Latest News from Campus

Houston Hillel launched a $3.5 million campaign to revitalize its physical space, which serves over 650 students across more than a dozen Southeast Texas universities. The renovation will transform the center into a more flexible and welcoming hub for Jewish campus life, adding an updated kosher teaching kitchen, expanded gathering areas, and redesigned spaces for study, programming, and socializing. Leaders say the project will strengthen student engagement and Jewish life across the region for years to come.

Ahead of Jewish American Heritage Month, Marquette University student and Hillel International intern Rebecca Brumer reflects on how her connection to Judaism shifted following the October 7 attacks, leading her to seek out and engage with her campus Hillel. Her experience highlights how small Jewish communities on campus can foster identity, leadership, and belonging.

The University of Southern California hosted its first Jewish American Heritage Month celebration, bringing together students, faculty and community members for remarks, music, and refreshments. Speakers included Provost Andrew Guzman, who celebrated the richness of Jewish campus life, including the vibrant community at Hillel. The program also featured student performances, including an original instrumental piece, and marked the start of an annual campus observance.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, and two-time Super Bowl champion Charlie Batch joined Black, Jewish, and Black and Jewish student leaders in Pittsburgh for a Unity Dinner focused on dialogue, leadership, and relationship-building. The event, hosted in partnership by Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, Hillel International, UNCF, the NFL, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, was timed with the NFL draft and included a fireside chat, shared dinner, and facilitated discussions. A follow-up event also gave participants the opportunity to visit the site of the rebuilding of the Tree of Life synagogue, where they reflected on the 2018 attack and its impact on the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Over 700 students traveled to the University of Maryland Hillel to compete in the 15th Annual National Hillel Basketball Tournament, with over 60 teams from 31 Hillels from across the United States participating. A 30+ member student board organized the event, leading marketing, fundraising, recruitment, logistics, and building a custom app to manage registration and attendance.

Jewish students across North America marked Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, with their campus Hillels, leading programming that included Israeli food, trivia, block parties, music, and dance. At Texas Hillel, Rabbi Stephanie Max said Hillel “creates space for students to explore what.. [Israel] means for them,” describing it as an integral part of Jewish life and learning.