TfiankTou
BILL DAVIDSON
FOR YOUR
LIFELONG DEDICATION
ship to lead',' Miller said.
"He cared deeply about the students
at the Davidson school and was eager
to solicit their feedback. In January
2005, he invited the Davidson school's
alumni who live in Metro Detroit to
his office at Guardian Industries to
have lunch and discuss the school,
Jewish education in general and the
future of the Conservative movement.
It was evident that he did not merely
want to endow a school. He wanted to
make a significant difference in Jewish
education."
Shaarey Zedek's Rabbi Eric Yanoff
knew of Davidson as the benefactor of
the graduate school where he received
a master's degree long before he actu-
ally met the man, who eventually
became his congregant.
"I knew of him first as a great per-
son who had given so much to make
my education possible," he said. "Then,
when I came to Detroit, I knew him as
a towering figure in our community.
So when I met him in person, there
was a sense of awe.
"But then immediately, it turned
into a sense of the person he was. He
was such a mentsh and so welcoming
of me — one of his 'indirect stu-
dents:"
In 2002, Davidson established the
William Davidson Scholarship Fund
at the Schechter Institute of Jewish
Studies in Jerusalem. The scholarship
awards greatly grew the program.
"Since that time, it has helped
more than 900 Israeli educators
obtain an M.A. degree in Jewish
Studies," said Linda Price, director
of communications at the institute.
"These graduates return to their
classrooms enriched personally as
well as professionally.
"William Davidson knew just how
crucial Jewish education would be to
the future of Israel. By endowing the
Davidson Scholarship, he was a true
pioneer in helping define how Judaism
would be taught within Israel's public
schools.
"I think he chose the Schechter
Institute because of our 'applied'
approach to Jewish Studies. We are not
an ivory tower, but rather a lands-on'
academic institution with 12 interdis-
ciplinary M.A. tracks, committed to
sharing Jewish knowledge based on a
pluralistic world view."
Back Home
Locally, Tom Wexelberg-Clouser,
executive director of the JTS Great
Lakes Region based in Bloomfield
Township, remembers Davidson as
having "embodied a commitment to
our past, present and future. He had a
strong commitment to Jewish life and
understood the need to ensure that
there are good teachers to inspire the
next generation," he said.
"Mr. Davidson's philosophy was all
about education and he was incred-
ibly generous in so many places that
reflected that. He was remarkable
in his understanding that without
the infrastructure — the classroom
teacher — nothing happens. For
him, it wasn't about the cutting edge,
something brand new, but it was
the day-to-day role of the teacher.
If you're going to have teachers who
inspire, we must inspire the teachers
first, with resources to make them
the best teachers they can be."
Whether it was in the classroom or
outside the school building, Davidson
put his support where it was needed.
In the mid-1980s, when Hillel Day
School of Metropolitan Detroit could
no longer accommodate its grow-
ing population at its current site
in Farmington Hills, the Davidson
family created more space with the
William, Ethan and Marla Davidson
wing.
"Hillel Day School and the Detroit
Jewish community clearly benefited
when Mr. Davidson stepped forward
to endow the necessary expansion
to the school;' said Hillel's head of
school, Steve Freedman. The new
space endowed in 1986 now houses
Hillel's fifth- and sixth-grade divi-
sion.
"This was just another example of
his leadership, vision and commit-
ment to Jewish education," Freedman
said. "Having graduated from the JTS
School of Jewish Education just a few
years prior to Mr. Davidson endow-
ing the William Davidson Graduate
School of Jewish Education, I am per-
sonally grateful for all that he did to
further improve Jewish education for
our children. We at Hillel hope that
his memory will serve as a shining
example for others to lead the way
and secure our future by supporting
Jewish education in meaningful and
significant ways."
TO OUR COMMUNITY.
YOUR LEGACY WILL
LIVE ON FOREVER.
Wori gtiarky(far
Wturiel Warren
WARREN
PRESCRIPTIONS
32910 MIDDLEBELT
AT 1 4 MILE
FARMINGTON HILLS
(248) 855-1177
13$9.350,
Witham Davidson z"(
"He who has a generous eye shall be blessed"
Proverbs 22:9
With gratitude for his generosity and his dedication
to the Jewish community.
The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.
The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
THE CENTER
March 19 2009
A31