Norman H Lipoff Hall
The magnificent 23,000 square foot Norman H. Lipoff Hall, completed in October 2004, beautifully replaces the 50-year-old Hillel House that most alumni remember. The building serves as a community center for the students and a space to host free weekly Shabbat services and meals for students during the fall-spring academic year. With the opening of Norman H. Lipoff Hall, we have experienced exponential growth in attendance at Shabbat services and meals and various programs that we provide for the community.
Norman H. Lipoff Hall is now able to offer room rental to community members/groups, campus groups, and individuals. If you would like to inquire about facility rental, please check out our Facility Rental page for room capacities and rental conditions. To make a reservation, e-mail Lisa Brown for more information or call her at 352-372-2900. You can read about our rooms below and view virtual tours at the bottom of this page.
The Living Room and Art Gallery
The Living Room Gallery is an artistic space dedicated to pluralistic Jewish art and culture that provides students with an open-minded platform to celebrate how diverse Jews encounter our traditions in un-traditional ways. Based on a strategic partnership with the University of Florida's School of Fine Arts, and open to submissions from across the state, the gallery is open to many multi-media platforms including painting, drawing, sculpting, film, installations, photography, and much more. For more information please call Hillel at 352-372-2900.
The University of Florida Hillel Rose Colen Library
The University of Florida Hillel Rose Colen Library is located on the second floor of Norman H. Lipoff Hall. The books are classified in sections so they are easy to find by topic. The library has Judaica books ranging from Jewish cooking to Jewish history and much more. The books are available for use within the library. If you would like to check out a book, please see Lisa Brown in order to do so. This room can facilitate a lecture for up to 100 people, a meeting for up to 50 people, or small weddings/simchas.
Aliyah Bet & Machal Museum
North American Volunteers In Israel's War of Independence
The Museum of American and Canadian Volunteers in Israel’s War of Independence relates the history of the approximately 1,250 American and Canadian men and women, including Jews and Christians, who risked their lives in the service of the Jewish people from 1946 to 1949. They served on the ships to smuggle Holocaust survivors through the British blockade into Palestine or as volunteers with the Israeli armed forces. The volunteers aboard the ships participated in Aliyah Bet ("Immigration B"), the effort to thwart England's extremely-restricted "legal" immigration quotas for Palestine with clandestine immigration. Those serving in the armed forces were known as Machal, the Hebrew acronym for mitnadvei chutz l’aretz – “volunteers from abroad."
The museum is sponsored by American Veterans of Israel, the organization of Aliyah Bet and Machal veterans in the United States and Canada. It also draws extensively upon the Aliyah Bet and Machal Archives in the University of Florida Libraries. Ralph Lowenstein, Dean Emeritus of the College of Journalism and Communications at UF, is director of the Archives and primary creator of the museum, opened in 2005. The Hillel museum spawned a duplicate museum at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and a virtual museum on the Internet. As an 18-year-old college student, Lowenstein was an American volunteer in the 1948 war.
Come by our Hillel to see the Aliyah Bet & Machal Museum firsthand, or click here to view the virtual museum.
Dining Room
The Selevan, Setzer, and Dubow Dining Room is housed in the first floor of Norman H. Lipoff Hall. This 3,000 square foot room offers a view of the northern part of campus with large shaded windows. Any meals served in the dining room must be catered by The Olam Cafe. Please contact Avie Friederwitzer to arrange catering.
The Rush-Cohn Sports Lounge
This room has a 61-inch plasma TV as the centerpiece and a kitchenette for lunch food service. It is a wonderful venue for a cocktail party of up to 100 people. Painted orange and blue, this Gator room is filled with sports memorabilia and lots of special Gator pieces. Although the standard setup involves bar stools and high top tables, the room can be adjusted as needed. This room is often utilized as the cocktail reception part of an event that is hosted in the multi-purpose rooms.
Multipurpose Room
Located on the 2nd floor of Norman H. Lipoff Hall, this 3200 square foot room provides a beautiful view of campus on the West and Southern walls. This room, which can be split into two separate smaller rooms, can host a banquet for up to 180 people. Each side of the room can host its own 90-person banquet or provide a lecture facility for 120. The large room offers complete audiovisual equipment including an 8 ft x 10 ft movie screen, microphone access, ability for PowerPoint presentations or DVDs, and much more. When split in half, the a/v equipment is available only in the West Multipurpose room.
If you need space for a meeting where you need everyone to pay attention, then this conference room is perfect. It comes complete with a phone for conference calls, a smart board for your presentations, a conference table that seats up to 15 participants, and a buffet table with space for both refreshments and buffet-style service.
Building Hours
| Academic Year (mid-August through April except for winter and spring break) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday - Friday: | 9:00am - 9:00pm | |
| Saturday: | open by request | |
| Sunday: | open by request | |
| Holidays: |
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| Summer Hours (May-July, early August, winter and spring break) | |
|---|---|
| Monday - Thursday: | 9:00am - 5:00pm |
| Friday: | 9:00am - 4:00pm |
| Saturday and Sunday: | Open by request for specific programs |
Virtual Tours
| Entrance | Lobby 1 | Lobby 2 | Dining Room |
| Upstairs Foyer | Multipurpose Room | Living Room | Weinberg Conference Room |
| Game Room | Going Upstairs |
Maps & Directions:
Hillel at the University of Florida
2020 West University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32603
Phone - 
(352) 372-2900
Fax - (352) 376-8374
info@ufhillel.org
Directions |
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From I-75
From NW 13th Street (US 441)
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Parking |
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Map
Click here (hyperlink to Map of Gainesville with UF Hillel starred in) to view a Google Map.
Zoomed in Map
