<,NN '‘„• mb ;Z STAR from page 81 active in rescuing and rehabilitating Jews around the world. "The placements as a whole are great," the administration major said. "We get to know how an agency works and how a non-profit agency needs to run. Echt, who is placed at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, helps put together several large pro- grams, including the Allied Jewish Campaign's Super Sunday fund-raiser, and started a network of volunteers from all the agencies in the area. "We're given a tremendous amount of respect and responsibility," he said. STaR graduate Taron Tachman could have spent a year in a placement at Detroit's Federation as well, but chose to take a job with Hillel at Eastern Michigan University. "It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I feel like I have a real positive effect on many of the students' lives." Another facet of the STaR program is the "proseminar," a three-credit class students are required to take through- out the duration of the program. It allows them to meet with community leaders in an informal setting. "It's an opportunity to integrate social work, Judaic studies, and field work, while discussing relevant issues within the community," according to Sue Sefansky, the proseminar coordina- tor. "It's also one of the only times that all the students are together." Some community leaders that are frequent hosts are Bob Aronson, execu- tive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, and Dr. Conrad and Linda Giles. "My wife and I hold one per year, where we invite the students over for dinner," Giles said. "She is the presi- dent of Detroit's Agency for Jewish Education and I am the president of the national Council of Jewish Federations. We both have experience in the Jewish communal field, and we tell the students what brought us to these activities." STaR continues today, largely because of support within the Detroit Jewish community and some from the university. But funding is still an issue for, both Lauffer and the students. The current cost of the program is nearly $10,000 per year for in-state students and twice that for out-of-state, which is comparable to most U-M master's pro- grams. "As the program began to grow, it became clear that we couldn't depend on funding from Detroit, or any other federation, in the long term," Lauffer said. "We needed to become more self- sufficient." In 1995, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn introduced the Friends of STaR Campaign, which is co-chaired by Federation Vice-President Larry Jackier and Conrad Giles. The Friends have raised over $150,000 in gifts and pledges to provide operating expenses for the program. According to Lauffer, the gifts range from $500 to $40,000, from a maximum of 36 donors. According to Sholder, the School of Social Work gives no outright funding to the program, but STaR is given space in the school's building, and is included as part of the school. "The fact that STaR is still here is a testament to the fund-raising we've done," Giles said. The latest pod news for Project STaR is the establishment of a perma- nent chair in Jewish communal service and directorship of Project STaR, a position that Lauffer currently holds. The final legal barriers are being cleared for the chair. The total contribution to the chair totals $2.4 million — half from private funds and a contribu- tion from the United Jewish Foundation and half from a match- ing donation from the university," Federation's Aronson said. The chair is named for Sol Drachler, a past executive vice presi- dent of the Federation and former Allied Jewish Campaign director. He now acts as a consultant to a variety of philanthropic organizations and non-profit institutions. The interest income from the endowment will pay for the salary of the professor and related operational costs. Project STaR draws most of its stu- dents from out-of-state and Canada. Lauffer said most come to STaR a few years out of college, at an average age of 27. But a 55-year-old student who graduated last year, Ida Kogan, is now program services director at the Teitel Federation Apartments in Oak Park. "The more experience the students get between graduation and starting STaR, the better use can be made out of this type of program," Lauffer said. Amy Gross, 22, enrolled in Project STaR right out of college. "Project STaR was the program I had heard the least about," the University of Florida graduate said. She had been accepted by Hebrew Union College and Yeshiva University. "Second-year students and the staff Sherri Umansky, Lisa Freiman, Suzanne Lipton, Andrea Freedman and Sue Waldman in class. Dr. Zvi Steinfeld teaching a Project STaR class. 2/6 1998 83