UT Texas Hillel is a campus chapter of the national body, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, which began at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1923. The national foundation promotes Jewish values on university campuses within the U.S. and internationally.
The UT chapter formed in 1929 as the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation, and membership remains open to Jewish students enrolled at UT, UT alumni, and the Austin Jewish community. The chapter is comprised of a Board of Directors, Hillel Staff, and a Student Council. Known as the Building Fund Committee (1945-1967) and the Advisory Board (1967-1984), the Board of Directors (1984-present) has consisted of community members who invest their time in Hillel’s development. The Staff were paid members of UT Texas Hillel and consisted primarily of the Director, a Rabbi who is not a member of the Board of Directors. The records show that a Secretary and Program Coordinator were later added to the staff.
The foundation has sought “to provide facilities for religious, cultural, educational, social events, social welfare, and interfaith work amongst the university community.” Hillel fulfilled these goals by funding a new building, offering Shabbat services and Beit Midrash classes, granting refugee scholarships, and actively calling attention to events happening in Israel and the Soviet Union through campus protests, lectures, dinners, and ads in the Daily Texan. It also offered a variety of activities for Jewish fraternities and sororities and the UT community, including art festivals, Israeli dancing, an Outstanding Guest Speakers series, and hosting the annual Israeli Block Party.
The Student Council and the Directors on the Hillel Staff conducted the essential work of the foundation. Since the Student Council changed yearly it is hard to note any one influential member; this is not so for the Directorship. Principal Directors included Elconan Saulson (1947-1963), who spearheaded the Refugee Scholarship efforts, and Cary Krozberg (1971- 1972, 1982 1987), who worked with the Student Council throughout the 1980’s to promote issues related to Israel and Soviet Jewry. Other Hillel Directors include:
- Newton Freidman, 1942-1944
- Clyde T. Sills, 1965-1971
- James Kessler, 1972-1976
- Neal Borovitz, 1975-1981
- Kerry Baker, 1987-1996
From the guide to the UT Texas Hillel, Jewish Campus Life Records 2004-149., 1929-2004, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
