Shai Reshef

Israeli businessperson and academic administrator

Shai Reshef


President of University of the People
Incumbent
Assumed office 2009 (2009)
Preceded by	Position established

Personal details
Born	September 11, 1955 (age 68 years)
Spouse	Rotem Reshef
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Michigan (MA)
Occupation	Businessperson, academic administrator

Shai Reshef is an American-Israeli businessperson and academic administrator. He is the founder and president of the University of the People,^[1] the first American non-profit, tuition-free accredited online university.^[2]

Education and early career

Reshef earned an M.A. in Chinese Politics from the University of Michigan.^[3] From 1989 to 2005, Reshef served as chairman of the Kidum Group. He also chaired Laureate Education from 2001 to 2004, which was the first online university outside the United States.^[4]^[5]

In January 2009, Reshef founded the University of the People^[6] and has served as its president since its inception.^[7]^[8]

Awards and recognition

In 2009, Fast Company recognized Reshef as one of the "100 Most Creative People in Business".^[9] He received an honorary doctorate from the Open University^[when?]^[10] and was named by OneWorld as one of the "People of 2009". Reshef was awarded^[when?] an Ashoka fellowship and joined the UN-GAID as a High-level Adviser,^[when?] He is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative^[when?] and an RSA Fellow.^[when?] He has been recognized by The Huffington Post as the Ultimate Game Changer in Education,^[when?] and Wired Magazine included him in their list of "50 People Changing the World".^[11] Foreign Policy Magazine selected him as a Top Global Thinker.^[when?]^[10]

In 2023, Reshef was awarded the Yidan Prize for Educational Development.^[12]^{[promotional source?]}

Personal life

Reshef is married to artist Rotem Reshef and has four children.^[3]

References

^ "Office of the President". University of the People. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ High, Peter. "A Conversation With The President Of The World's First Non-Proﬁt, Tuition-Free, Accredited, Online University". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ ^a ^b Wiener, Julie (2013-01-08). "An Israeli 'Citizen Of The World'". The New York Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
^ Lewin, Tamar (January 25, 2009). "Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global University That Will Be Online Only". The New York Times.
^ "Shai Reshef | Speaking Fee | Booking Agent". www.allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ "ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ "Shai Reshef". uopeople.edu. University of the People. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
^ "Academic Partners". University of the People. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ "37. Shai Reshef - Fast Company". Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ ^a ^b "University of the People: an education model worth emulating". University World News. Retrieved 2024-06-11.^{[self-published source]}
^ "User Profile | MIT Solve". solve.mit.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ "2023 Yidan Prize: Michelene Chi and Shai Reshef awarded the world's highest accolade in education". www.yidanprize.org. Retrieved 2024-06-11.