The Hillels of Illinois

In Illinois, Hillel provides opportunities for Jewish students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity at 17 different Hillels on Illinois Campuses, as well as through Hillel Regional programs and our affiliation with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. Hillel adds value – and Jewish values – to the lives of Jewish college students and the entire campus community.

What is Hillel’s mission?

Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Hillel seeks to create a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students: an environment where students are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually and socially. Hillel helps students find their own balance in being distinctively Jewish and universally human. It does this by providing opportunities to pursue tzedek (social justice); helping students to engage with critical Jewish issues in the US, Israel and around the world through experiences in Israel, Eastern Europe and helping to “repair the world” (tikkun olam). Hillel encourages Jewish learning and celebration and provides students with an opportunity to explore culture and the arts. The Hillels of Illinois creates a variety of ways that students can advocate for and support Jews in Israel and around the world. Hillel seeks to inspire every Jewish student to find their own approach to making an enduring commitment to Jewish life.

Why is Hillel important to the Jewish community?

It is estimated that 85% of college age Jews in America – approximately 400,000 individuals - attend some form of institution of higher education. These college years offer the last and best opportunity to inspire Jewish commitment among young people before they disperse to the working world.  Many young Jewish people know little of their rich heritage. Hillel provides Jewish content at a time when students are searching for meaning in their lives and are in danger of losing a vibrant sense of Jewish identity and assimilating into the general community.

How is the Hillels of Illinois structured?

• The Five Hillel Foundations in Illinois 
  • Hillels Around Chicago:  Multi-Campus Center
    • The School of the Art Institute of Chciago
    • Columbia College Chicago
    • DePaul University
    • The Illinois Institute of Technology
    • Oakton Community College
    • Roosevelt University
    • Russian Hillel
  • The Louis & Saerree Fiedler Hillel Center at Northwestern University
  • The Johanna & Herman H. Newberger Hillel Center at the University of Chicago
  • The Mildred & William Levine Hillel Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago
  • The Margie K. & Louis N. Cohen Center for Jewish Life at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Hillel Program Centers
  • Bradley University in Peoria
  • Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal
  • Hillel at Loyola University in Chicago
  • Northern Illinois University in DeKalb
  • Southern Illinois University in Carbondale
• Hillel Cross-Campus Programming
  • Orthodox Students
  • Faculty Programming
  • Cross-Campus Social Events

Who Funds Hillel

Hillel has been the central address for Jewish students on college campuses since it was founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1923. Today, The Hillels of Illinois is a department of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and a branch of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. As such it receives generous support from the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Jewish Federations around the state, and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. It also receives significant support from alumni and parents at the campuses on which it operates, as well as from individual benefactors and foundations.