Over the past four years, the Kogod School of Business has raised $43.8 million—more than five times the $8.5 million raised in the five years prior.

It’s a significant milestone for a school experiencing historic momentum. But the numbers tell only part of the story.

Across Kogod, support from alumni, donors, and partners is creating new opportunities for students, advancing faculty research, strengthening programs, and expanding the ways the school can put its mission into action.

July 1 marked the start of a new fiscal year and several new roles for leadership—but nobody took their foot off the pedal. Former Kogod dean and AU Interim President Dave Marchick literally pedaled harder: he biked 200 miles, climbed 29,048 feetmore than the altitude of Mount Everest), and raised $155,122 for AU students from 211 donors across 31 states.

Investing in What’s Next

This year, Google.org funded Kogod research focused on measuring learning in the AI classroom, part of the school’s broader work to prepare students for a rapidly changing business landscape. The partnership also brought Google.org representatives to Kogod for a full day with faculty, staff, and students to learn more about AI-enabled work happening across the school.

Kogod also received financial support for its AI work from the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), an initiative founded by Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO. A portion of these funds from SCSP was distributed to Kogod staff and faculty through minigrants for AI-focused projects.

In July, Michael G. Rosenberg (Kogod ’81) permanently endowed the student-run Eagle Venture Seed Fund. Through the fund, students gain firsthand experience evaluating early-stage investments, working with real deals, and managing real money. Returns are reinvested, allowing the fund—and the opportunities it provides for students—to grow over time.

For Rosenberg, the investment brings his own Kogod story full circle. What began as a $150 venture from his AU dorm room grew into PIM Brands, a company valued at approximately $1 billion. His gift now creates an opportunity for generations of Kogod students to build their own experience as investors and entrepreneurs.

Creating Opportunities Beyond the Classroom

Support this year has also allowed Kogod to respond to challenges beyond AU’s campus.

A generous grant launched the Freedom Media Innovation Lab, a partnership between Kogod’s Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship and AU’s School of Communication. The initiative supports former Voice of America and U.S. Agency for Global Media journalists through an entrepreneurship bootcamp, seed funding for promising ideas, and access to the Veloric Center incubator program.

Other gifts have touched the Kogod community in different ways. Kogod Professor Emeritus Don Williamson made a gift dedicated specifically to supporting Kogod staff, shaped by his belief that investing in the people behind the scenes helps make the Kogod student experience possible.

When nearly 500 Kogod graduates crossed the stage in May, they received an unexpected and deeply meaningful gift: a fine ballpoint pen from the personal collection of the late Morton “Mort” Bender, given by his wife, Grace Bender—a symbol of their transition from students into a lifelong AU alumni network.

Opening Doors for the Next Generation

Alumni have also invested in Kogod students by opening doors within their own organizations.

Peter Scola, a first-generation scholarship student from North Philadelphia who went on to build billion-dollar firm Livingston Street Capital, has hired both Kogod graduates and AU interns. His story reflects the cycle at the heart of Kogod’s recent momentum: opportunities created for one generation of students becoming opportunities they can create for the next.

As Kogod begins another academic year, its fundraising growth offers one measure of how far the school has come. The greater measure is what that support makes possible—for the students learning here today and for those who will follow them.