UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Hillel officially inaugurated its new permanent home at grand opening today (Sept. 9) in downtown State College.
Dignitaries including Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi welcomed the opening of the new Bernard and Nancy Gutterman Family Center for Jewish Life, located on the corner of South Garner Street and East Beaver Avenue.
“This is a special day for Penn State Hillel and the entire Penn State community,” Bendapudi said. “What I love is the focus on students and the commitment to create a vibrant religious and cultural community for those who want to come and participate. It’s also no surprise that there’s a tradition here of working with students and working with local organizations to bring programming and events — not just for students of the Jewish faith, but for everybody.”
An affiliate of the international Jewish life organization, Penn State Hillel was founded in 1936 and serves approximately 5,000 Jewish students at the University.
Penn State Hillel has been housed in numerous buildings on campus throughout its history. Since 2003, the group has utilized a shared space within the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center at the University Park campus.
“When I first came to Penn State 15 years ago, our Hillel was already hard at work identifying land for a new building,” said Aaron Kaufman, executive director of Penn State Hillel. “It hasn’t quite been 40 years of wandering in the desert, but it has taken some time to get here.”
Penn State Hillel broke ground for its new 16,000-square-foot facility in 2019. Kaufman said the facility will support the group’s mission to create a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish students where they can grow intellectually, spiritually and socially.
Emily Rosen, Penn State Hillel’s former student board vice president said, “One of the core principles of Judaism is welcoming the stranger. When you walk through the doors of the Gutterman Center, you are no longer a stranger, you are in a place where you belong.”
Kaufman said students provided input in every step of the planning process for the Gutterman Family Center, and the building is designed to be flexible and adaptable.
The new facility features a welcoming lounge and study spaces, shared staff and student leadership workspace, flexible events spaces and a private terrace. The building’s site also includes student housing, retail space and parking.
“The Gutterman Family Center is a warm and welcoming place to the thousands of Jewish students in Penn State, a place that inspires pride in their Jewish identity and a place where they can be seen and feel safe,” Kaufman said. “As Hillel the Elder once said, ‘A single candle can light a thousand more without diminishing itself.’ The Gutterman Family Center will help us light the candles of thousands and thousands of Jewish students who will in turn spread that light throughout our community, our country and the world.”