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Hillel Breaks New Ground
June 08, 2001Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friendJewish student life is getting a much higher profile at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Vanderbilt University where new Hillel buildings are replacing cramped offices and bringing the campus community closer together.
University of California, Santa Barbara Opens the Roisman Jewish Student Center
In May, Hillel at the University of California, Santa Barbara celebrated the opening of the Milton Roisman Jewish Student Center in Isla Vista, Calif. "It changes us from a lively, yet invisible presence, to a highly visible presence," said Hillel Director Rabbi Stephen Cohen. "With the building, we have taken our place as a major player in the university and broader Santa Barbara community."
The 10,333 square-ft Jewish Student Center took a year to build and cost $3.3 million. It is the first Hillel building on the Santa Barbara campus, replacing Hillel's humble home in three offices in the student union building.
Dignitaries from the community and across the country attended events during the three-day opening weekend. University Chancellor Henry Yang, benefactor Milton Roisman, faculty, clergy and students were all on hand at the ribbon cutting to offer their support. Hillel's International Board of Governors Chairman Edgar Bronfman and his son Adam attended the gala dinner along with 200 major donors and guests. In addition to Milton Roisman, community supporters included Julie Friedman, Harold Richards, Seymour and Shirley Lehrer, Adam and Cindy Bronfman, Sara Miller McCune and Robin and Roger Nimovitz.
On Sunday of opening weekend, Hillel sponsored an eclectic array of learning sessions, including lectures by the architects on the building's environmentally "green" features; grandmothers breaking in the sparkling new kitchen with a demonstration of baklava baking; Israeli dancing; and local rabbis teaching their favorite Torah portions.
Attendance at the building's first Shabbat service doubled and has continued to be strong. "The building has already brought the entire community together," said UCSB Hillel Jewish Student Life Coordinator Jodi Levine. "The students are enamored by it. They stay every night until 11 p.m., studying and hanging out. It's drawing people without advertisement. It allows much more casual interaction than a planned event, but it's equally as meaningful."
Breaking Ground at Vanderbilt
 Expectations were high when Vanderbilt Hillel's Schulman Center for Jewish Life broke ground in May: As the only stand-alone religious organization building on campus, the new facility is poised to serve as a magnet for Jewish students and as an important focal point for the entire campus.
"The fact that the university is giving us this site at a time when there's very little space on campus is indicative of the university's sincere and impressive support of the Jewish community," explained Hillel Director Shaiya Baer.
The excitement began last Sukkot when the $1 million endowment from former Nashville resident Ben Schulman and the proposed new Vanderbilt site were announced at a festive dinner. The capital campaign was completed in under a year and the $2.2 million, 10,000-square-ft. building is expected to be completed in 2002.
The student-friendly building will be open to Jewish students as well as students of all religions. Plans include a kosher caf, outdoor seating, recreation room, student and administrative offices, a 225-person chapel and a gallery.
Baer hopes that with this new address for Jewish students on campus, Jewish enrollment will increase at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt currently has 6,000 undergraduate students, with only four to five percent of those are Jewish.
"The building will be available for all campus programming, and as a home for students," said Baer. "The building is the most important message Vanderbilt can send out that it is equal to other big universities."
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