American Magazine: November 2016

President Neil Kerwin requested that American’s coverage of his retirement in May 2017 not focus solely on what he’s done, but rather, what we’ve
accomplished together as a community. On October 19, we gathered more than 130 faculty, staff, alumni, and students from all corners of AU to celebrate
a decade of transformation under Kerwin’s leadership. When AU’s 14th president approached Hurst Hall, the crowd broke into cheers for “our all-
American” and the woman he calls his “partner in all this”—wife Ann. “IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE TO WORK WITH
THE KERWINS OVER THE LAST DECADE,” says Patricia Oltmann, alumni career programs coordinator, Office of Development and Alumni
Relations. “[THEY] HAVE MADE AU A TRULY GREAT UNIVERSITY.” Adds James Proctor, construction coordinator, Office of
Finance and Treasurer: “THANK YOU DR. KERWIN FOR LEADING US ON THIS WONDERFUL JOURNEY.”
MOST PEOPLE ATTEND A SCHOOL, WORK A JOB, LIVE IN A TOWN.
Neil Kerwin owns degrees from three universities, has held a variety
of academic positions, and has resided in several cities along the East
Coast and abroad.
But at his core, he is of American University.
The school’s 14th president, Kerwin, SPA/BA ’71, will retire in late
spring after 12 transformational years in the role. He first arrived on
campus in 1967 as an 18-year-old from Waterbury, Connecticut.
“Neither of my parents went to college. I felt that if I was really
going to test myself, I needed to [leave home],” he says. “I had one
cousin who had been to college, and said if I got into college in
Washington I could live with them and basically babysit their kids for
room and board. I got into American, I got [financial aid], and with the
money and the housing that was provided by my family, I was able to
come. I never looked back.”
It was here that he met his wife, Ann, CAS/BA ’71, at a party when
they were undergrads. A generation later one of their two sons, Michael,
also met his wife at AU. In between Kerwin served as a professor, dean
of the School of Public Affairs, provost, and ultimately, president.
During his years at the helm, he helped dramatically reshape AU.
National scholarships have increased 72 percent since 2009, while
student debt has decreased 21 percent during the same period. Since
2005, 14 buildings have been built or renovated (construction on some
is ongoing). AU’s endowment has increased 113 percent since 2005,
while need-based financial aid has more than doubled since 2010.
The 2016 admit rate—26 percent—was an all-time low.
“That’s unheard of,” Provost Scott Bass says.
It seems that regardless of the metric, Kerwin has presided over its
improvement with quiet confidence and a wry sense of humor.
“Neil has moved the university forward in dozens of ways,” says
Jeff Sine, SIS/BA ’76, a member of the board of trustees who chaired
the presidential search committee that recommended Kerwin for the
job. “In terms of scholarship, the quality of the faculty, the quality of
the students, our service mission, our diversity mission, the financial
position of the university, our reputation. It creates a virtuous cycle.”
When his alarm goes off on June 1 (or will it?), Kerwin knows he’ll
be waking up to a different life.
“You realize that you’re in a marathon that’s never going to end,”
he says. “This is really all about the journey, it’s not about an endpoint.
You simply try to deploy your time and effort in ways that add value to
the others who really on a day-to-day basis are running this institution:
the faculty, the staff, the students, the alumni, and a lot of friends we
have who are willing to get involved. I begin every day with a list of
things I want to accomplish. It gets to be sort of a contest to determine
how many I can actually get to.”
After more than four decades at AU, he’s crossed off a whole lot.
30 AMERICAN MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016