Chapman University has appointed its inaugural full-time director of Jewish life.
Andrea Siegel, who has a doctorate in Hebrew literature, started at the Southern California private university in July. She brings a background in academia, nonprofit work and counseling.
A major reason Siegel came to Chapman University – where Hillel and Chabad student groups are active, and eight percent of undergraduates identify as Jewish – is to help the university nurture its connections with Southern California’s Jewish resources.
“Different Jews have different ways of connecting to our traditions and civilization,” Siegel said. “Part of my role is to help them translate for each other.”
Prior to her role at Chapman, Siegel was a clinical resident in spirituality and psychotherapy at a mental health center for underserved people in Appalachia, and she worked on interfaith orphan care issues in West Africa. Before that, she directed Jewish global citizenship education strategy for young adults at the Jewish humanitarian organization JDC, and she taught Jewish studies at multiple universities.
Since joining the staff at Chapman, Siegel has been integral to the work of the university’s Fish Interfaith Center, home for religious and spiritual life at Chapman University.
“There are only a handful of universities in the country that have an interfaith space like this,” Siegel said.
With the Fish Interfaith Center as a hub of outreach, the new Jewish life director hopes to create welcoming spaces for all Jewish students on campus.
“Jewish identities are so diverse, like whom you love and how you practice or observe,” Siegel said. “There are so many opportunities to get involved with and create Jewish responses to needs – where everyone is welcome to join regardless of your identity.”
Congregation Kol Ami Senior Rabbi Denise Eger has announced plans to retire after more than 30 years of leading the West Hollywood congregation.
According to a recent announcement by the synagogue, Eger will retire on July 1, 2024, at which time she will become the congregation’s First Rabbi Emerita.
“It’s with mixed emotions that we announce Rabbi Eger’s plans to retire in 2024 from serving as our Senior Rabbi,” Kol Ami Board of Trustees President Peter Mackler said. “For more than 30 years, Rabbi Eger has nourished our souls and our communities through her teachings, unparalleled leadership, and activism. We are excited for what her next chapter may hold and are grateful that she will remain connected to our congregation by serving as our First Rabbi Emerita.”
In a statement, Eger said the next chapter of her career would focus on teaching, lecturing and spending time with family.
“I have proudly dedicated my life to Congregation Kol Ami and our congregants,” Eger said. “For 30 years it has been the greatest privilege to work together to build this sacred place which has become a beacon of light in our community and in the Reform Jewish movement. The decision to retire from serving as Senior Rabbi was not an easy one to make but is necessary so I may pursue my own next chapter – one that focuses more on teaching and lecturing as well as allowing for time with family.”
While Eger’s official retirement will not take effect until 2024, an interim rabbi will be in place on July 1, 2023 and assist with the search process for the next settled rabbi.
Kol Ami, established in 1993, has long held an international reputation for its progressive advocacy work and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, social justice and diversity.
