Spring Break
Trustee rethinks Jewish donations
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 9/11/07
Posted online at 8:10 PM EST on 9/10/07
/ Last updated at 4:19 AM EST on 9/10/07
Jewish philanthropist and Brandeis trustee Michael Steinhardt said the University has great potential for helping realize his philanthropic aim of strengthening the Jewish identities among unaffiliated American Jews.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in August that Steinhardt is dissatisfied with the outcome of some of his Jewish investments and plans to shift his donations to projects that work with unobservant Jews.
"I decided that I would focus my energies toward trying to improve Jewish identity and the Jewish commitment of the group that was most vulnerable," he said Sunday in reference to non-Orthodox Jews, particularly those "on the fringe of Jewish identity."
Steinhardt said the University's Steinhardt Social Research Center, which he endowed with $12 million in 2005, falls in line with his vision. The Center conducts surveys and produces research and statistical analysis on the American Jewish community.
"My hope for Brandeis is that it can be the light unto the non-Orthodox, secular, American Jewish world, which I do not think it is yet," he said. "But I do believe it, more than any other institution, has that potential."
Several top administrators didn't return requests for comment Monday. Last January when former President Jimmy Carter visited campus and rumors that donors disapproved of the event surfaced, Nancy Winship, the University's chief fundraiser, said donors don't dictate the direction of the University.
"We don't make any [academic] decisions based on donors' wishes," Winship said in February.
Steinhardt established the Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation in 1995 after leaving a lucrative career as a hedgefund manager. He has since donated over $100 million to Jewish causes, including the Birthright Israel program, which provides free trips to Israel for Jews ages 18 to 26.
He named the Birthright initiative, as his most successful endeavor because it reaches thousands of unaffiliated young Jews.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in August that Steinhardt is dissatisfied with the outcome of some of his Jewish investments and plans to shift his donations to projects that work with unobservant Jews.
"I decided that I would focus my energies toward trying to improve Jewish identity and the Jewish commitment of the group that was most vulnerable," he said Sunday in reference to non-Orthodox Jews, particularly those "on the fringe of Jewish identity."
Steinhardt said the University's Steinhardt Social Research Center, which he endowed with $12 million in 2005, falls in line with his vision. The Center conducts surveys and produces research and statistical analysis on the American Jewish community.
"My hope for Brandeis is that it can be the light unto the non-Orthodox, secular, American Jewish world, which I do not think it is yet," he said. "But I do believe it, more than any other institution, has that potential."
Several top administrators didn't return requests for comment Monday. Last January when former President Jimmy Carter visited campus and rumors that donors disapproved of the event surfaced, Nancy Winship, the University's chief fundraiser, said donors don't dictate the direction of the University.
"We don't make any [academic] decisions based on donors' wishes," Winship said in February.
Steinhardt established the Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation in 1995 after leaving a lucrative career as a hedgefund manager. He has since donated over $100 million to Jewish causes, including the Birthright Israel program, which provides free trips to Israel for Jews ages 18 to 26.
He named the Birthright initiative, as his most successful endeavor because it reaches thousands of unaffiliated young Jews.
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