When Steven Cohn’s son Ari and the rest of his freshman class embarked on their collegiate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003, they weren’t the only newcomers to campus. Meeting them were Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel, who had just arrived to open the Chabad-Lubavitch Center for Jewish Student Life.
Parents and Alumni Organize Salute of Campus Center’s Fifth Year Celebration
When Steven Cohn’s son Ari and the rest of his freshman class embarked on their collegiate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003, they weren’t the only newcomers to campus. Meeting them were Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel, who had just arrived to open the Chabad-Lubavitch Center for Jewish Student Life.
Five years later, the Cohns and their fellow parents, alumni and students are set to celebrate the Chabad House and the work of the Tiechtels, who have presided over a tremendous period of growth. University of Illinois chancellor Richard Herman will join them as he receives an award and addresses Sunday night’s “Toasting Chabad of Champaign” event in nearby Northbrook.
Chabad has “meant a lot to my family for close to 30 years,” said Cohn.
The Skokie resident and University of Illinois graduate is co-chairing the evening gala to demonstrate his appreciation for the dedication to Jewish life exhibited by the Tiechtels and the thousands of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries around the globe. His wife is also an Illinois graduate, and another son will begin his freshman year at the school in August.
“To Ari, Chabad was a place to go to express his Judaism and be involved in a nurturing environment,” explained the father. The Tiechtels “provide a non-threatening environment for students to observe Judaism at their own pace.”
With a host of programs, including massive holiday celebrations, Shabbat dinners and regular Torah classes, the Chabad House has “made Judaism more visible” at the university, said Herman. Its reach even stretches abroad: For the past two years, the Tiechtels have led an Alternative Spring Break trip to Berlin to assist the local Jewish community, and have signed-up scores of students on free 10-day trips to Israel provided by Mayanot and Taglit-birthright israel.
“It’s been my pleasure to watch Dovid and Goldie work their magic with the Jewish students,” added Herman, who will receive the dinner’s “Founder’s Award.”
The dinner will also feature of presentation of young leadership awards to Eric and Debbie Schames.
University president B. Joseph White echoed Herman in a letter to the Chabad House and its supporters.
“That alumni and parents are sponsoring Chabad’s fifth anniversary at the University of Illinois speaks volumes about the organization’s value and impact on our campus,” wrote White. “Much credit must got to Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel for the energy and love they have brought in building ‘a home away from home’ for Jewish students on campus.”
