“As a friend of American University, I have seen how energetic and committed AU students are. An AU education is the gateway to becoming a more informed citizen, and I am grateful to invest in students’ futures.”
When Barbara Berish Brown thinks back on her teenage years, she fondly recalls her mother’s excitement when she came home from classes at American University, where she was enrolled as a nontraditional student. Sylvia Brown, CAS/BA ’65, grew up in a family that didn’t prioritize women’s education and left her studies to join the Navy. She longed to complete her education, however, and upon finishing her military service, she came to AU to pursue her dream.
“My mother’s desire to become a social worker—and her ability to pursue this interest—made a difference in how she interacted with the world,” Brown says. “She was so proud of her AU degree.”
Brown’s parents channeled their gratitude into philanthropy, establishing two scholarships at AU: one in their names to support a student in the social sciences and another in their daughters’ names to support nontraditional female scholars.
Her mother’s enthusiasm for the AU experience inspired Brown to make the most of her own educational opportunities. Energized by the movements for civil and women’s rights, she graduated from Yale Law School and, with like-minded colleagues, founded the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia. When her husband’s career prompted a move back to Washington, Brown embraced the chance to be close to her parents. In DC, she pursued a career dedicated to employment law, mentoring women with whom she shared a similar path.
Brown honors her parents’ legacy and their commitment to lifelong learning and women’s empowerment by including AU in her own philanthropy, creatively enhancing the scholarships her parents established. She named the university as a beneficiary of her IRA and has gifted the required minimum distributions from the account to AU. “It’s a way to make a difference in the lives of AU students—and save on taxes in the process,” she says.
“Scholarships give students financial security, allowing them to pursue meaningful educational experiences like internships, research, and study abroad,” Brown continues. “My hope is that others will be inspired to do the same.”
For information on how your charitable estate plan can create a legacy as part of American University’s Change Can’t Wait Campaign, contact Seth Speyer, executive director of planned giving, at (202) 885-3411 or speyer@american.edu; or visit american.edu/plannedgiving.