Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 - (Page 6)

ON CAMPUS religion NEWMAN CENTER, HILLEL SOCIETY FIND RENEWAL As a result of the Diocese of Allentown’s parish restructuring plan, the Newman Center, which housed Catholic Campus Ministry at Lehigh, moved to more spacious quarters at nearby Holy Ghost Parish. Over the summer, two of Lehigh’s enduring religious organizations— the Newman Center and the Hillel Society—were on the move. The Holy Ghost complex includes four buildings; Lehigh students will use a facility to be called Newman Hall. “It’s to our advantage,” says Newman Center director Rev. Wayne E. Killian, who is now Holy Ghost’s pastor. “It’s a large building, so the students will have plenty of space, and it will be open to their convenience, whenever they want to use it, all day, every day.” The Newman Association and Newman Foundation will continue in their current forms. “These new quarters will allow us to expand our programming to ﬁt the needs of the students and the community parishioners,” says Scott Wojiechowski ’09, the Newman Council’s vice presRev. Wayne E. Killian believes the move will give Lehigh students an opportunity to engage with the local community. ident for activities and membership. “I love the duality of the Meanwhile, the Hillel Society, a studentparish—serving Bethlehemites and Lehigh sturun organization that encourages and strengthdents. This partnership between the univerens the continuity of Jewish values among the sity and the diocese will be in perfect lockstep university’s Jewish students, hired former atwith the continual improvement of commutorney and ordained Rabbi Seth Goren as its nity relations.” ﬁrst full-time director. Goren will also expand programming at University chaplain Lloyd Steffen notes that Hillel, which was led for 20 years by part-time the Newman Center’s move, along with directors hired by the foundation that owns Goren’s arrival on campus and other initiatives the Jewish Student Center on Summit Street. in the planning stages, signals that spiritual af“The fact that the university really seemed fairs at Lehigh are undergoing positive changes. to be making a push to take Jewish student life “We’ll have some new invigoration in our to the next level was incredibly attractive,” says religious life here,” Steffen says. “Religious Goren, who was ordained a rabbi in May 2007. groups remain active and engaged.” After years as an associate practicing conThe former Newman Center is now the sumer protection and human rights law—what Ofﬁce of Catholic Campus Ministry of Lehigh he calls “good guy law”—Goren was intellectuUniversity at Holy Ghost Parish, located on ally stimulated. But his participation in his local the western edge of the university’s campus. Jewish community got him truly excited. The shift means more space for student ac“I loved it,” he says. “I felt passionate about tivities as well as greater worshipping options. the work I was doing, and at some point I re6 lehigh alumni bulletin alized, hey, I could be doing this for my job.” Goren left his ﬁrm and went to rabbinical school, the ﬁrst step in a journey that brought him to Lehigh University. Michael Butensky ’11, Hillel’s president and a member of the search committee, believes Goren’s leadership will enliven the group and increase Jewish participation in on-campus activities. “There are 500 students we’re not reaching,” Butensky says. “With this full-time director, we’ll be able to reach out to them and get them down there to increase our attendance at events.” Lehigh trustee Nancy Berman, director of the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation, a longtime university benefactor, praises Butensky and other Hillel students for “doing a wonderful job of programming and creating a very viable organization,” adding that a full-time director will give the society “someone who could be called upon and could integrate into the university on a deep level of meaning and could really think through what’s the best Hillel could do for the university.”—Tom Durso Seth Goren became the ﬁrst full-time director of the Hillel Society in June. PHOTOS BY DOUGLAS BENEDICT

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Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Cover Story: The Dalai Lama at Lehigh Heart of a Champion Around the World in 80 Years Fighting for Children wth Autism Keepers of the Flame From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

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