Contact: Amy Cagle

STARKVILLE, Miss.— Hillel, the Jewish student organization at Mississippi State University, is establishing a scholarship for Jewish faith students.

The initial idea for the scholarship came from the MSU organization’s president Jacob Craig, a junior mechanical engineering major from Brooksville. He hopes the scholarship will serve a twofold purpose—“to draw more Jewish students to Mississippi State and exemplify the passion the university exhibits toward its diverse student body.”

Tabor Mullen, the university’s associate dean of students and adviser for MSU Hillel, proposed the scholarship’s establishment through the MSU Foundation. The formal fund creation promotes progress toward the scholarship goal beyond just fundraising within the MSU Hillel organization.

Craig said, “When I became president last year, my main goal was to create something sustainable, so that no matter what is going on with our MSU organization, there will always be opportunities for Jewish students on this campus. A scholarship that can benefit future active members of our organization can help make this possible.”

The MSU chapter of Hillel is the only Jewish faith-based organization at Mississippi State, and the group strives to maintain an inclusive membership comprised of Jewish and non-Jewish students interested in learning more about Judaism. MSU Hillel members are heavily involved on campus and in the local community.

Craig said that from holding Shabbat services at the Chapel of Memories to completing service projects throughout the Golden Triangle area, Hillel members strive for impacting those around them in a positive way.

Beyond serving Jewish students and community members, the organization also works to spread an understanding of Judaism to others. MSU Hillel has participated in interfaith dialogues with other religious organizations on campus, and brought speakers, such as Holocaust survivors, to Mississippi State.

“We want people to see that we’ve built this strong foundation within our organization at Mississippi State, and now we just need them to help us grow it, whether that’s actively participating with Hillel as a member or contributing to this scholarship fund to enrich lives of future recipients,” said Craig.

The MSU Hillel Student Scholarship is an open fund that can be increased with additional contributions at www.msufoundation.com/makeagift. For more information about supporting the scholarship, contact Cathy Lammons, the MSU Foundation’s executive director of communication and donor relations, at 662-325-7843 or email clammons@advservices.msstate.edu.

For more on the MSU Hillel organization, contact msujewishlife@gmail.com.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.