History of Columbia/Barnard Hillel

In 1929, Columbia alumni, led by Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Justice Benjamin Cardozo, and Judge Irving Lehman, established the Jewish Advisory Board in support of the Counselor to Jewish Students to serve in Earl Hall. In 1971 the Jewish Advisory Board incorporated as the Jewish Campus Life Fund to support Jewish life on campus.  The JCLF developed a proposal in 1990 to establish a Jewish center on campus, which resulted in a major capital campaign and a 1995 ceremonial groundbreaking. The Columbia Jewish community affiliated with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (Hillel International) in 1999. The Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life was named in recognition of the generosity of Columbia Trustee, Robert K. Kraft and his family and opened its doors to students in 2000.