During his installation on March 28 as American University’s 16th president, Jon Alger “doubled down on our commitment to community” and encouraged Eagles to continue to “dream big, audacious dreams”—despite the challenging political climate.

“Our nation is in the midst of an identity crisis. We are asking basic questions about what it means to be a democratic society that embraces the dream of liberty and justice for all,” he said.

“At such a moment, our values carry us forward. Even as we struggle and question the challenges around us, we can be buoyed by this community, by each other, and by the work we are doing to help make the world a better place.

“American University is in the right place at the right time,” Alger said to enthusiastic applause from the thousand community members gathered in Bender Arena for the ceremony. “We have a unique opportunity to become a national model of civic education, engagement, and exchange.”

Those pillars have quickly become the cornerstone of Alger’s presidency. Shortly after joining AU on July 1 from James Madison University, where he was president for 12 years, Alger launched The Civic Life—a university-wide initiative focused on civic education and civil dialogue.

During his inauguration address, Alger teased a forthcoming “democracy lab”—a new project with AU’s Sine Institute of Policy and Politics that will advance the university’s work around civic engagement and education. 

“We can teach and learn many different modes of approaching problems—form the principles of design thinking, negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution to the scientific method,” Alger said. “Every discipline has something to offer as we learn to create change by being bridge builders and problem solvers.”

Alger was introduced by his longtime friend, Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and a longtime friend. She said his “his call for civic revival on our college campuses foregrounds the unique role that higher education plays in preserving and protecting democracy through the free exchange of ideas, unfettered pursuit of the truth, and engagement with diverse perspectives.”

“Now more than ever, higher education needs presidents like Jon who exhibit moral courage and who defend academic freedom, institutional autonomy, shared governance, and pluralism foundational to our nation’s historic mission of educating for democracy,” Pasquerella said. 

The installation included the debut of “UNITY for Two Choirs, Strings, and Piano,” composed by John Wineglass, CAS/BM ’94, and performed by the AU Chamber Singers and AU Gospel Choir—a nod to Alger’s lifelong love of music.

The ceremony drew representatives from colleges and universities across the country, along with friends and family of Alger, wife Mary Ann, and daughter Eleanor. Leading up to the installation, the AU comunity hosted 27 events, including panel discussions; a book drive for elementary school students in DC; sold-out performances of the student production, 9 to 5: The Musical; and the presentation of six Yoshima cherry trees, a gift from All Nippon Airways and the National Cherry Blossom Festival.