Hillel Institute

Who is wise? One who learns from all people. Ethics of our Fathers, 4:1

In keeping with our grand traditions of peer-engagement and peer-facilitation, Hillel Institute 2013 will provide opportunities for substantive skill-building, Jewish enrichment, professional development, as well as a unique, fun, celebratory, and inspiring time with colleagues from around the world. Break-out your shorts and flip-flops, pack-up your favorite summer attire; we’re headed back to St. Louis.

In modeling our commitment to learn from all people, we advance our professional development agenda this summer with a shift in training modality focus from staff team-based learning to individualized and peer-based learning. This year’s Hillel Institute experience will include several highlights which are different from previous Hillel Institutes:

All professionals will spend increased time among peer-professionals, including Executive Directors, and the Institute experience will be tailored to each set of unique professional perspectives.
All professionals, with the exception of Executive Directors, will select their top-choices among skill sessions designed by a partnership between local Hillel professionals, outside experts, and SIC colleagues.

Two 4.5-hour Skill Sessions – which we are calling ‘majors’ where professionals can choose from one of four (most highly-rated via pre-planning survey) content specialties including

Jewish Professional Development (Skills, Knowledge, & Capabilities to have Jewish Conversations & Create Jewish Experiences)
Development / Fundraising (Telling Hillel's Story to Secure Resources)
Student Engagement (Advancing our Engagement & Education Skills & Strategies)
Experience Design & Facilitation (Skill-building for excellent Immersive Experiences, Conversations, Meetings, Retreats, Gatherings)

Each of these skill sessions will feature peer-facilitation involving over 30 non-Director campus professionals.

The Hillel Institute experience for all professionals will also include several highlights which are different from previous Hillel Institutes:

Community Organizations will join us on Monday for the Awards Dessert Reception and Community Organization Fair. This will also free-up professionals’ schedules for Tuesday evening to have additional time for additional meetings, special cohort gatherings, and our ‘evening out options’.
Building upon the success of last year’s ‘deep dive’ – we will have a lengthened 3-hour select-your-focus content intensive, which we are calling your ‘minor’ which all professionals will select. Professionals may submit proposals for these sessions, more information is below.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

What You Need to Know

Hillel Institute – Request for Proposals

We are excited to invite campus professionals from local Hillels around the world to participate in a 3-hour, peer-led “deep dive” into a topic of their choosing, on Wednesday afternoon of Hillel Institute 2013. We are currently seeking proposals for these three (3) hour “deep dive” skills-sessions, which we’re calling ‘minors.’ We strongly encourage you to partner with colleagues to submit and create these sessions to make them available to Hillel professionals this summer. We expect to offer between 12-15 different options during this time. A panel of Hillel professionals will choose the best submissions that match the input we have received via the Hillel Institute Input Survey. All session specifications, as well as the session proposal form, are available on CENTER. Proposals should be submitted by May 24th to deepdive@hillel.org.

Nominate & Recognize Outstanding Hillels & Professionals

Nominations are now being accepted for the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award as well as for Hillel’s Vision and Values Awards. The Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award recognizes our colleagues whose remarkable passion and outstanding devotion to the Jewish campus community sets a standard for all of us to emulate. Hillel’s Vision and Values Awards will recognize Hillels that demonstrate excellence in areas of emphasis of Hillel’s movement-wide priorities. This year’s awards will be:

The Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Meaningful Jewish Experience
The Great Place to Work Award
The Indispensable Member of the University Community Award
The Development Award

We are very excited to announce that nominations will continue to be paper-free, using a web-based nomination form. All nomination materials are available on our website and are due no later than Friday, May 24th, 2013.

Exemplar Awards & Milestones will be presented & recognized on Monday evening, July 29th; Vision & Values Awards will be presented & recognized on Tuesday morning, July 30th at Hillel Institute.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please e-mail awards@hillel.org.

Registration Update

Registration is scheduled to go live in June – after five years without a price-increase; this year’s Hillel Institute base registration price will be slightly increased to $795.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE UPDATE

For Student Experience Only

ALL Student Supervisors (Engagement Interns and Ask Big Questions):

Institute Registration will open in the beginning of June. Supervisors will register themselves first, and then enter essential information for their interns attending Institute. As an improvement over last year, you will be able to add additional students prior to close of registration of July 10th. This process will still allow each student an opportunity to update their own registration details if any of their information changes.
In the next few weeks you will receive step by step instructions and screenshots for how to register your students, but please collect this information from them as soon as they are hired and before they leave campus.

Engagement Internships (CEI & Peer Network) Supervisors:

This year’s Student Engagement Institute will take place Wednesday, July 31st – Sunday, August 4th. Please note there is no in-person supervisor training preceding Institute this year. Supervisor training and student facilitation preparation will take place on WebEx over the summer and as a part of the larger Hillel Institute experience.
If you are not receiving a national Engagement Internship grant and would like to send a student cohort (minimum of 3) and one supervisor to national Engagement Training, please e-mail sstesis@hillel.org.

Ask Big Questions Supervisors:

This year’s Ask Big Questions Fellowship training will take place Wednesday, July 31st – Friday, August 2nd. Details regarding booking flights will be emailed soon.
Sheila Katz will reach out to all new Advisors in the coming weeks with updates on New Advisor Training.