Parents, students, community leaders and Elon University administrators gathered Tuesday for a half-day conversation on the future of Jewish culture on campus as the number of Jewish students continues to grow and as the university embarks on a commitment to global engagement and diversity in its newest strategic plan.
“Envisioning the Future of Jewish Life at Elon University II” follows a January 2008 gathering of the same name, a meeting nearly three years ago that resulted in the creation of a director of Hillel through the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.
On Tuesday, Elon University President Leo M. Lambert charged the students, parents, alumni and community leaders in attendance with planning for a Hillel House at Elon similar to the Newman Center occupied by Catholic students on South Campus.
Participants also discussed Hillel staffing and programming, recruitment and climate, and the impending campus multi-faith center. Some of the guests included Randall Kaplan, chair of the International Hillel Board of Governors; Glenn Drew, executive director of the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, N.C.; and Marilyn Chandler, executive director of the Greensboro Jewish Federation.
For more information on how the Nov. 16, 2010, conversation fits into The Elon Commitment strategic plan, visit http://www.elon.edu/eloncommitment.