Interim Executive Director of Boston University Hillel David Raphael will be stepping down from his position at the end of this academic year, according to an email sent to students by Raphael.
Raphael took over as interim director for Hillel at BU two years ago. Previously he served as interim director of Hillel at Yale University and Binghamton University, Raphael said.
“They asked me to step in [at BU], and I liked it so much I ended up staying a second full year,” Raphael said.
After this academic year is, Raphael will be returning to his home in Atlanta where his wife lives.
“I had to make a decision about whether I was going to continue on with my role, or if I was going to return to my home in Atlanta,” he said. “After a long conversation with my wife, we decided that Atlanta is our home.”
Raphael said he made his decision to leave several months ago and shared it with the leadership of the Hillel Student Board, Hillel International, as well as with the leaders of the university.
A search committee has been set up to find a new executive director, Raphael said. The search committee is comprised of members of the Hillel board, representatives of the university, students and representatives of the local Jewish community.
“They’ve interviewed four or five candidates so far, I believe, and once they come up with their top choices, they will bring them to the campus to meet with the students and board members,” Raphael said.
One of Raphael’s goals with Hillel was to make it as dynamic as the campus of BU.
“One of the things I’ve been saying all along as the Hillel director is that I wanted to create a Hillel that mirrored the vibrancy and excitement of Boston University,” he said.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said he was sad to see Raphael go and wishes Raphael would reconsider his decision to leave.
“I’m going to miss David Raphael quite a bit,” Elmore said. “I think he’s done some fabulous work for us. He has moved Hillel in a great direction.”
Elmore said Raphael’s job is difficult, but he handled the position well.
“He’s got a tough job,” Elmore said. “There’s just so many aspects of Jewish identity with regard to a college and university setting and putting that together from a national conversation about Jewish identity and an international conversation about it in Israel, that can be a hard thing to navigate. We can see that it’s a hard thing to navigate.”
Several students involved with Hillel at BU said they were sad to see Raphael go, but are eager to see what the new director will bring forth.
Myles Ullman, a sophomore in the Questrom School of Business, said Raphael was one of the first people he met at BU.
“He was always a welcoming and familiar face to see whenever I walked into the building, especially before I got to know fellow students,” Ullman said. “His leadership has steered Hillel in an appropriate and necessary direction. While Hillel has had its ups and downs over the course of his term as executive director, he was always able to resolve issues and work toward a positive outcome.”
Zohar Baruch, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the president of Hillel’s Student Board, said she is eager for a new and permanent director at Hillel.
“David has done a lot for our community in the past two and a half years,” Baruch said. “We are looking forward to a new and permanent executive director.”
Sydney Berman, a Questrom sophomore, said she is excited to see the new changes coming to Hillel.
“There are a lot of changes coming to Hillel and although change is bittersweet, I think we’ve got some really cool new ideas coming to the programming side of things as well as new staff bringing fresh perspectives.”
