"It’s about the human element," Jeffrey Sine, SIS/BA ’76, explains, when asked about the plans to renovate the School of International Service where he once studied. Now vice chair and global head of technology, media, and telecom investment banking for UBS Warburg, Sine remarks, "I think SIS represents the gold standard.
It’s a real quality benchmark in international affairs. The nature of the student body and their achievements are second to none." For Sine, his years at AU have been deeply moving. Last Christmas, after making a donation to the AnewAU campaign, he was able to name the courtyard-gathering place after his parents, who supported him through his years at AU.

"The building will allow the entire SIS community to come together under one roof. It allows for those interactions that can occur when you’re physically proximate. At the moment, for both students and faculty, there are a lot of different buildings involved. This will make a big difference."

From its Eisenhower-era beginnings with an entering class of 80 students from 36 countries, SIS now has grown to a school that draws 2,500 students from 150 countries and receives more applications than any other school of international affairs. And when students like Sine graduate and go out into the world, they take with them a deep, SIS-trained understanding of their place in the world.

"I think for all people who feel like their education has played an important role in getting them to whatever they’ve been able to achieve, giving something back is part of your responsibility," says Sine. "This is literally the one time in our working careers and professional lives where SIS is going to be going through this massive process."

—Sally Acharya, originally published in American magazine