Q & A with Gary Wolff
New UConn Hillel director talks about new programs... new facility
By Cindy Mindell
STORRS - In July, 29-year-old South African native Gary Wolff took over as executive director of Hillel at UConn. Growing up in the close-knit Jewish community of Johannesburg, he lived through apartheid and saw its eventual abolition. As a result, he brings to the job a unique perspective on Jewish identity and pluralism. Wolff comes to Connecticut after serving in various professional capacities with Hillel in southern Florida for the last five years. He spoke with the Ledger about what shaped him as a Jewish community professional, and his vision for Hillel at UConn.
Q: What was it like to grow up in the South African Jewish community?
A. The South African Jewish community is very different from the American Jewish community. It's very traditional, where you're either Orthodox or Reform; there's no middle ground. Levels of Jewish observance differ here. For example, you can be an Orthodox secular Jew in South Africa, traditionally practicing and affiliating as Orthodox, but not necessarily keep kosher.
The community has a very strong Jewish and Zionist identity. I grew up with somewhat of a decent Jewish understanding in terms of culture and practice. While I do not come from the most observant household, I kept Shabbat and kosher for a while personally. I got to a point where I was torn about how to practice, and my family was very respectful. I didn't grow up in a judgmental environment regarding how others practice. So if a student comes to me with little knowledge, I can learn from them and teach them and use community resources to get them involved and affiliated.
The Jewish community as a whole was anti-apartheid. Apartheid ended in 1992. I went to a public school and then a private school, both integrated. In 11th grade, I was fortunate to be a part of the Junior City Council in Johannesburg, a bi-partisan, apolitical organization made up of two representatives from 40 high schools that worked with the mayor to create experiences to enhance the youth of Johannesburg. That inspired me.
In 2003, there were 250,000 Jews in South Africa; three years ago, there were 75,000 left. There has been a massive brain drain of 18- to 26-year-olds. My maternal grandmother and my dad's side are all in Johannesburg.
Q: How did you get involved with Hillel?
A. In 2003, I graduated from the Aristotelian College of Marketing in Johannesburg. I wasn't involved in Hillel at all; I didn't know about it as an organization until I had already graduated. From age 17, I worked for a fashion manufacturer and exporter, was running my own store at 21, and by 22 was running part of the marketing department for the entire company.
Jordan Tannenbaum, who was then vice president of marketing at Hillel in D.C., found out about me - I still don't know how -- and called me weekly for six months to invite me to work for Hillel. I went to visit my sister in Boca Raton and he flew down to meet me. In 2004, I started off as an engagement and program associate for Hillel in Boca Raton. My job was to find unaffiliated Jewish students and help them get involved in the organization.
I became assistant director of Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The executive director was battling cancer for two years and I became interim director until June 2009 and learned how to run a Hillel. Through that experience, I came to understand both public and private universities, and work with observant, non-observant Jews, and both residential and day students. In July 2009, I became executive director of Hillel at UConn.
Q: Describe your experience so far with Hillel at UConn.
A. The campus is rich with Jewish culture and community and is so proud that they want to enhance it even more. Part of our challenge as an organization is that we don't communicate enough with the larger community and let them know about the work that's taking place. We not only work to enrich the lives of undergraduate and graduate Jewish students, but also to enrich the lives of Jews all over the world.
We went from having a six-member student board last year to 11 students this year who will help govern Hillel, each with a different focus - Israel, social events, group life - to impact a variety of different students, and will work with our fulltime staff. We also hired student interns, some for credit, some paid, to do administration, communications, and recruitment.
There are between 1,700 and 2,000 Jewish students on campus, and of those, approximately 550 have been impacted over the course of the semester.
Q: What is your vision for Hillel at UConn?
A. I'd like to double the number of involved students over the next five years. I want to improve outreach efforts so that students feel that they have a Jewish home away from home. We have seen a large increase in the number of students who come for a Shabbat experience every Friday night; we're up to 55 or 60. We try to create a sense of Jewish community outside of what they've known.
We've had some popular programs so far this year. "Top Chef" brought multiple campus partners together to experience Jewish cooking and values through something Jews do a lot of - eating. Three hundred and fifty students participated, and learned that we're an open environment, pluralistic, and proud of our Jewish heritage. Our Chanukah party drew 150 students. With the help of Michael Kassen of AIPAC Connecticut, we sent three students to the AIPAC Saban Leadership Seminar in Washington, D.C., a summer program with Jewish students from 140 universities who learn to do Israel advocacy on campus.
In January, we are one of 10 Hillels going to Los Angeles to work with City Year and the Boys and Girls Club to fix their facilities through painting and building, and play with the kids. We will have an opportunity to do Jewish learning based on the activities to understand community as a whole, in a pluralistic way. Over spring break, we will return to New Orleans to continue work we started five years ago. In the summer, we have 25 allocated seats on a Birthright-Israel trip.
Q: What is the status of the Hillel facility now undergoing major renovation?
A. Our building is being renovated and will hopefully be ready by February or March. The outside structure was built in 1949, and by preserving it we're keeping our heritage. Inside are multi-purpose spaces, student work spaces and relaxing spaces. The original plan was to knock down the facility and rebuild, but we didn't have enough funding.