PDX Hillel Takes Top Honors
Recently, Hillel International presented awards to individuals and campuses for creating innovative experiences and meaningful connections for students to develop stronger ties to their Jewish identities. The Greater Portland Hillel—which serves Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University, and Reed College—received Hillel International’s highest honor, the Phillip H. and Susan Rudd Cohen Outstanding Campus Award.
Open gallery
Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, recently recognized individuals and campuses that are creating innovative experiences and meaningful connections to help students develop stronger ties to their Jewish identities. The Greater Portland Hillel—which serves Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University, and Reed College—received Hillel International’s highest honor, the Phillip H. and Susan Rudd Cohen Outstanding Campus Award.
“We are blown away by this recognition from Hillel International!” said Liora Gonicman BA ’20, Greater Portland Hillel’s student president at Lewis & Clark. “Hillel is my home on campus, and it has been amazing to see how student participation has exploded. It makes me excited for all future Jewish students coming to Lewis & Clark.”
Rudd Cohen Award-winning campuses successfully engage at least 70 percent of the Jewish undergraduate students on campus at least once, and engage 30 percent or more of Jewish undergraduate students in either six or more experiences or on one high-impact program. Hillel International’s awards were presented at its annual Global Assembly in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 1,100 Hillel professionals from around the world attended this event for professional development, networking, and continuing education.
Greater Portland Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich Jewish people and the world. Hillel student leaders, professionals, and lay leaders are dedicated to creating a pluralistic, welcoming, and inclusive environment for Jewish college students, where they are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually, and socially. Hillel helps students find a balance in being distinctively Jewish and universally human by encouraging them to pursue tzedek (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world), and Jewish learning, and to support Israel and global Jewish peoplehood. Greater Portland Hillel is committed to excellence, innovation, accountability, and results.
“Greater Portland Hillel serves as a model of how Hillels around the world succeed in engaging and educating students, no matter their size or location,” said Hillel International Interim President and CEO Adam Lehman. “We’re incredibly proud of our talented professionals for the work they do every day to inspire and support Jewish students and their entire campus communities.”
