Rutgers Hillel welcomes new director of development

By Sarah Morrison

September 12, 2008

Lee Rosenfield of Lambertville recently joined the staff of Rutgers Hillel, a perfect fit for a man who has his personal and professional roots buried deep in the Jewish community.

Rosenfield translated his love for the tribe into his professional life, receiving a Masters in Jewish studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Manhattan. He previously worked for Hillel in Boston, the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey and Greater Philadelphia, and at Gratz College, Elkins Park, Penn., as head of fundraising". His last job before Rutgers Hillel was as director of development for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, a job that demanded too much away time from his wife and 17-month old son.

So "going to Rutgers Hillel was continuing that [Jewish] Journey" for Rosenfield, an easy, smooth transition back into active duty in the Jewish community.

Rosenfield now serves as the director of development at Rutgers Hillel. His main task in to raise money for the new building that Hillel proposes to build within the next few years.

"I'm helping Hillel to raise money for the capital and endowment campaign," Rosenfield said. "The land is already purchased, now we need to build a building. The building on the land (a former fraternity) will be demolished later this year or early next year."

The $50 million project is only $5.7 million into its financial goals so far, not enough to build a state-of-the-art facility for Rutgers Hillel.

"I'm familiar with Hillel and I appreciate what it does," Rosenfield said about his new position. "I love being on a college campus and being with students. This purpose (raising funds for a new building) is very important. What excited me was this new building and to reach this dream and make it a reality."

The money so far was raised with the help of a $2 million donation from the Wilf family. Rosenfield is out looking for other donors who want to help such a worthy cause.

"The beautiful thing about Rutgers is that it is a state university, so the people who are attracted to this project are the alumni," Rosenfield said. "Twelve federations support Rutgers Hillel with an annual allocation. So the state, as a whole, is and should be invested in this project. Pretty much the entire Jewish community are potential donors. Anyone who cares about Jewish life on campus is affected, particularly in Jewish life during this vital stage of peoples' lives, when students have endless choices in front of them. We have to be there and we have to be really visible, really strong, and really inspirational."

The current College Ave. building, Rosenfield said, is old, tired, and barely accommodates the 5,000-plus Jews on campus.

"We absolutely have to build a state-of-the-art community," Rosenfield said. "With no disrespect to the building, it's a quaint old house… Hillel serves over 2,000 Jewish students a year; 200 to 400 for each Shabbat meal. A building is just a vessel, but what happens inside the building is what counts. With a new building, programming will go to a whole new level. We're going to be able to expand and hire new staff."

Rosenfield acknowledged his "wonderful" professional partners.

"I have a good partner in Barbara Cohen, my professional counterpart," Rosenfield said. "She lives, breathes, and eats everything about this building campaign. My job is a little bit broader than that. I'm there to raise a bit more money for the building, but Hillel has a million-dollar budget just to pay all the bills. This money just doesn't happen!"

Rosenfield also talked about the Hillel Board, which is putting its resources into raising money as well.

"We have a terrific board," Rosenfield said. "Under Chairman Mark N. Busch's leadership, their (the board's) job is to raise money for Hillel as much as anything. We appreciate a lot of support from the university, including [Rutgers President Richard] McCormack. He is very supportive of Hillel and the building. He's willing to do, within reason, anything he can to help with the building, and that support is very necessary."

To raise money, Rosenfield is planning on organizing events like a telethon.

"It's a great way for students to learn how to raise money and be leaders of the Jewish community themselves," Rosenfield observed. "I love the leadership development for the students. This is the part of their loves where they learn how to lead their loves as professionals and good community leaders. Getting people on the phone --
I think it's great. [Asking for donations] is part of life, and it's for a really important cause."

Rosenfield's favorite part of Hillel is how proactive it is in reaching out to Jewish students.

"Hillel is not making sure that the students aren't coming to us," Rosenfield said, "but that Hillel is also going out to them. That campus is so complex spread over five campuses. It's not even reasonable to think that they'd be on College Avenue all the time, and here Hillel is, reaching out to all the Jewish kids on campus."

For information on donating to Hillel, visit their Web site at www.rutgershillel.org.