UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, recognized the Penn State chapter and its “exemplary efforts in supporting vibrant, welcoming Jewish life” for students with the Dynamic Jewish Education Award. Hillel International also recognized Rabbi Rob Gleisser, the Peter J. Rubinstein Senior Jewish Educator at Penn State, for his work with Penn State Hillel. The awards were presented during the 2023 Hillel International Global Assembly, an annual gathering of Hillel professionals from around the world, held in Dallas earlier this month.
Penn State Hillel is the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life at Penn State. Serving approximately 5,000 Jewish students, the foundation’s mission is to enrich students’ lives at Penn State so that they may do the same for Jewish people and the world. According to its website, Penn State Hillel aims to help students find a balance between being distinctly Jewish and universally human by encouraging them to pursue Tzedek, or social justice; tikkun olam, or repairing the world; Jewish learning; and to support Israel and global Jewish peoplehood.
The Dynamic Jewish Education is bestowed annually to recognize a campus Hillel that has “found a creative way to foster Jewish education outside of the classroom,” according to Hillel International. Penn State Hillel was selected for “Men to Mensches,” a Jewish learning program for young men in historically Jewish fraternities. Entering its second year with close to 300 participants, the program features a discussion-based curriculum that centers the experience of Jewish young men on campus.
Hillel International also recognized five professionals with the Rising Star Award, including Gleisser. The award honors those “who have worked at Hillel for at least one year and have impacted the movement in just a short amount of time.”
Gleisser, who joined the Penn State Hillel team in July 2020, spearheads the group’s educational efforts. He has increased cohorts of students for Jewish learning opportunities from two to two dozen over the last three years. He also has established personal connections with almost 350 students just this academic year, nearly doubling the annual expectations for Hillel student engagement professionals on college campuses.
“Jewish students have faced unprecedented challenges on college campuses this fall, and the exceptional professionals we honor have gone above and beyond to protect, educate, inspire and sustain their Jewish student communities in this fraught period,” said Adam Lehman, president and chief executive officer of Hillel International in the organization’s press release. “I could not be more proud of the way the Hillel movement has shown up for Jewish students in this moment. Every Hillel has stepped up in their own meaningful way to provide a home away from home for its Jewish community on campus, at a time when students need us more than ever.”