Connecting A Passion For Faith With A Passion For Carolina
"It was a natural path for me as the Center was embarking on something amazing..."
"It was a natural path for me as the Center was embarking on something amazing..."
Eric Sklut’s love for Carolina began early. After a trip to Chapel Hill at age 13, he told his parents that UNC was where he was going to college. Five years later, Sklut got another taste of the Carolina legacy when he witnessed the 1976 gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team on campus with Coach Dean Smith. He enrolled at Carolina the next fall and graduated in 1980.
While living in Charlotte and actively participating in the Jewish community, Sklut was approached by two leaders in the field of Jewish studies, Carolina’s Hal Levinson and Jonathan Hess, to help grow the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. They hoped to tap into Sklut’s expertise and philanthropic network for the center’s newly created advisory board.
“It was a natural path for me as the Center was embarking on something amazing,” Sklut said. “They asked me to join the board, and I have never looked back.”
A major focus for the board is a $9.35 million goal in the Campaign for Carolina, which aligns with the Center’s 15-year anniversary in 2018. The Center has already raised $4.1 million toward the ambitious effort, with Sklut as an instrumental leader in helping to create momentum around this important endeavor.
To kickstart this effort, Sklut and his wife, Lori, committed $500,000 through the Levine-Sklut Family Foundation to establish three new funds.
