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MSU dedicates its new Lester Morris Hillel student center.
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The Lester J. Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center sits on Charles Street, in the heart of East Lansing. The facility offers "a
Jewish home away from home" to Michigan State University students.
KAREN SCHWARTZ
Special to the Jewish News
Bloomfield Hills resident Susie Pappas chats with Jewell Morris during the
post-ceremony reception Oct. 13. The new Lester J. Morris Hillel Jewish
Student Center in East Lansing was named for Morris' late husband.
10/25
2002
110
ocated in an historic district in
East Lansing, 3060 Charles Street
could easily be mistaken for just
another house on the block.
But to the hundreds of students who par-
ticipate in Hillel programming and the 100
students who gather there weekly to cele-
brate Shabbat, the Lester J. Morris Hillel
Jewish Student Center at Michigan State
University, dedicated Oct. 13, is a home.
And that's exactly what was intended, said
MSU Hillel Capital Campaign Chair David
Bittker. "We didn't want a commercial facili-
ty. We wanted a warm, inviting home and
that's how it turned out," he said.
The building is modeled after Indiana
University's Hillel and designed by the same
architect, Frank Adams. Indiana's Hillel
caught Bittker's eye and interested others
during an International Hillel Board of
Directors meeting held four years ago in
Bloomington.
"We were just thinking about doing some-
thing in East Lansing then," Bittker said. "I
said we ought to take this building and put
it in East Lansing, and we did. We tore
down what was here and built this place ...
it's everything and then some. I'm very
proud of how it came out."
Working with the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, a campaign to fund
the new Hillel on the site of the old raised
$3.1 million by June 2001. A groundbreak-
ing ceremony was held in September 2001.
A year later, the building is in use by the
students.
MSU Jewish Student Union President -
Jennifer Stotter spoke at the dedication cere-
mony about positive attitudes, "positive
vibes" and people looking toward the future
of MSU's Hillel.
"I can't believe it's finally here. It's bring-
ing everything together, all the hard work
everyone's put in, all the time everyone's
waited, all the excitement bubbling in the
building — it's finally culminating into this
beautiful dedication," she said.
The 20-year-old senior from Kalamazoo is
excited about the impact the new building is
having on campus and looks forward to
what it means for the future as far as
prospective students recognizing a strong
Jewish presence on campus. There are
approximately 2,500 Jewish students at
MSU and Stotter said she's seeing lots of
new faces. She hopes students will stop by to
study, relax and celebrate Shabbat in the new
building.
"This new building and all of the pro-
gramming we can have within it is creating
an attractiveness students are looking for. I
think it'll help bring more Jewish students
— who are searching for the right campus
where they fit in, with the right Jewish com-
munity for them — to Michigan State."
MSU President M. Peter McPherson
attended the event to congratulate the peo-
ple who put together the program and fund-
raising and to show his support for Jewish
students on campus.
"We welcome the growing number of
Jewish students here," he said. "We welcome
the deeper involvement of the Jewish corn-