By Michael Sudhalter
It’s not every day that a Jewish person is appointed to the Board of Trustees of a Protestant seminary, but Fort Worth’s Robert Simon said he’s honored to serve as one of the 24 trustees for Brite Divinity School.
“I understand how important Brite is to the community in Fort Worth and Tarrant County,” Simon said. “They have a very important mission, and I want to help Brite in any reasonable way that I can.”
Simon, a 62-year-old Fort Worth native, is just the second Jewish trustee in Brite’s 112-year history. Texas Christian University established Brite as a separate corporation, with its own board, in 1914.
Simon, who was appointed to a three-year term last June, follows Daniel J. “Red” Goldstein, a fellow Fort Worth native, as the second Jewish trustee at Brite.
It was Goldstein who approached Simon last January to see if he had any interest in serving on the Brite board.
At the time, Simon was serving a two-year term as president of Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth. He represented the fourth generation of his family to serve in that role.
Simon’s presidential term at Beth-El ended in May, and he was appointed to the Brite board the following month.
His previous association with Brite included serving on the “Gates of Chai” committee.
“Gates of Chai sponsors an annual program with Brite,” Simon said. “They help pay for a speaker to come to Brite for an event that is open to TCU and the Fort Worth community.”
Simon also sat on a Brite-sponsored panel in his role as vice president of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth & Tarrant County. The topic was “Welcoming the Stranger.”
Brite promotes itself as “one of the premier progressive theological institutions in the Southwest” — something that Simon truly appreciates.
“I have long had an interest in interfaith relations,” Simon said. “I was an active member of Sons of Abraham and served on the board of the Multicultural Alliance. I’m honored to have the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with Brite. It’s a tribute to how open-minded and enlightened Brite is that they ask people from other faith communities to come and share their perspective.”
Brite has a Jewish Studies Program, led by professor Ariel Friedman.
“The fact that they have a Jewish Studies program in a Protestant seminary is in and of itself pretty remarkable,” Simon said.
Simon graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and earned a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Professionally, he works for Whitaker Chalk with a focus on bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation and general insolvency.
Simon’s experience with finance and nonprofit governance are assets to the Brite board. He previously served as president of both the Jewish Education Agency (which oversees the Lil Goldman Early Learning Center and Camp Shalom) and the Bureau of Jewish Education (which oversaw the former Fort Worth Hebrew Day School).
Simon said Brite will soon begin a new chaplaincy program for the community.
“I’m very excited about it,” Simon said. “It’s a service to various communities. Brite recognizes the chaplaincy can grow its influence with a more personally centered, less sectarian approach.”
