A crowning achievement! Miss America contestants Star Dahl-Thurston, Kogod/BA ’20, and Jude Maboné, SIS/BA ’18, discovered their unexpected AU connection at the 96th annual competition. 

SPA Analytics and Management Institute (SAMI) celebrated 5 years of impact! 

Amidst the buzz of awards season, AU hosted a starry evening of its own in LA on the power of storytelling in entertainment. 

Professor Valentina Bruno was installed as the inaugural Arlene R. and Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Finance.

Meet our 2024 #AUSweethearts Virginia Severi, SOC/BA ’80, and Robert Severi, SPA/BS ’79, whose love story began in the Mary Graydon Center. 

Eagles are everywhere! Our AU alumni family officially reached 150,000 members. Across every industry and around the globe, Eagles lead lives of purpose and service—our world’s the better for it. 

Giving Day 2024 raised over $475,000, with AU Athletics leading the charge! 

Shovels ready! AU broke ground on construction for the Alan and Amy Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance, made possible through the Meltzers’ $15 million Change Can’t Wait gift.

AU concluded the Change Can’t Wait tour with a final stop in the Big Apple for an event about the role of sports and society.

AU named Jonathan Alger, who led James Madison University for 12 years, as the university’s incoming 16th President. 

More than 600 students benefited in AY 23-24 from donor-funded scholarships—a community achievement in full focus at the annual Celebration of Scholarships. 

Who was Mary Graydon? A deep dive into MGC’s namesake revealed meaningful connections to philanthropy at AU. 

AU’s Alumni Association was honored with the 2024 Inclusive Excellence Award by Insight Into Diversity magazine—the largest and oldest publication in higher education focused on diversity and inclusion. 

Lydecker Way and Tunnel was named in recognition of a gift supporting the Student Thriving Complex and the campaign from Board of Trustees vice chair Charlie Lydecker, SPA/BA ’85, and Christine Lydecker, Kogod/BSBA ’86, MS ’88.

Stamped with success! Six months in, products from alumni-owned business—with special Eagle Made signage—continued to be stocked in campus retail outlets (with sights on expansion!)

In a “time-honored tradition,” the 2024 Alumni Awards recognized six alumni who’ve charted incredible paths of purpose, service, and leadership.

AU celebrated the launch of the Honored Benefactors program for donors of $1 million or more with the unveiling of a recognition wall in front of Bender Library. 

A $4.5 million gift from John A. Heydt, CAS/BA ’75, and his mother, Florence E. Heydt marked one the largest scholarship bequests in AU history. 

Racers to your marks! Powered by a $1 million challenge gift, the Finish Line Initiative mobilized more than 2,000 AU community members to take part in Change Can’t Wait’s final sprint. 

Caps Off, Grads! View highlights from Spring Commencement Ceremonies. 

Change Can’t Wait surpassed its $500 million goal, marking a history-making milestone for AU.

Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle! On her last day as AU’s 15th President, Sylvia Burwell thanked the AU community for all we have accomplished together.

In a DC homecoming, AU’s 16th President Jon Alger began his term by sharing his personal guide to summer fun in the city. 

AU recognized Gary Wright—who championed student success throughout his 28-year career at AU— for his history-making bequest to vital scholarships. 

Spotlighting donor superlatives! Meet some donors whose generosity proved that every gift made Change Can’t Wait possible.

AU profiled a gift by 2024 Alumni Awardee Mong-Yong Chung, Kogod/MBA ’91, to create the Chung Scholars and Chung Endowed Fund for Korean Experiential Exchange to enrich global learning at Kogod and SIS. 

Marking the first renovation in 40 years, the Terrace Dining Room (TDR) has transformed into a food hall-style venue catering to a broad range of tastes and dietary preferences. 

Talons Up, Class of 2028! AU’s newest Eagles were welcomed to the nest during Opening Convocation. 

AU's Golden Eagles gathered to welcome the Class of '74 to their ranks and celebrate all our alumni who graduated 50+ years ago. 

AU installed Nicole Darnall as the Arlene R. and Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Sustainability.

Change made! The Change Can't Wait campaign closed on September 5, 2024, surpassing its ambitious goal and raising more than $507 million. 

AU’s Black Alumni Alliance—through their signature event hosted in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference—celebrated Ebony Eagles of Excellence who have made a significant contribution to society through their professional or civic engagement to help advance the Black community. 

Eagle excellence demonstrated itself in the 2025 US News and World Report rankings, with AU jumping 14 spots to No. 91 in the list of best colleges—the third highest rise among institutions in the top 100—and notching top ranks for study abroad, internships, and key areas of student success. 

The Multicultural Alumni Reunion (MCAR) continued our tradition of community building and mission-driven work of our alumni affinity groups to see every Eagle succeed.

Complete with food trucks, a research walk, a photo booth (and more!), the Change Can’t Wait Festival gathered alumni, students, faculty, staff, and families on the quad to celebrate the campaign’s transformative impact.

President Alger launched The Civic Life—an initiative to promote the skills of civic engagement and dialogue through campus events, programming, and learning opportunities. Driven by an ethos of inquiry, the initiative aims to help community members learn how to identify and develop common ground. 

Renovations to the third floor of Mary Graydon Center—part of the Student Thriving Complex—have created new spaces for gathering and streamlined access to student services. 

 

 

 

 

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The 2024 President's Circle Celebration—the annual event for AU's most committed donor-advocates—honored alumna and trustee Margery Kraus, SPA/BA '67, MA '72, with the Cyrus A. Ansary Medal. 

The annual Veloric concert—made possible by the generosity of Gary Veloric, Kogod/BSBA ’82, and his family—saw artist Flo Milli perform for a packed Bender Arena. Students in the Kogod School of Business’s MGMT-403, or Representing Talent class, organized the entire event. 

Ahoy! AU spotlighted a rare 1853 edition of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick bequeathed by AU friend Mary deLimur Weinmann to the University Library. 

AU was recognized as one of the Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting in 2024 by ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. 

AU’s inaugural Week of Kindness celebrated small acts of civility, empathy, gratitude, and connection—and the ripple effects they can create on campus, across the city, and around the world. 

Eagles in office! AU’s Alumni Association congratulated Eagles who ran for and won election in 2024, including Former Rising Star Award recipient Sarah McBride, SPA/BA ’13, who will become the first openly transgender member of Congress, representing her home state of Delaware. 

Among the packed house in Bender Arena for the AU men's basketball win against Harvard were former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Finance professor Tim Timura was installed as the inaugural Nulsen Endowed Professor of Practice—a position endowed by Charlie Nulsen, Kogod/MS ’85, and the first given to term faculty in the university’s history. 

Nearly 450 donors stepped up to support Giving Tuesday 2024 and open a door for another AU student to make their mark on our campus and beyond. 

AU Library’s 2024 Wrapped revealed insightful stats about how the community used library resources. 

 

 

 

 

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“We’re here because we’re here.” Award-winning actor, advocate, and AU alumnus Sean Astin, SPA/MPAP ’24, delivered an inspiring message to graduates at the 148th commencement ceremony.