MELROSE PARK, Pa.—A 2013 graduate of Gratz College’s Masters of Arts in Jewish Studies pro- gram has donated $100,000 to support the college’s efforts to enhance student recruitment and alum- ni engagement.

A lifelong learner dedicated to religious studies, Gene R. Hoffman’s college career has spanned seven decades—and counting. He earned his MA at age 84, 10 years after starting at Gratz and nearly 20 years after earning a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Seton Hall University. Hoffman also earned two associate’s degrees in the early 1950s.

Now 91, Hoffman is working on a doctorate in Jewish Studies. He hopes his donation to Gratz helps raise awareness of the college’s programs, recruit students and ignite in individuals the same passion for learning that he experienced.

“I feel like the education I got at Gratz induced me to go further with my studies,” he said. “I don’t think there are enough words to talk about how important learning is. The more I study, the more I realize I don’t know.”

Dr. Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz College, said the donation will benefit the college for many years to come.

“By enabling Gratz to reach out to more potential students, and to engage with our alumni, Mr. Hoffman’s gift strengthens the connection between our past and our future. His generous support for the college comes as we celebrate our 125th anniversary as the oldest independent Jewish college in the nation, and at a time when our programs are growing and expanding.”

Hoffman’s donation also comes as colleges across the country are closing their doors and moving to online-only courses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Although the gift was not prompted by the pandemic, the funds will help Gratz recruit students and engage with alumni in innovative ways.

“As a college that already offers most programs online, we were able to respond with relative ease to the COVID-19 virus,” Dr. Finkelman said. “Because of Mr. Hoffman’s gift, we will be able to continue reaching out to prospective students and building our alumni community.”
 
A third-generation automobile salesman, Hoffman is the son of an Oldsmobile dealer and the grandson of a man who sold Stanley Steamers in the early 1900s. He owned a BMW and Chevrolet dealership in Maplewood, N.J., until he retired in 2004, but his interest in higher education began 20 years earlier.

A long-distance runner, Hoffman was training for the New York City Marathon in 1982 when he started thinking about religion. Although he was involved in several Jewish organizations, Hoffman was not particularly observant—or knowledgeable—when it came to his Jewish roots.

“I had a lot of time to think on these long-distance runs,” he said. “I thought about religion and realized that it is such a central force in the world. I wondered why, if religion is so great, we have all these problems in the world.”

Hoffman decided to go back to school to study religion—and he kept going. He’s enrolled in an online PhD program and splits his time between Maplewood, N.J., and Palm Beach, Florida.

“Most of my time right now is spent studying, and I’d like to see other students learning about religion,” he said. “There is no subject that is more important to understand.”