February 13, 2003

Profile: Larry Sklar

Title and length of service: Manager, Networks and Technical Services for the Information Management Group of the Office of the Vice President of Research; eight years.

photo by Mary Hanlon

What do you do? I take care of the administrative departments within the umbrella of the Office of the Vice President of Research. I handle servers and desktop computer support for those offices, which include the Center for Comparative Medicine, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the Office of Research Safety and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. I also work with the graduate school.

What do you do like to do outside of work? I am the Ritual Vice President for a new synagogue in Skokie called Kehillat Shalom, which means Community of Peace. It is a Conservative, egalitarian house of worship. I am in charge of worship services, including Sabbath and holiday services. I work with members of our group to lead the prayers, or I chant them. The synagogue is very new – we just started in July. Kehillat Shalom was created by a small group of people interested in a new, participatory place of worship. Right now, we have about 30 families.

Where did you go to school? I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Near Eastern Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit and a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature degree from Midrasha College in Southfield, Mich. In addition, I have a Master of Arts degree in Jewish Education from Spertus College of Judaica in Chicago

You had a career shift? Yes. I worked in Jewish education for some time before switching to computer-related work. I was a manager of technical support for a Northbrook computer company. When it closed, I got temporary work with Manpower. Manpower assigned me to my current job, which was then a new position at Northwestern. Five months later, the position became permanent.

You like to travel to warm places? Yes. Last August, my wife, my son and I went to Israel for two weeks. It was wonderful. It was my fourth trip to Israel, but I hadn’t been there in 20 years. We were a little apprehensive before going, but once there, we felt very secure. We visit San Diego frequently because we have family there.

—Marilyn Idelman Soglin