Hamilton College Formally Recognizes Chabad Directors Rabbi Didy and Devorah Waks as Campus Advisors
by CrownHeights.info
Hamilton College has formally recognized Rabbi Didy and Devorah Waks, longtime directors of Chabad of Clinton serving Hamilton College, as official non-faculty/staff campus advisors to the Chabad Student Group.
The designation formally acknowledges the role the Wakses have played for more than a decade in supporting Jewish students at Hamilton and in providing mentorship, guidance and a strong Jewish community on campus.
Hamilton College lists Chabad among its recognized student organizations, alongside Hillel and other religious and cultural student groups. The college’s Spiritual and Religious Life office is headed by Dean Rev. Dr. Colleen Hallagan Preuninger.
For the Wakses, the new designation puts an official framework around a relationship that has existed for years.
Rabbi Didy and Devorah Waks established Chabad of Clinton in 2014, initially hosting students in their home. What began with Shabbat meals and holiday programming grew into a thriving Jewish community serving hundreds of Hamilton students. In September 2024, the community dedicated the new Sands Chabad House at 108 College Street, providing a permanent home for the expanding campus community.
The impact of that relationship was already evident in comments from Hamilton students. In 2024, then-Chabad student group co-president Gabby Nakkab told the Hamilton Monitor that students relied heavily on Rabbi Didy and Devorah for mentorship and guidance, while also receiving assistance from the college with student activities and funding.
The Wakses’ work has extended well beyond formal programming. Chabad’s new facility provides students with a place to eat Shabbat meals, study, celebrate Jewish holidays, receive personal support and simply spend time in a welcoming Jewish environment. Chabad.org reported in 2024 that the center was serving an estimated 350 Jewish students among Hamilton’s approximately 2,000 students, with more than 100 individual students attending meals over Rosh Hashanah.
The college’s recognition comes as an acknowledgment of that unique relationship: while the Wakses are not Hamilton College employees or faculty members, they serve as trusted advisors and community leaders for the students who make up the Chabad Student Group.
The Chabad community expressed appreciation to Dean Preuninger and her team for their partnership and for formally recognizing the role Rabbi Didy and Devorah have already been filling in the lives of Hamilton’s Jewish students.
Since arriving in Clinton, the Wakses have built Chabad into a home away from home for Jewish students—one that has become an established and integral part of Jewish life at Hamilton College.
