Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 November 1995 — Page 3

Ngv^m^r ^2, 1$?$ IND3 Boms fosters Jewish Continuity; tries to raise other $2 M.

By TRACY GARY Robert S. Borns describes himself as "a very uninterested student" yet he and his wife, Sandra, donated $2 million dollars to the Indiana University Jewish Studies program that is their namesake. "I was a terrible student in college but I read somewhere that 'the great students become professors, the lousy students end up giving the money,'" Boms said. "Lurking in the background of some of these 'C' students, these goofballs, is the potential to make the money to fund the program that they were the worst student in," Borns chuckled. "The great intellectuals become enamored with the studies and the ones that are generally mediocre students — they can't make it in the intellectual world, so they have to go out and make a living." Borns originally came in 1960 to Indianapolis, Sandra's hometown, to be a stock broker. "We couldn't find an apartment to rent. There was a shortage of apartments, so, I figured I'm in the wrong business. I learned real quickly how to build apartments and started building ... and that's what I've been doing since, building and managing, and development real estate," Boms said of the beginnings of what is now the very successful Borns Management Corp. The Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program at lU-Bloomington has reaped the benefits of the

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Robert Boms Bomses' business success. The program registered an all - time high enrollment of 988 students this fall semester. Borns, an IU business school graduate and Zeta Beta Tau alum, first heard of the program twenty years ago, three years after its inception. He had been following the program's progression through the newspaper and through friends who had children enrolled, as none of his three children attended IU. He was impressed by the work of Alvin Rosenfeld, the current director of Jewish Studies. "It was particularly interesting because Prof. Alvin Rosenfeld ... is a rather brilliant man and he has done a tremendous job with it.... One does not normally picture Indiana University as being a great center of Jewish learning," said Boms. He met the past IU president, Tom Ehrlich, at a fundraiser and discussed the Jewish Studies Program. "I just asked them if they were looking to raise some money for it. ... I said that my wife and I would like to contribute what was $2 million dollars..." Borns was on the Board of Visitors of the program two years prior and was "slightly" knowledgeable about its needs. "They really needed funding to ensure the long term viability of the program," said Boms. The money would be given to the IU Foundation to be invested and a percentage of the investment would go to Jewish Studies, ensuring a future income for the program. Boms felt the interdisciplinary Jewish Studies Program needed to have reserve of money to ensure its survival in the event of university budgetary cuts.

For Borns, long-term viability for the program translates into long-term viability for the Jewish people. Raised in Gary in an observant home, everyday life was a link to Jewish heritage. "I don't think I ate many non-kosher meals before I went to college," said Boms. "When I was growing up 1 expected to marry a Jewish woman. A lot of non-Jewish parents felt the same way about their kids going out with Jews... as my folks thought about me going out with non-Jews." As intermarriage is now on the rise and Jews seem to know less about their background, Boms felt his donation was an investment in Jewish continuity. "The Jewish religion is a great culture ... It's had a wonderful background of several

thousands of years where we've been important contributors to the better things of this world," he said. He finds it troubling that many young Jewish people lack knowledge of their religion. "So many times I've heard people say they are leaning toward Christianity or they're becoming non-Jewish and then when you talk to them thei r knowledge of the Jewish background ... is basically zero ... I felt that in order to carry on the wonderful things our religion has, we need to educate people and I thought college is an excellent opportunity to do that." In our society it's almost impossible to stop intermarriage, said Boms. He believes education can make intermarriage work for the benefit of the Jews.

"If there is intermarriage and the Jewish person (in the marriage) ...understands their religion, they will not give up their religion to their spouse, they'll pull their spouse in. If someone gets married to a gentile, they should attempt to bring them into the Jewish religion.... If they (Jews) realize what they're giving up, they won't give it up." Although Borns believes college, a time of "searching," is a good time to capture a student's attention, he also values institutions that start the process of Jewish education early. "I think that as a fegder system, it's a big deal to have an Academy and to hqve a Bureau of Jewish Education." "I'm not Orthodox^ I'm Conservative...but I think the Hebrew Academy has qpne a Continued on page S h

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