Dear AU Community,

As we have started this new year together, I want to take a moment to thank you all for the warm spirit and hospitality with which you have welcomed me and Mary Ann—along with so many other new Eagles. I have enjoyed getting to meet many of you and look forward to continuing my listening tour throughout the semester to hear about your hopes and aspirations for AU.

This past week, however, I stepped away briefly from campus and my daily duties as AU president to play another important role—that as son of my father, Gary Alger. I got an urgent call that Dad’s health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse, and I knew I had to drop what I was doing to get up to Rochester, NY to be with him and my mother. Fortunately, I made it in time and was able to spend his final full day on earth with him and tell him what he meant to me. I will remember those precious hours forever, and I want to share some brief reflections on what I learned and re-learned this past week.

For starters, my father enjoyed life and made the most of simple moments. He had a mischievous sense of humor, and always had a twinkle in his eye when he was up to something. He was an outstanding multi-sport athlete (genes I wish I had inherited) and was very competitive, but he didn’t take himself or the games we played too seriously.

My dad believed strongly in the promise and power of education and encouraged my two sisters and me to develop our own special talents. He was a first-generation college student who graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in a co-op program, working for the company where he would spend his entire professional career—Eastman Kodak. When I was a freshman in high school, he made a bet with me that he would get me the final coin I needed for my Lincoln penny collection—the rare 1909-S VDB—if I finished as valedictorian of my high school class, and several years later he made good on that promise. I was able to pursue my higher education journey in large part because of a National Merit Scholarship funded by his company. Right up until his passing, he proudly wore the shirts and hats I sent him from AU, and previously from JMU.

Dad was a consummate family man and dedicated friend whose actions spoke louder than his words. He generously shared his time and talents with family members and friends in need. I regret that he did not have the opportunity to visit us here on the beautiful AU campus, but I know that he was proud that I am here with all of you.

As we gathered to plan his upcoming memorial service at the small, modest church where I grew up, I was struck by the autumn theme chosen by the church of “Do Unto Others.” The church was filled with heart symbols with red and blue halves merged into a common purple center. Marcia McFee, the designer of the worship series, notes that “the ‘purple space’ is where we cultivate kindness, compassion, humility, respect, curiosity, patience and love for one another and for the good of all the world, no matter what.” The Golden Rule is an ancient piece of wisdom that is reflected in many faith traditions, and it is still enormously relevant in today’s deeply divided and troubled world.

I witnessed these virtues throughout last week as health care workers gently treated my father, and as neighbors and friends showered my mother and family with so many simple and profound acts of kindness. I came back to Washington determined to share this approach to life whenever and however I can, and I hope others will join me. We need one another, and every day we have opportunities to make simple choices to improve the lives of those with whom we interact. I always say that education is all about relationships, and that we learn and grow with both the head and the heart. Let us come together in that spirit, knowing that we each have within us the power to use our education, gifts and passions to make a positive impact on the world and on the lives of those around us. And please wish me good luck and strength as I attempt to share some thoughts at my father’s memorial service in a few days.

As always, Go Eagles!

Jonathan R. Alger
President, American University