Hebrew University of Jerusalem will award a record number of 270 doctorates at its annual convocation ceremony this evening, in addition to eight honorary Ph.D.\'s. Among the latter awardees will be France\'s Minister of Education Jack Lang, as well as Prof. Franklin Fisher, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist and Middle East water expert, David Gross, professor emeritus of physics at Princeton University, and others. The 270 degrees represents more than a third of all doctorates being awarded this year by Israeli universities. University President Prof. Menachem Magidor noted that there has been a 72% increase in the number of HU doctoral degrees this year as compared to five years ago. \"This trend,\" he said, \"reflects the emphasis of the Hebrew University on advanced studies and the encouragement of outstanding students to continue their studies towards advanced degrees.\"