After conducting a national search, UF Hillel has hired a new campus rabbi.
Rabbi Gail Swedroe, a California native, will join the UF Hillel staff this summer.
She will be the first female rabbi to serve UF students.
“Rabbi Gail will bring a presence not just to UF Hillel, but to the university itself,” UF Hillel Executive Director Keith Dvorchik said.
Swedroe is a fifth-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. She will graduate this spring.
Jessica Davis, Jewish student life coordinator at UF Hillel, said she is looking forward to Swedroe’s arrival in Gainesville.
She said Hillel interviewed many candidates on the phone and brought three to campus for small group meetings with students and one-on-one meetings with the staff.
Dvorchik said he believes Swedroe will help connect all faiths across campus.
Swedroe will join Rabbi Daniel Wolnerman, a traditional rabbi, and become the second full-time rabbi at UF Hillel.
Davis said Hillel hired Swedroe, a conservative rabbi, to better serve the needs of about 8,000 Jewish students on campus.
Based on the population of students that visits UF Hillel, Davis said, there are more conservative and reform Jewish students on campus than traditional students.
Swedroe said she is looking forward to her move to Gainesville.
“I am really excited to work with students and find ways to make Judaism and Jewish tradition accessible and meaningful in their lives,” she said.
