A New Hillel at Clemson to Expand a Growing Jewish Community
For years, Jewish students at Clemson University built and sustained a close-knit Jewish community. During the fall semester, that community will enter a new chapter as Hillel at Clemson University becomes a professionally staffed Hillel for the first time, expanding the support, programming, and leadership opportunities available to an estimated 500 Jewish undergraduate students.
The transition builds on significant growth already underway at Clemson. Active student participation in Jewish life has increased fivefold, driven in large part by student leaders and the work of Dr. Rebecca Stoil, an associate professor of history at the university and faculty advisor to Clemson’s student-led Hillel. Together, they built and sustained this tight-knit community, which now serves as the foundation for the organization’s next chapter.
“Clemson’s growing Jewish student community deserves a professionally-staffed Hillel that can provide Jewish students their fullest opportunities for Jewish joy, pride and leadership,” said Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International. “Strengthening Hillel at Clemson is part of our broader focus on ensuring robust Hillel presence and Jewish campus life at schools in the Southeast and Southwest with rapidly growing Jewish student populations.”
That investment in Clemson comes as Hillel International focuses greater attention on campuses in regions where Jewish student populations are growing. At Clemson, the next stage will include both professional and lay leadership, beginning with the search for the Hillel’s first full-time executive director.
The Leon Levine Foundation is helping make that growth possible with a $430,000 investment over three years. The funding will support Hillel at Clemson’s first executive director, initial programming, and student leadership opportunities, while serving as the beginning of a continued fundraising effort to grow and sustain the organization.
“Students have already built a meaningful foundation for Jewish life at Clemson, and we’re excited to help propel the growing Jewish community on campus into its next chapter,” said Jen Rosen, program director of Jewish Values at The Leon Levine Foundation. “It’s encouraging to see Hillel International placing greater focus on South Carolina at a time when Jewish student life across the South is gaining momentum.”
For the foundation, supporting Clemson is also part of a broader commitment to strengthening Jewish life throughout the area. “We’re committed to strengthening Jewish life in the Carolinas and helping young people build identity, leadership, belonging, and connection during a formative chapter of their lives,” Rosen added.
Alongside its new professional leadership, Hillel at Clemson will also benefit from the involvement of two alumni with deep ties to the university and Jewish community.
Mark and Rebekah Wasserman, Clemson alums who have been deeply engaged in Atlanta’s civic and Jewish communities, will help grow the organization, with Mark serving as incoming board chair. Mark is CEO emeritus of the global law practice Eversheds Sutherland, where he spent nearly four decades. He also has held philanthropic roles with organizations including the Clemson University Foundation, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Woodruff Arts Center.
“Today’s Jewish students at Clemson are seeking the same sense of belonging I once looked for myself; supporting them now is one of the most meaningful endeavors I’ve been a part of,” Mark said. “I’ve watched Jewish life in the region grow for years, and now I’m honored to help students build the strong Jewish community they deserve.”
With new philanthropic investment, emerging board leadership, and a search underway for its first executive director, Hillel at Clemson is building on what students have already created — giving a growing Jewish student community the support and infrastructure to thrive for years to come.