At the University of Delaware, Hillel is bursting at the seams.
That’s not a bad thing — actually, it reveals a fact that the Hillel is quite proud of: Every year, UD gets more Jewish. Over the past few decades, Delaware’s Jewish community has grown from 5% of the student population to 13%.
“We’ve been noticing an uptick because Hillel has really put the university on the radar of [Jews] in the I-95 corridor,” UD Hillel Executive Director Donna Schwartz said.
She said that there have been a few surges over the years. In 2015, more Jews came after the school opened a kosher dining hall. Now, Jewish Blue Hens are flocking thanks to the school’s widely respected programs like engineering and physical therapy.
“The academics have really become well-known nationally, and that has become a highlight for Jewish students,” Schwartz said.
Amid all of this comes a huge announcement from UD Hillel. Its leaders are planning a brand-new, state-of-the-art $12 million Hillel center to meet the growing population and needs of Jewish students.
The Hillel has already raised $8 million, and it has a campaign going on right now to raise another million — $500,000 will be matched if the community can raise an equal amount on its own. If that works, the Hillel is hoping to raise the final $3 million or get commitments to raising it in the next couple of months.
The hope is to break ground this October and have a fully functioning center by the end of the first semester in 2026.
With thousands of Jewish Delaware alumni in the Greater Philadelphia region, this news comes as one more reason to go back to campus, Schwartz said.
“Philadelphia is a huge attraction for not only our students but also our alumni. It’s such a great transition for them, from having this opportunity at Delaware to explore their Jewish identity and then getting to help them get connected in the Philadelphia Jewish scene. There’s so much going on in Philadelphia that they are just so excited to soak it all up,” she said.
Schwartz added that the current building, the Kristol Center, has served the organization well during its 32 years of its existence. But she also said a change is overdue.
“Our alumni know that we need a new center, and we need it now. Our building has seen better days. It is lovely, comfy and cozy, but we outgrew it probably 25 years ago. It was built for a [school] of 5% Jewish population, and now, being at 13%, it just doesn’t hold us any longer,” she said.
The Hillel at UD regularly has 250 students attend Shabbat dinner, and the current social hall is barely able to squeeze half of them in. Additionally, the Hillel hosts students for a special program called Markell Fresh Fest, which sees Jewish students move into campus two days before others. It gives them a chance to meet each other, and they need a great place to gather.
“We are packed in there like sardines,” Schwartz said.
While the Hillel has been around in Newark for more than 75 years, it has only had a permanent home in the Kristol Center since 1993. That makes fundraising more challenging, Schwartz said, because generations of Jewish UD graduates never had a permanent place to go for themselves.
“It was definitely hard to start fundraising for this, because, for somebody who graduated in the ’60s or ’70s, they might not have had as much of a Jewish experience,” she said.
Schwartz said that the University of Delaware Hillel has not historically been one with a lot of funding, especially compared to Hillels that serve some of the country’s most well-established Jewish undergraduate populations.
But today, Jewish students have a whole new host of factors to consider when they choose where to attend college. As antisemitism has increased across the country, particularly on college campuses, the university has stood tall as a friendly place for Jews. Schwartz cited a survey in which 94% of Jewish students said they are comfortable wearing Hillel gear, Star of David necklaces and other signifiers of Jewish heritage on campus.
That’s another reason that the new Hillel building is essential — upgraded security.
“The technology just isn’t there,” Schwartz said. “We have had to retrofit everything.”
On Sunday, May 18, the Hillel in Newark held a celebration to tell the community about its plans and to galvanize momentum toward the fundraising goal. The event was attended by numerous big donors and the president and CEO of Hillel International, Adam Lehman, among others.
“We know from our work at the University of Delaware and campuses across the country just how important it is for Jewish students to have dedicated, welcoming spaces where they can fully express their identities, engage in Jewish life and find community,” said Lehman. “This new facility will ensure that Jewish Blue Hens have an amazing place to call home for decades to come.”
The plans for the building are not completely outlined yet, but a few components will absolutely be included. For one, the Hillel center will have an event space that can fit around 250 students — the common crowd for a Friday night Shabbat.
As the University of Delaware Hillel begins this new chapter, its leaders are well aware of how it will affect their closest major city, Philadelphia.
“It’s such a large hub for our Blue Hens to settle after,” Schwartz said. “And what I love about that is that we are training them as Jewish leaders to go into the Philadelphia area and really use their Jewish leadership to enhance the Philly area.”
