Greensboro, N.C., businessman and community leader Randall Kaplan has been elected chairman of the Board of Directors of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. Kaplan's election was one highlight in a series of meetings in May that brought together top Hillel lay leaders, student activists and professionals.

The Washington meetings included the Student Presidents' Institute, which brought together 50 Hillel student presidents; Hillel's Lay Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of 300 members of local Hillel boards; the Hillel: Foundation for Jewish Campus Life Board of Directors, the organization's top policy-making body; and the International Board of Governors, Hillel's highest consultative group.

During the meetings:

• Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life Board of Directors elected Greensboro, NC, businessman Randall Kaplan as chairman. Among other business, the Board approved a strategic study to assess Hillel's operations.
• Hillel thanked outgoing chairman Neil Moss for his service during a critical period in which Hillel both opened its first stand-alone international headquarters and appointed a new president.
• Hillel named seven outstanding lay leaders as 2004 Exemplars of Excellence. The award recognizes individuals whose work for Hillel sets a standard for others to emulate. The 2004 Exemplars of Excellence are Judy Novenstein, Potomac, MD; Scott Garson, Shaker Heights, Ohio; Marcia Polisuk, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Tom Blumberg, New York, NY; Evan Krame, Potomac, MD; Maury Fertig, Deerfield, IL; and Bea Mandel, Los Angeles, CA.
• Hillel President Avraham Infeld announced the appointment of E. Kinney Zalesne as Hillel's new executive vice president for the United States. The former Justice Department official will have oversight responsibility for strategy, program and capacity-building in U.S. Hillels.
• Hillel paid tribute to 13 new Board of Governors members, as well the individuals who have helped open eight new Hillel facilities in the last year.
• The Israel on Campus Coalition released a new study detailing the anti-Israel atmosphere among many college faculties and recommendations for making change. The ICC is a coalition of 28 groups led by a partnership of Hillel and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.