Alumni & Giving | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

Donors like you help us create

Transformative opportunities.

Philanthropy plays a vital role in shaping the success of GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Alumni and donors are critical to our mission to create real-world impact through an engaged and inclusive liberal arts education, pioneering and innovative research and civic engagement.

Through their achievement in communities that span the globe—and giving back through their time, talent and philanthropic support—our alumni and donors are the driving force behind GW’s legacy of excellence.

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Museum Studies students listening to a lecture at a Smithsonian museum

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Former Congressman Gilbert Cisneros (back row center) Gilbert Cisneros, B.A. ’94, with students from the CCAS Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute's Caminos al Futuro program.

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A crowd of people smiling in chairs at a GW Alumni and Families Weekend event. Image by Abby Greenawalt.

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You help shape the future of

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Monumental CCAS Alumni

Yvonne Orji, BA '05, Sociology

Nigerian-American actress and comedian Yvonne Orji is best known for her role in the television series "Insecure," for which she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and three NAACP Image Awards. Dedicated to philanthropy, she has volunteered in Liberia with Population Services International.

Josh Balk, BA '02, Political Science

Farmed animals lead better lives thanks to the work of Josh Balk, vice president of farm animal protection for The Humane Society of the United States. Balk is also co-founder of Eat Just, a food technology company which develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally-produced egg products.

You Make a Difference

GW's America Gate outside Kogan in the fall with leafy trees

A Lasting Tribute: $16 Million Endowed Gift Honors Late English Professor Astere Claeyssens

October 14, 2026

A historic gift to the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences honors a legendary educator, known for his student-centered approach to the liberal arts.

A black and white photograph of two young people standing and sitting, looking rapt at news coverage on a tv screen on campus

Picturing 9/11: Alumnus’ Photos Frame GW Story

September 3, 2026

On Sept. 11, 2001, alumnus Brandon Perlman, BA ’04, turned his camera on a campus in crisis. His photographs preserve GW’s experience.

Trustee’s Family Foundation Bolsters Sesno Series Civil Discourse Events with $3 Million Gift

April 15, 2026

The gift from philanthropists Ted Segal, BA ’03, and Meredith Perla Segal, BAccy ’05, will expand their support of the Sesno Series and GW basketball.