Dear AU Community,

One hundred and nine gifts to create and expand student scholarships. A 68 percent increase year over year in giving to equity-based funds. The university’s first fully endowed Eminent Scholar Chair. A groundbreaking new institute of policy and politics. These are just a few examples of how Change Can’t Wait: The Campaign for American University is advancing the Changemakers for a Changing World strategic plan, empowering AU to take on society’s most complex challenges, and transforming our community. As of July, the campaign has raised $342 million toward its $500 million goal.

Today, I am proud to announce another important milestone in this community-wide effort and a truly historic gift to American University. Board of Trustees member Alan Meltzer, and his wife, Amy, have committed a cumulative $15 million gift for AU’s new athletics facility, which will be named the Alan and Amy Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance (CAP). The transformative CAP project is the cornerstone of an $85 million university investment in student thriving that also includes a Student Well-Being Center and renovations to the Mary Graydon Center. Centrally located in the heart of campus, these enhanced facilities will provide students with resources and spaces to learn lifelong skills, further a sense of belonging on campus, and build capacity to thrive in an increasingly complex world.

With this naming gift and their ongoing support for the Center for Israel Studies, Alan and Amy have given more to the Change Can’t Wait campaign than any other individuals to date. The Meltzers, along with Jack and Denise Cassell and the Bender Family Foundation, Inc., were among the CAP’s earliest champions and supporters. In 2019, the Meltzers made a gift of $7 million; $2 million to support the pathbreaking work of the university’s Center for Israel Studies and $5 million to support the Center for Athletic Performance, the first new athletics and recreation facility on campus in more than 30 years. Inspired by the transformational impact the CAP will have on the student experience, the Meltzers committed an additional $10 million for the project this May. This new commitment, combined with decades of support, places them among the top three individual donors in AU’s history. This is also the second-largest naming gift to a capital project AU has ever received. 

For nearly 50 years, the Meltzers have supported the university through extraordinary leadership, service, and philanthropy. Alan has served on the Board of Trustees since 2007, providing guidance to the university as chair of the Athletics Committee and as a member of the Finance and Investment and Alumni Affairs and Development committees, among other roles. Alan’s leadership as chair of the new committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is guiding the Board’s efforts to address barriers to equitable access and the ongoing implementation of AU’s Plan for Inclusive Excellence. Alan is also an inspiring example of lifelong learning, recently completing the last requirements of his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies to graduate with our Class of 2021 shortly before his 70th birthday.

A wrestling scholarship first brought Alan to AU as a student in 1969. He attributes his experience in the program to fostering his work ethic and discipline, enabling him to thrive personally and professionally. The new Center for Athletic Performance mirrors the critical elements of the AU experience that shaped Alan’s life, ensuring future generations of Eagles have the same opportunity to flourish in competition and in the classroom. In addition to serving as a catalyst to recruit and retain world-class student-athletes and inspire increased competitive excellence, the Center will expand additional recreation, fitness, and community-building opportunities for the entire AU community.

Together, the Center for Athletic Performance, the Student Well-Being Center, and renovations to the Mary Graydon Center will create a modern student-thriving complex and a hub of campus activity. A historic university investment of $47 million and philanthropic gifts totaling $22 million to date, including Alan and Amy Meltzer’s extraordinary gift, put AU’s bold aspirations in this area within reach. Additional philanthropic support is being sought as project planning continues.

Please join me in thanking Alan and Amy for their dedication to American University and for this truly transformational gift. They embody the spirit and purpose of the Change Can’t Wait campaign and their generosity will support AU changemakers for years to come.

Sincerely,

Sylvia