worked on fighting illiteracy in Mexico by founding 30 schools, which led the Mexican government to honor Wise with the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...

, the highest award given to a foreigner in 1949.

Personal life, death, and legacy

Wise married Florence Rosenberg, who died on January 11, 2013, at the age of a hundred. He died in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, on July 2, 1987, after suffering from heart failure for several months. Upon hearing of his death, former Prime Minister of Israel

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

described Wise as "the dearest man I ever met". The

Wise Observatory The Florence and George Wise Observatory (IAU code 097) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Tel Aviv University. It is located west of the town of Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is ...

and the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University is named after Wise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, George Schneiweis 1906 births 1987 deaths American sociologists Belarusian Jews Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Israeli sociologists Jewish sociologists Literacy and society theorists Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Presidents of universities in Israel Soviet emigrants to the United States