Enabling Students to Pursue Their Passions

Howard Lee is proof that there's no better place to study government and law than the nation's capital. A Washington native, Lee is a veteran of the George H.W. Bush administration and a former staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives's subcommittee on domestic finance and monetary policy." AU's School of Public Affairs and Washington College of Law provide students the opportunity to learn from some of the finest policymakers, advocates, and judges serving our country," says Lee, executive secretary and managing director of Cosmos Alliance, a DC-based investment group that advances emerging biotechnologies.

An AU alumnus twice over, Lee believes it's his duty to help safeguard the academic integrity of independent, private institutions. "It's important that everyone who has a stake in AU do what they can to ensure its future." For his part, Lee has created three awards—named in honor of friends and family, Pat Heinaman, SPA/BA '71; Charles M. Johnson, CAS/BA '68, and his wife Lucy; and his aunt Alice Lee Quan, CAS/BA '34, and her husband Lau King Quan—to help AU students cover their academic expenses. Lee has also provided annual contributions to WCL for more than three decades.

In recent years, the Fredericksburg, Virginia, resident named SPA and WCL in his estate plans. His gift will support scholarships to help relieve the burden of student debt and better prepare AU Eagles to pursue their passions. AU is grateful for Lee's philanthropic vision and generous spirit, which will support the next generation of AU students fulfill their academic and professional dreams.