AUC Expands Legacy With $100 Million Campaign

February 12, 2019, Cairo – To expand its legacy of excellence for a second century in Egypt, The American University in Cairo (AUC) announced the launch of “AUC Centennial Campaign: A New Century of Impact”, with a goal of raising $100 million. AUC’s $100 million Centennial Campaign has currently raised 70 percent of the campaign target. This amount represents the generous gifts and grants raised from individuals, corporations and foundations since the launch of the campaign. For nearly 100 years, AUC has served Egypt, the region and the world as a global platform for education, research and engagement.

“We have arrived at a transformative moment — for Egypt, for Cairo, and for the Middle East and North Africa. The choices we make today, how we educate our young people to be innovative, to be creative, to take prudent risks,  will have a tremendous impact on the world we share tomorrow,” said AUC President, Francis Ricciardone.

Through AUC Centennial Campaign, the University seeks to provide a global experience not only for Egyptian students but for international students as well. “AUC has served as a forum for ideas and international crossroads that has welcomed American and other international scholars to this pulsating heart of the Middle East. It is our priority now to refresh and revitalize that experience,” said Ricciardone.

The Centennial Campaign also aims at creating Centennial Scholarships, to support talented students who exemplify the qualities of AUC, giving the most deserving students access to a first class world quality education.

AUC will continue to serve as an incubator for arts and creativity through launching Tahrir Cultural Center at Tahrir Square campus, revitalizing the University’s role as the fountainhead of cultural activity in Cairo’s Khedivial-era downtown. AUC’s Neighborhood Initiative has found success in both Tahrir Square and New Cairo and the University continues to expand collaborations with local residents, businesses and public servants, and develop new programs in civic engagement, social outreach and economic development.

Embracing new initiatives, AUC’s Centennial Campaign will launch El Mostakbal, The Middle East Looking Forward initiative, which is a three-year project to examine the paramount socio-economic, political and security issues in the Arab world and the Middle East region. Through this initiative, The School of Global Affairs and Public Policy will lead an ambitious research and policy program that includes a multi-track series of workshops, conferences and publications that assess the challenges and opportunities facing the Arab world and offer concrete policy recommendations that touch every aspect of life in our region.

In addition to achieving the financial target, the campaign fosters a stronger culture of philanthropy among the AUC community, increasing participation in giving among all AUC community — trustees, alumni, students and parents. Through AUC Fund, Give 100 campaign, AUC community will have the opportunity to give 100 units of their country’s currency to the AUC Fund. All proceeds will count toward the campaign total and will support scholarships for students with financial need.

In its first 100 years, AUC created a world-class campus in New Cairo, including the largest English-language library in Egypt, three modern theaters and 11 cross-disciplinary research centers, leading the conversation between Egypt and the world. The University also created Egypt’s first university spin-off company, established Egypt’s first university-based business incubator, and, in partnership with MIT, became the first university in the region to offer a blended degree, combining online learning and in-person instruction. For more than 50 years, AUC’s Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) program has been the world’s premier Arabic language program. Also, AUC Press introduced the English-speaking world to Egypt’s Nobel Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz. Research at Yousef Jameel Science and Technology Research Center on Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has helped more than 10 million patients in Egypt and 200 million worldwide.

Ricciardone is ambitious to achieve even more through AUC Centennial Campaign. “AUC’s new initiatives will make Egypt’s Global University more accessible to the country’s most promising students, make the world more accessible to our students and allow all of us to imagine tomorrow’s Middle East and promote philanthropy at AUC and beyond,” said Ricciardone.