Ann Zwicker Kerr: A Legacy of Generosity and Cross-Cultural Understanding
November 5, 2025
Ann Kerr ‘81 has been a devoted supporter of The American University in Cairo. This year, she has made yet another philanthropic commitment to AUC by establishing The Kerr Family Scholarship, her first named scholarship at the University.
When Ann Kerr ‘81 came to The American University in Cairo over forty years ago to earn a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, she already had a deep connection to the Middle East. It’s a connection that continues to this day, woven into her many professional achievements and unwavering sense of purpose. Over the course of a distinguished career as an author, scholar, and advocate for diplomacy and cross-cultural exchange, Kerr has nurtured an abiding affinity for the region. Driven by her belief in the power of international education to build meaningful bridges among cultures, she has dedicated her life to advancing peace.
Since the 1980s, Kerr has been a devoted supporter of AUC. This year, by establishing The Kerr Family Scholarship, her first named scholarship at the University, she continues her lifelong legacy of supporting education and cross-cultural understanding.
About The Kerr Family Scholarship
Established in 2025, The Kerr Family Scholarship will help support an undergraduate student from Egypt from freshman year until graduation. The recipient will be selected based on a combination of academic merit and financial need.
A Life of Dedication and Impact
Ann has spent over 15 years living, studying, and teaching in the Middle East. She holds degrees from Occidental College, the American University of Beirut (AUB) and AUC. She has also taught at both AUB and AUC. Her deep connection to the region and its institutions of higher education has been a cornerstone of her remarkable career.
Ann is no stranger to the kind of economic and political volatility that makes higher education such a critical endeavor. In 1984, her husband, Dr. Malcolm Kerr, was assassinated while President of AUB. Ann and Malcolm had met at the University decades earlier when Ann was a study-abroad student and Malcolm a master’s student. Malcolm had grown up on the AUB campus: his father was a professor at the University, his mother its Dean of Women’s Studies. His death was an inconceivable loss; despite this horrific tragedy, Ann has devoted her life to dispelling misconceptions and deepening the understanding in the West of the rich and diverse cultures of the Arab region.
Today, she is Fulbright Coordinator at UCLA’s International Institute, where she teaches freshman seminars on the Middle East. Kerr is also a Trustee Emerita of AUB, a member of the Advisory Board of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a founding member of the Leadership Council of the Churches for Middle East Peace.
In addition to her academic and philanthropic achievements, Kerr is the author of two books, Come with Me from Lebanon: An American Family Odyssey and Painting the Middle East, which reflect her deep ties to, and passion for, the region. She is the proud mother of four children, grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother of five.
