American University officially concluded its seven-year Change Can’t Wait campaign, the most ambitious and successful fundraising effort in the university’s history. Thanks to broad support from the AU community, the campaign surpassed its original goal, raising more than $507 million for critical priorities including impact-driven research, student thriving, and the strengthening of community engagement.

Launched as fuel to support the university’s strategic plan, Changemakers for a Changing World, Change Can’t Wait: The Campaign for American University inspired record-setting annual giving and alumni engagement. More than 24,000 alumni in all 50 states and 81 countries, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 12,000 students and families contributed to the campaign. Unrestricted giving increased nearly threefold, and $120 million has been added to the university’s endowment.

“The Change Can’t Wait campaign achieved extraordinary results because of the extraordinary commitment and passion of the AU community,” said AU President Jonathan Alger. “Together, we’ll continue to build on its transformative legacy as we chart American University’s next chapter.”

As a direct result of philanthropic support, the university has invested in the student experience, creating or expanding 180 scholarships and providing more than 600 students with donor-funded scholarship support each year. The campaign raised $34 million for capital projects, including the Student Thriving Complex’s Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance and the renovated Mary Graydon Center.

The campaign also enhanced AU’s commitment to research that addresses society’s complex challenges, creating nine new endowed faculty positions in areas such as sustainability, finance, neuroscience, and peace studies. Four centers and institutes were named or created during the campaign, and more than $127 million was raised for research and faculty support.

“This campaign was set into motion in 2017, propelled by a vision no less than to change our world for the better,” said Jeffrey A. Sine, SIS/BA ’76, cochair, University Campaign Committee. “To accomplish this work, we needed to invest in our students, our faculty, our nationally and internationally recognized centers and institutes, and our campus. This was a bold and ambitious plan, but one that matched our bold and ambitious vision. With the successful completion of Change Can’t Wait, we have redefined what is possible for the Eagle community.”

Members of the Change Can’t Wait Campaign Committee who led the campaign include Sylvia M. Burwell, 15th AU president; Courtney L. Surls, former vice president of University Advancement; and Sine, Alan Meltzer, CAS/BA ’21, Peter Scher, SPA/BA ’83, WCL/JD ’87, cochairs.