A Guide to the UT Texas Hillel, Jewish Campus Life Records, 1929-2004

Creator Sketch

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

Scope and Contents

The records of UT Texas Hillel, 1929-2004, contain six linear feet of foundation documents, correspondence, meeting minutes, self-published newsletters and brochures, photographs, printed newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks, which document the organized activities of the University of Texas’ Jewish student body. The material is divided into three series: UT Hillel, comprised of records and publications created by or directly related to the UT chapter, including the Board of Directors, Hillel Staff, and the Student Council; Hillel Beyond UT with material from the national foundation and other chapters; and Jewish Interests, which contains material not specifically related to Hillel about local and international Jewish activities and experiences.

A substantial portion of the records cover the early years (1935-1955) of UT Texas Hillel, specifically outlining the Building Fund Committee’s (later called the Advisory Board, then Board of Directors) struggle to construct their own building in West Campus. The first two Directors, Newton Friedman (1942-1944) and Elconan Saulson (1947-1963), complement the Building Fund Committee’s efforts, while establishing Hillel’s importance within the UT community.

Correspondence written by each of the foundation’s hired Directors (2 inches) illustrates the individual Rabbi’s views, social concerns, and plans and ambitions for Hillel. Also, the Student Council records (6 inches) illuminate the guidance of the Director and document, primarily through printed newspaper clippings and meeting minutes, cultural and social activities such as religious programs, campaigns for oppressed Jews, and local social gatherings.

The records not directly related to UT Texas Hillel represent activities conducted by Hillel foundations at national, state, and university levels. The Jewish Interests records contain collected materials about activities UT Texas Hillel members participated in, as well as world events impacting the Jewish community at large and resonating with the Director’s social concerns.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Use Restrictions

Unrestricted use.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

UT Texas Hillel, Jewish Campus Life Records, 1929-2004, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Papers