Latest News from Campus

University of Kansas Hillel will celebrate the 21st annual Rock Chalk Shabbat this fall, honoring the thousands of  Jewish students, alumni, and community members who have made its signature campus Shabbat dinner possible over the years. “Rock Chalk Shabbat is so much more than inviting our local community to an on-campus Shabbat experience. It’s a chance to embrace the entire KU Hillel ecosystem, gathering students, alumni, parents and Jewish Jayhawks everywhere and reflect on what makes this community unique,” said KU Hillel Executive Director Ethan Helfand.

Through Hillel International’s Leadership Passport program, more than 200 student leaders have connected with national Jewish organizations, explored careers in Jewish communal life, and built leadership skills beyond their campuses. For recent graduates like Jacob Rathkopf, Lilly Chavez, and Kylie Miller, those experiences inspired them to continue creating Jewish community as new Hillel professionals, particularly through programs like the Springboard Fellowship and IACT. Their work this fall will focus on supporting Jewish students by offering opportunities for them to participate in meaningful Jewish experiences on campus.

Hillel of San Diego reaches 3,500 students across UC San Diego, San Diego State University, University of San Diego, and Cal State San Marcos. CEO and Executive Director Karen Parry said the organization has seen six years of sustained growth in student engagement, noting, “We built it, and they came,” as participation in Jewish life programming continues to expand.

Initially developed at Penn State Hillel and supported by the Maimonides Fund, the Men to Mensches (M2M) initiative trains student facilitators to lead discussions on Jewish values and identity within their existing networks, including fraternities and athletics teams. This spring, Hillel International piloted M2M on 17 college campuses to address declining participation and leadership roles among male Jewish students. This model shifts professional staff into coaching roles while placing the ownership of the educational conversations onto the students themselves.

Elon University graduate and Alpha Epsilon Pi alumnus Benji Stern helped launch Elon’s Black-Jewish Coalition to build cross-community relationships and combat rising campus polarization. Inspired by a trip to Alabama, where he learned about the Civil Rights Movement, Stern collaborated with student leaders, university chaplains, and campus organizations to host regular dialogue dinners, cultural programs, and meetings with university administrators. The coalition plans to continue their work as Stern transitions into a new role as Springboard Fellow at Brandeis University Hillel.

Each year, thousands of Jewish college students participate in Birthright Israel trips with their campus Hillels, connecting with peers and Jewish communities around the world. University of Kansas Hillel recently completed its Birthright Israel trip, where students traveled from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, visited historical and modern sites, and took part in hands-on volunteering while meeting and learning alongside other Jewish students.