(JTA) — Daniel Chamovitz, a Pennsylvania native and former dean at Tel Aviv University, will assume the presidency of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on Jan. 1.

He succeeds Rivka Carmi,  the first woman to be appointed president of an Israeli university, who served three four-year terms.

Chamovitz, who grew up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, immigrated to Israel in 1984. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and doctorate in genetics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, according to BGU’s American Associates. In 1995, he completed his postdoctoral research at Yale University.