American University’s Kogod School of Business received a $15 million gift from school namesake, Robert Kogod, and his wife, Arlene, to establish three endowed chairs as part of the institution’s ongoing investment in impactful scholarship and teaching. The gift is the largest single contribution in the Kogod School’s history, and the Kogods are the second highest individual donors in American University’s Change Can’t Wait fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $433 million to date toward AU’s $500 million goal. Their support will further the pathbreaking scholarship of Kogod’s faculty in key areas of academic focus.
The funds will endow three departmental chairs, two at the Kogod School of Business and a third as a joint appointment at Kogod and the American University School of Public Affairs. The newly minted Arlene R. and Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chairs will be established in key areas of focus, expertise, and impact at American University: finance, marketing, and sustainability. Valentina Bruno and Sonya Grier, two current Kogod faculty members, will be appointed Kogod Eminent Scholar Chairs, and the third will be identified at a later date.
Endowed faculty positions are universally recognized as a hallmark of academic quality. Holding an endowed position is one of the greatest honors in academia, conveying the individual’s great expertise and sustained record of achievement.