Endowing the Center   $5,000,000

This naming opportunity would provide a lasting and powerful affirmation of the important contributions that Israel has made to the world community, and would secure the Center as a permanent focal point for Israel scholarship in a major university in the nation’s capital. American University has a longstanding tradition of exploring international history and culture, with the goal of furthering global education and learning. Endowing the Center would place the study of Israel, and its myriad achievements in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities, at the forefront of education at American University and would establish the Center as a model in the nation.

Endowing a Chair in Israel Studies   $2,000,000

A named university chair solidifies an academic discipline within the university faculty and offers another lasting opportunity to impact college students’ education. As the most prestigious position a faculty member can hold, an endowed chair would allow American University to attract elite scholars who will integrate their knowledge about and expertise on Israel into the curriculum and academic life on campus.

Endowing the Directorship   $1,000,000

This opportunity would allow the Center to permanently establish a leadership team and program initiatives related to the study of Israel. Securing the operations of the Center, this directorship naming opportunity would enhance the ability of the director to fully develop the Center and plan for a broad array of high profile programs and activities. The Director will engage partners across the university’s academic disciplines and will implement strategic initiatives and programs with the goal of furthering the study of Israel at American University.

Endowing a Visiting Scholar Fund   $1,000,000

An endowed visiting scholar fund would enable the director of the Center for Israel Studies to host internationally renowned scholars to teach, lecture, or perform on campus as visiting faculty members for an entire semester. Visiting scholars would add dimension and depth to the Israel Studies programming at American University and would bring expertise and contacts to the university upon which the Center could continually build.

Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Endowment   $100,000-750,000

This is an opportunity to join the effort to complete the Center’s first endowed chair in Israel Studies by 2008, the 10-year anniversary of the founding of the Center, and the 60th birthday of the state of Israel. The Center has named lecture, performance, and exhibition opportunities for major gifts to the Abensohn endowment that bring us substantially closer to fully endowing this chair in Israel Studies at American University.

Funding Major Program Initiatives   $100,000

As a naming opportunity in a specific programmatic area, this opportunity allows for contributions to major programmatic initiatives in five different areas of study — Business and Technology, Science and Environmental Studies, Humanities and the Arts, Politics and Government, or Society and Culture. Funding in each area will allow the Center to immediately design and implement programs, including major conferences, lectures, and symposia, and will allow the Center to bring leading Israeli scholars to campus to educate the campus community in a specific area of study.