The Campaign for the Future of Jewish Life at Brandeis
Since the founding of this great university, Hillel has been the heart of Jewish life on campus, a vibrant center for Jewish expression and leadership.
We inspire students to make enduring commitments to Jewish life, fostering meaningful experiences that allow them to explore their identities as Jews and discover the kind of people they aspire to be.
Our students are drawn to Hillel for many reasons: to express their values, deepen their identities and knowledge, connect with Israel, and find a warm, welcoming community. Hillel is where they cultivate a sense of purpose and belonging—a space where Jewish life becomes relevant not only in the present, but as a foundation for their future.
Through community and mentorship, we nurture each student. Our unique role is to foster the courage and resilience they need to navigate being Jewish and human in a complex world, grappling with the most challenging issues of our time—on campus and beyond. Hillel is not just a hub for Jewish life; it is a critical space for our students’ growth and leadership as 21st-century Jews. Yet, the absence of a dedicated physical space for Jewish students is no longer sustainable. To secure the Jewish character of Brandeis University, as well as the safety, flourishing, and future of our students, we must act now. We have envisioned a modern, secure, and inviting Hillel in the heart of campus—a true home-away-from-home, where Jewish students feel they belong, and where the entire campus community can engage with Jewish life.
Our Campaign Goal is $25 Million
In an increasingly virtual world, students yearn for a warm, welcoming space on campus where they can connect with Jewish peers, immerse themselves in Jewish culture and community, and express their Jewish identities with pride.
After 76 years, Brandeis Hillel finally has the opportunity to create that home. While Brandeis University has graciously made Kutz Hall available to us, transforming this vision into reality requires us to raise $20M for renovations, security upgrades, along with an additional $5M to endow the lease and occupancy costs.
Our students are drawn to Hillel for many reasons: to express their values, deepen their identities and knowledge, connect with Israel, and find a warm, welcoming community.
Hillel is where they cultivate a sense of purpose and belonging—a space where Jewish life becomes relevant not only in the present, but as a foundation for their future.
Through community and mentorship, we nurture each student. Our unique role is to foster the courage and resilience they need to navigate being Jewish and human in a complex world, grappling with the most challenging issues of our time—on campus and beyond. Hillel is not just a hub for Jewish life; it is a critical space for our students’ growth and leadership as 21st-century Jews. Yet, the absence of a dedicated physical space for Jewish students is no longer sustainable. To secure the Jewish character of Brandeis University, as well as the safety, flourishing, and future of our students, we must act now. We have envisioned a modern, secure, and inviting Hillel in the heart of campus—a true home-away-from-home, where Jewish students feel they belong, and where the entire campus community can engage with Jewish life.
Hillel at Brandeis: Jewish Leadership Starts Here
“Brandeis Doesn’t Have a Hillel Building?!”
We hear that a lot. Shockingly, the answer is no. Today’s Jewish students are experiencing their college years in markedly different ways than prior generations. Students are reporting unprecedented levels of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety. In too many cases, superficial social media interactions have taken the place of meaningful interpersonal connections, a trend greatly exacerbated by the pandemic. The need for a welcoming home away from home and a vibrant, supportive Jewish community on campus has never been greater.
Why Now?
For decades the story has been that Brandeis doesn’t need a physical Hillel or Center for Jewish Life because it is Brandeis, a university with Jewish roots. Times have changed. The main impediment to the growth and quality of the Jewish student experience is the lack of a dedicated space for Hillel. The campus was not designed for extracurricular Jewish life. Implementing Hillel programming across the entire campus is inefficient and unsustainable; it negatively impacts retention of our most talented professionals and student volunteers. Our Shabbat dinners and other programs have outgrown the available spaces on campus. The constraints of space will only worsen as more Jewish students opt to attend college at Brandeis unless we act now.
We believe a dedicated center will improve the student experience, help retain our top professional talent, galvanize philanthropy for Brandeis, and boost the university’s Jewish enrollment.
Central to our vision for the future of Jewish life at Brandeis is the establishment of a home of our own on campus to serve as a physical gathering place and focal point for community. In addition to transforming the Jewish experience for students, faculty and staff, a dedicated facility would be transformative for attracting prospective Jewish students and long-term philanthropic investments in the university as a whole.
Hillel at Brandeis: Where Jewish Students Flourish
Leadership Development
Hillel’s Student Board and 25+ Leadership Committees
Shabbat and Holiday Celebrations
Social Events and Community Building
Jewish Learning Fellowship Cohorts
Challah-making tutorials
Weekly Shabbat Dinners
High Holidays and Sukkot
Israel Education and Advocacy
Israel Week and Yom Ha’atzmaut
Holocaust Remembrance
October 7 Memorial
Pre-Orientation Shabbat
First Year Students of Hillel
Arts and Culture such as Klezmer band, Manginah (a cappella)
Rabbinic Mentorship and Counseling
Health and Wellness
Civic Engagement and Service Projects
Interest groups: Challah for Hunger, Sharsheret, Sephardic Students, Jewish Feminists at Brandeis, Queer Jews, and more
Brandeis Hillel’s future home will:
Host daily programming
Foster community-building and meaningful interpersonal interactions
Meet Hillel’s growing operational needs
Raise the visibility of Jewish life on campus
Solidify Brandeis’ position as a destination college for the Jewish community
It is time for Hillel at Brandeis to enter our next phase of growth, securing a dedicated physical home on campus and expanding the transformative student experiences that are Hillel’s hallmark.
Where?
The university has generously offered the former Kutz Hall, a three-floor 28,000 square foot building built in 1959, for transformative reuse as a new home for Jewish student life. Positioned prominently near the campus’s main thoroughfare and adjacent to the North Quad residence halls, Kutz Hall is ideally located for fostering a vibrant Hillel. With the building already vacated, renovating it presents an environmentally responsible, low-carbon solution to creating a state-of-the-art, sustainable space that aligns with Hillel and the university’s mission and values.
Key opportunities for partnership and support include:
Building Name
Beit Midrash
Program Spaces
Student Lounge
Café and Kitchen
Conference Rooms
Executive Director Office
Roof Deck
Sustaining the Future of Jewish Life at Brandeis
Hillel independently raises the majority of its operating budget each year to provide rabbinic mentorship, cater over 6,000 Shabbat meals annually, enhance campus security, and rent program space. Unfortunately, limited resources restrict our ability to engage every Jewish student at Brandeis in meaningful experiences, and even our current programming relies heavily on the uncertainty of annual campaign support.
To ensure the long-term growth and stability of Hillel at Brandeis, we are building an endowment that will sustain our capital operations and key programmatic initiatives.
As the needs of Jewish students evolve with the world around them, Hillel professionals are called upon in increasingly diverse ways — as educators, mentors, coaches, and trusted guides. Building a strong, dynamic staff team is essential to meeting the needs of our students in the years ahead.
Key endowment opportunities for partnership and support include:
Executive Director
Community Engagement Rabbi
Assistant Director
Jewish Education Fund
Israel Engagement Fund
Shabbat Experience Fund