Hillel at Cornell is slated to begin construction for a Hillel center on West Campus this Spring 2026 semester. With the new building housing the Steven K. and Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center for Jewish Community at Cornell, Cornell will join the ranks of Ivy League and peer institutions that have a dedicated Hillel center, serving as a hub for both faith and broader student life.
The building, expected to open on University Avenue by the Fall 2027 semester, will include community lounges and study spaces, a kosher “Herb’s Cafe,” ritual spaces, a communal kitchen and a multipurpose event room — according to Rabbi Ari Weiss, executive director of Grinspoon Hillel. The center will be used to host classes, holiday programming, recreational activities and events, such as Shabbat. It expands on the existing Hillel House on North Campus, providing more formal capacity for community events and programming, according to Weiss.
A dedicated building has been a “long dream” for Cornell’s Jewish community, according to Weiss.
Cornell Hillel currently operates out of offices in Anabel Taylor Hall, whereas Hillel branches at peer institutions, such as Syracuse and the rest of the Ivy League, have stand-alone buildings, he said.
“Something I'm often asked by prospective students is, ‘Does this Hillel have a building?’ And many people are shocked to find out that Cornell Hillel does not,” Weiss said.
Cornell issued a Request for Proposal for student serving developments at 722 University Avenue following the demolition of a former fraternity house at the site. Hillel was selected as part of that process in 2021, after 30 years of seeking space for a community center. The proposal was written by Yifei Yan, senior designer at the Ithaca-based Whitman Planning and Design.
The University approved the proposal in 2024, and Hillel has since received financial support from over 1,200 parents, students and alumni donors, including Dr. Steven Grinspoon ’83 and his wife, Winifred Grinspoon ’83, who made a significant gift in support of the center and Hillel.
Hillel launched a campaign to raise $54 million by June 2026, with $25 million allocated to construction costs, $7 million to building maintenance and $22 million for programming.
Maya Weisberg ’26, student president of Hillel, hopes the building will become a home away from home for Jewish students at Cornell.
“As we hit 100 years of Jewish life on campus, this building feels like it’s setting us up for the next century,” she wrote in an email to The Sun “It’ll be a home base for Jewish students, but also a place where our non-Jewish friends feel welcome.”
Students have been closely involved in the fundraising and design process of the new building. As the design reaches its final stages, Hillel students have the opportunity to participate in focus groups “picking [the] types of rooms, layout and design features” the new building will have, Weisberg wrote.
In addition to building connection within the Jewish community at Cornell, Hillel leaders hope the center will foster collaboration and dialogue with students from all identities and faiths.
Nearly a third of Hillel event participants – around 1,000 students annually – are not Jewish, said Susanna Cohen ’12, Hillel’s chief development officer. The building will be open to all students for “recreational and study purposes [and] to attend events with their friends who are Jewish, or if they're just curious,” Cohen said.
Hillel student member Harris Cohen ’27 envisions the space as a hub to intentionally foster interfaith dialogue.
“It can serve as a forum for meaningful conversations that help us, if not move past, at least better accept our differences while also exploring the common ground we share in a thoughtful and impactful way,” he said.
With its variety of religious and recreational spaces, the new building marks a new chapter for Hillel’s presence and community on campus.
“People are really excited. It feels like a sign that Jewish life at Cornell matters and that it’s here to stay,” Weisberg wrote.
Correction, Sept. 4, 12:00 p.m.: This article has been updated to clarify that the construction is being led by Hillel at Cornell, as opposed to Cornell, the process in which Hillel acquired rights to develop on 772 University Ave., and that the new building will house the Grinspoon Hillel Center, not be named after it.
