Malcolm Kerr Fund Donation Appeal

Fundraising Goal: $10,000

Matching Donation: $10,000

Total Donation Goal: $20,000

Matching Donation Appeal

The Alumni Association has a generous donor who has offered $10,000 AS A MATCHING FUND for all donations up to $10,000. Greg Soghikian '77 made this donation in honor of his mother, Juanita Soghikian Swendenburg (FAC), saying “this donation is in honor of my mother as a past faculty and board member. ACS holds a very dear place in my heart, most of my best memories growing up were centered around ACS and the friends I met there. Those friends are still some of my closest friends. ACS continues to evolve and change as it needs to in order to survive a changing environment, but I hope that the core values of a high-level broad education and good fellowship continue to drive its future success.”

Fund Summary

Malcolm Kerr’s life was, in many respects, the embodiment of the spirit of ACS. His selfless devotion to public service, through the advancement of education, was exemplary and lives on today through the Malcolm Kerr Endowment Fund at ACS. This fund was established in his memory by the alumni association to provide financial aid for high school students who have demonstrated academic, athletic, and/or leadership promise.

Malcolm Kerr ’49, son of American University of Beirut faculty, was born and raised in Beirut. He attended ACS for elementary school, and after a sojourn in the USA due to the outbreak of World War II, returned to ACS for grades 9 and 10. He received his undergraduate degree at Princeton University in 1953, and completed his PhD at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in 1958. He then held various academic positions at multiple educational institutes, including the American University of Beirut, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the American University of Cairo. He also published several books, among them “Lebanon in the Last Years of Feudalism” (1959), “The Arab Cold War” (1965), and “Islamic Reform” (1966). These books, along with his academic career, allowed Malcolm Kerr to establish himself as a preeminent scholar of, and in, the Arab world. These achievements propelled him to the position of President of AUB, where he was tragically assassinated outside his office in College Hall on January 18, 1984. Just as he influenced the region through his drive, devotion, and excellence, so too does ACS hope to propel promising students to greatness through the support of the Malcolm Kerr Endowment Fund.

If you would like to donate to the Alumni Association General Fund, please click here.