SupportingCenters and Institutes

At a time when AU’s research profile has never been higher, the establishment of centers and institutes represents a milestone in AU’s growth among the nation’s premier research institutions. Landmark gifts during the Change Can’t Wait campaign have funded the creation or naming of four centers and institutes—dedicated to cybersecurity, Israel studies, policy innovation, and entrepreneurship—catalyzing initiatives that convene and empower practitioners, thought leaders, and students with evidence-based knowledge and technical skills integral to today’s most urgent solutions. Together, AU’s centers and institutes advance discovery and prepare a capable, compassionate workforce of AU graduates.

Change Created

Launched the Sine Institute for Policy and Politics as a laboratory for collaboration, innovation, and discourse across academia, arts, business, media, and politics. Its flagship Fellows and Distinguished Lecturers—comprising today’s industry luminaries—host a full calendar of student and public programming on today’s most pressing topics for upwards of 2,300 participants each year.
Unveiled the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship, renaming the AU Center for Innovation and establishing it as a catalyst for cross-campus opportunities for aspiring student entrepreneurs through pitch competitions, specialized curricula and mentorships, and an enhanced incubator program. With 30 active student ventures and a track record of aggregate revenues exceeding $30 million, it is among an elite group of named entrepreneurship centers across business schools.
Named the Meltzer Schwartzberg Center for Israel Studies on the 25th anniversary of the center’s founding to invest in its pioneering legacy of bridge-building and global dialogue. The naming, along with the endowed Helen and Daniel Sonenshine Professorship and support for conferences, study abroad, and more, strengthened the center’s distinction in modern-day Israel and Jewish studies.
Created the Shahal M. Khan Cyber and Economic Security Institute in partnership with Cyber Range Solutions to transform cyber education in the context of national security and economic policy, featuring a state-of-the-art cyber range with hands-on threat simulation training for AU students, faculty, and outside professionals. Advancing an inclusive cybersecurity workforce upholds AU’s commitment to the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy to help equip every American with cyber skills.

At AU, we are building a future that fosters vital collaboration and breaks down disciplinary silos for our students, faculty, and broader community. Centers and institutes funded through the Change Can’t Wait campaign transform our ability to ensure our faculty have the resources and infrastructure they need to redefine what discovery means for their respective fields. I’m proud of the impact we are making each day in preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs, practitioners, and technical experts ready to solve the challenges of tomorrow.

Vicky Wilkins, Acting Provost