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

A historic $16 million gift to the George Washington University's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) will endow a critical faculty position and new student opportunities, further expanding access to a world-class education. Made anonymously in memory of beloved English professor Astere E. Claeyssens, Jr., the gift marks one of the largest commitments from an individual donor in CCAS history.

Honoring Claeyssens' lifelong dedication to the liberal arts and commitment to mentoring students, the investment establishes three endowments:

• The Astere Claeyssens Endowed Scholarship ($10 million), providing need- and merit-based assistance for students in the arts and humanities. An early philanthropic endorsement of GW's strategic framework, Raising Higher: OneGW's Path to Preeminence, the scholarship is being matched by the university, creating a $20 million fund that will advance GW's priorities to improve affordability, strengthen student outcomes, and increase graduation rates.
• The Claeyssens Professorship Endowment ($4 million), funding a dedicated faculty member to guide curriculum and develop academic programming.
• The Claeyssens Cohort Endowment ($2 million), expanding hands-on workshops, field opportunities, and experiential learning.

This gift will provide students with rich educational experiences, mentorship, and opportunities to collaborate across the arts and humanities, and by creating a student cohort, directly reflects Claeyssens' legacy, which continues to shape GW's liberal arts mission.

"Professor Claeyssens spent 35 years demonstrating the impact a single faculty member can have on generations of students," said President Ellen M. Granberg. "Whenever I speak with alumni about him, they always tell me that he changed their lives. This gift ensures that spirit will live on. It gives future students the same opportunity our alumni describe: a transformative educational experience in community with faculty and fellow students."

The new endowments will also leverage only-at-GW proximity to cultural institutions such as the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and will build upon the university's distinctive strengths, helping attract exceptional talent while funding hands-on learning outside the classroom.

Celebrating a legacy and a legend

Claeyssens served as a professor of English at GW from 1965 to 1990, and at his core, he was defined by his attentiveness and boundless generosity. Known for never turning a student away, Claeyssens frequently added class sections rather than cap enrollment, ensuring that every student experienced the personal mentorship that became his hallmark. His approach inspired generations of students and was foundational to establishing GW's Creative Writing program-which today is a vibrant, undergraduate community that guides aspiring writers through craft and genre exploration.

Beyond the classroom, Claeyssens brought literature and human connection to a wider audience as the producer, director, writer and host of "One to One," an Emmy Award-winning public television series. The show reflected his signature approach to education, bringing thoughtful dialogue to the public, and allowing the viewer to experience an author's words in the same way a reader experiences a book: on a highly individual and personal basis.

"We are deeply grateful for this extraordinary gift, which will be transformational in advancing interdisciplinary scholarship and experiential learning in the arts and humanities," said Paul Wahlbeck, dean of CCAS. "Astere Claeyssens excelled at taking knowledge beyond his classroom and making it accessible to wider audiences. This gift honors his remarkable legacy by ensuring that a student-centered approach to creative and humanistic learning endures for generations to come."

The university welcomes philanthropic conversations to expand GW's Revolutionary Promiseto provide access and affordability. To learn more about how you can support scholarships, please inquire at matchgwu [dot] edu (match[at]gwu[dot]edu).