East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania President Robert J. Dillman will represent the State System of Higher Education on a trade mission to Israel and Ireland designed to promote Pennsylvania’s high-technology companies as well as its major research universities.

Gov. Tom Ridge will lead the eight-day trade mission leaving today for Tel Aviv. The delegation will include top state government officials, including Education Secretary Eugene W. Hickok Jr., several college and university administrators and a number of the state’s business leaders.

This will be the third overseas trade mission led by Ridge since he took office. All have been designed to spur economic development in the state by helping to create new business opportunities.

“President Dillman will participate in this historic trade mission on behalf of all 14 State System universities,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “This is an important trip for all of the people of Pennsylvania, as the Commonwealth continues to increase its role in the expanding global marketplace.”

Several System universities already have both student and faculty exchange programs with colleges and universities in Israel and Ireland. Some of the schools offer education majors the opportunity to student teach overseas, while others either have or are developing international internship programs for their students.

Dillman has been a leader among State System university presidents in promoting high-tech solutions to workforce development needs. In response to concerns from economists and business leaders, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania will become a “Center for Education Preparedness.” The center will be a unique collaboration among public and private institutions that will result in a “state-of-the art curriculum that focuses on skills and knowledge, and not time in the classroom.”

While on the trade mission, Dillman and the other university presidents and administrators will take part in a number of forums and roundtable discussions. Those discussions could lead to the creation of even more cooperative programming involving System universities.

In addition to several sessions scheduled for in and around Tel Aviv, the delegation also will make visits to Jerusalem and Haifa during its four days in Israel.

Among its planned stops are Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Institute of Technology. The group also will have the opportunity to meet with the Bi-national Science Foundation and with officials from Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

From Israel, the group will make a brief stop in Edinburgh, Scotland, before traveling on to Dublin. Among the sites the university representatives plan to tour while there are Dublin City College, Dublin Institute of Technology and the Trinity College Library and its rare book collection.

The trade mission will provide the opportunity for delegation members to meet and share ideas with their counterparts in both Israel and Ireland. Those meetings should, in turn, help promote new international relationships and foster future collaborative activities among university, government and business leaders.

The State System of Higher Education comprises 14 universities throughout the Commonwealth and is the largest provider of higher education in the state. One of every 29 Pennsylvanians is attending or is a graduate of a System university. The State System is the 17^th largest employer in the state, with more than 11,700 employees.

The 14 state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers.