Franklin & Marshall College is pleased to announce that the directorship of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life has been endowed by a group of alumni, parents and friends in honor of Ralph S. Taber, Ph.D. P'16, who spent more than 34 years working to support student life at F&M.

The endowment has been supported by hundreds of gifts. Lead donors to the effort included Dean S. & Gabrielle B. Benjamin P’21; Doreen Etingin Davidowitz, Esq. ’78, P’14 & Neil B. Davidowitz, Esq. ’78, P’14; Joshua R. De Leon, M.D. ’84, P’17 & Giovanna De Leon, M.D. P’17; Alan L. Fell, Esq. ’70 & Millie R. Fell, M.D.; Leonard M. Klehr, Esq. ’72, P’12 & Susan Kline Klehr ’73, P’12; Krieger Trust (Brett S. Harwood ’71, Trustee); and Judith Fishlow Minter P’19 & Mark H. Minter P’19. We thank all of the donors, whose support will ensure funds for the salary of the Klehr Center's director and other staffing needs that the Klehr Center for Jewish Life may have.

“This endowed directorship represents the very best of F&M — our alumni and friends coming together to invest in the people and programs that shape our students’ lives,” said President Andew Rich. “Through their generosity, the work of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life will continue to enrich our campus, ensuring that every student finds a welcoming community where they can belong and thrive.”

Ralph Taber started at F&M as the director of residence life in 1986, and over the years took on increased responsibilities in student affairs. In the early 1990s, following long-time Hillel Advisor David Stameshkin's transition to the Office of the President, Taber had a conversation with then-Vice President of Student Affairs Alice Drum about stepping into the role. His relationship with Jewish life — and the members of the F&M community who frequented the programming and events held by Hillel over the years — went on to define the remainder of his career at the College.

Reflecting on the decision to title the directorship in his name, Taber expressed humility and admiration for the many donors who made the gift possible and to the College for securing the position through an endowed gift.

“This is momentous," says Taber. "This is a commitment that they're making to student life and to Jewish student life. And it's going to last well beyond my lifetime. It's humbling to have named it for me, but it's also amazing that the college wants to do this [for our students and the community].”

The Klehr Center for Jewish Life at Franklin & Marshall College serves as a hub of Jewish student life and community engagement on campus. Founded in 2008 following generous support from Leonard M. Klehr, Esq. ’72, P’12 and Susan Kline Klehr ’73, P’12, the Center offers a welcoming home for the College’s Hillel chapter and hosts a wide array of cultural, religious, educational and social programs — including Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, and travel and cultural opportunities. 

The Center emphasizes leadership development and service-learning for all F&M students, while providing an inviting physical space with a lounge, library, Kosher kitchen and outdoor patio for study, gathering and meaningful connection. The Center serves as a resource for the entire F&M community, supporting Jewish identity on campus and inviting each member of F&M, regardless of their background, to engage in dialogue, celebration and shared experience.

Alan Fell ’70 serves as chair of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life Advisory Council. He remembers Hillel as a relatively new presence on campus during his time as a student, and he doesn’t recall interacting with the organization or its programming while an undergraduate. Rather, he found his community as a brother of Zeta Beta Tau, a national Jewish fraternity that was first chartered on campus in 1931. It wasn’t until one of his children began looking at colleges about 25 years ago that he revisited his association with Jewish student life at F&M — a connection that resurfaced following a conversation with Ralph Taber, then an employee in student affairs.

In 2008, Taber would transition from a dean of students role to the inaugural director of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life and advisor to Hillel following the Klehr’s historic gift and the naming of the Center.

“This is momentous. This is a commitment that they're making to student life and to Jewish student life. And it's going to last well beyond my lifetime. It's humbling to have named it for me, but it's also amazing that the college wants to do this [for our students and the community].”

— Ralph S. Taber, Ph.D. P'16

“Ralph built up the Jewish presence at F&M and helped foster the reputation of the Klehr Center,” Fell remembers. “When he announced his retirement in 2020, I became involved as the College sought his replacement. [A few of us] had the idea that we could build an endowment for the director’s position that will make the position stronger…and enhance whatever needs to be done to make the Klehr Center as strong as it can be. We wanted to help create an atmosphere that would encourage Jewish students to come to Franklin & Marshall.” 

Susan Klehr also emphasized Taber’s impact on campus, particularly for families who entrusted their student into F&M’s care. For her, and for others central to the collective fundraising effort, Taber was the perfect honoree to be associated with the naming of the endowed directorship.

“It just makes sense, because Ralph was incredible with our students. As a parent, you could only wish that your child had contact with Ralph Taber at F&M. He was so good [with F&M students], and his religion, Judaism, is so important to him. He was really a wonderful force for the students at the Center.”

Like Fell, Susan did not have an association with Hillel when enrolled at F&M. In the years since graduating, she’s befriended countless students, parents and alumni — including those who identify as Jewish as well as those from other (or no) faith traditions—who have attributed some of their most defining moments at F&M to the Center and its programming..

“Not every student or even every Jewish student is going to be looking for a spiritual home when they go to college,” Susan says. “But it’s nice that it’s there for students when their Jewish identity is an important part of their life — that they have the option of having a place to go. And the Center would like nothing more than to be a service like that for all students, which is a good thing.”

“This endowed directorship represents the very best of F&M — our alumni and friends coming together to invest in the people and programs that shape our students’ lives.”

“Through their generosity, the work of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life will continue to enrich our campus, ensuring that every student finds a welcoming community where they can belong and thrive.”

— President Andrew Rich

Neil B. Davidowitz, Esq. ’78, P’14 reflects on Taber's role as advisor and mentor to generations of F&M students, including for his daughter Shanni when she arrived at F&M in the early 2010s. He credits Taber for creating a supportive environment and considers him instrumental in assisting Shanni as she navigated the transition to college. 

“Ralph guided and mentored and supported F&M students, Jewish and non-Jewish students in a myriad of ways. He was instrumental in developing the amazing Klehr Center. It became a haven for all students, and that was an embodiment of Ralph himself. It's a place filled with warmth, with caring and humanity,” said Neil. “That [endowment] was really the genesis of what we tried to do here — to create this special place and endow that position in perpetuity so that future generations of all students, not just Jewish students, can experience that same warmth.”

Rachel Singer, director of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life, reflects on the significance of the gift at what she notes is a historic moment in Jewish life at Franklin & Marshall.

“In 2026, our community will celebrate two milestones: 60 years of Hillel at F&M and the 18th anniversary of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life. This meant-to-be serendipity in Yiddish is called beshert,” shares Singer. “The endowment of the Director of The Klehr Center for Jewish Life position represents a profound investment in the future of our campus community and ensures that generations of students will continue to find a steady source of mentorship, learning and belonging rooted in Jewish tradition and shared human values.”