UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An international expert who has authored a book about digital access in Israel and the West Bank will present a free public lecture about the book in late November on the University Park campus at Penn State.

Amit Schejter will discuss “Digital Capabilities: ICT Adoption in Marginalized Communities in Israel and the West Bank” at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 29 in Foster Auditorium of Paterno Library. The session is free and open to the public.

Schejter is a professor of communications studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. He also holds an appointment as a visiting professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and Penn State and serves as co-director of the Institute for Information Policy, housed in the Bellisario College.

Schejter has been invited to present his work across the globe. His research focuses on the relationship between media and justice, analyzing how the introduction of new technologies influences the public interest, minority rights, the destitution of communication resources and the silencing of the public’s voice.

He is the author or editor of eight books and more than 60 journal articles, law reviews and book chapters in five languages and has been cited in congressional and Knesset hearings. Critics have described his books as deserving of “high praise for their energetic and creative investigation,” as “must-read for policy makers, educators, industry leaders and others interested in bringing U.S. communications into the 21st century,” and as "displaying enviable intellectual courage."

Before moving to higher education, Schejter held senior executive positions in the media and telecommunications industry in Israel, served on and chaired a variety of public committees, and counseled media and telecommunication entities in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.