Dear AU community,

Our people are the foundation of our mission and our community. We achieve our goals, support our students, and move forward together thanks to the dedication of the people who work at AU. An important part of supporting our people is celebrating their growth and their contributions. Today, I am announcing a member of our cabinet taking on new responsibilities and honoring two esteemed leaders who will be retiring at the end of the academic year after supporting our community for decades and making an indelible mark on American University.

Seth Grossman will become vice president of administration and chief administrative officer.

After long and successful careers at AU, Billy Walker (director of athletics and recreation) and Beth Muha (assistant vice president for human resources) will retire at the end of the academic year.

Seth Grossman will become vice president of administration and chief administrative officer building on his successful leadership of key areas including Human Resources, WAMU, the Changemakers strategic plan development and implementation, and Community and Government Relations. He will add the AU Museum to his portfolio, supporting the impactful work of our arts center and furthering connections between the museum and both the university and DC. Under the direction of Jack Rasmussen, the AU Museum is an influential leader in the DC arts scene, and Seth will work with Jack to continue this changemaking engagement. Seth’s work has been essential to both sustaining and evolving AU’s operations during unprecedented times as well as strengthening and expanding connections between the university and our broader DC community. Seth came to AU in 2017, serving as chief of staff and counselor to the president. He then became vice president for people and external affairs. Under his leadership, AU achieved the successful approval of the 2021 campus plan; significantly improved relations with our neighbors, DC government leaders, and partners throughout the DMV region; is on track to successfully complete the first phase of the university’s strategic plan; and reached and maintained market leadership of WAMU as the number one radio station in the District. Seth also leads many of our critical people initiatives, including the expansion of professional development programs such as the Supervisory Academy, the growth of AU’s wellness programs, overhauling onboarding and streamlining other HR processes, and our ongoing commitment to investing in our staff and faculty.

Billy Walker has led AU Athletics and Recreation since 2013, featuring 15 Patriot League Championships and 15 NCAA tournament appearances. Student athletes achieved sustained academic success during Billy’s tenure, with a department-wide GPA of 3.34 or better in each semester under his leadership and gave back to the community through partnerships with DC Public Schools and DC Special Olympics. A valued member of the president’s cabinet, Billy collaborated across the university to support the health and well-being of our community and build connections between our students, athletes, coaches, faculty, staff, and alumni. Billy was instrumental in the development of the Alan and Amy Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance, which is a vital piece of our Student Thriving Complex and overall focus on the holistic well-being of all our students. Through a 30-year career in the United States Air Force before joining AU, Billy rose to the rank of brigadier general. He helped lead the 89th Operations Group, which is responsible for directing the safe transportation of the president of the United States and other federal government leaders and logged nearly 3,000 hours of helicopter flight time. He also served as director of the Air Force Combatives Center of Excellence, leading training programs that reached thousands of airmen deployed around the world. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Colorado Chapter, as an Outstanding American in 2016. Billy’s tireless support for our student-athletes has led to sustained success in the classroom and in competition and helped set the stage for a bright future for AU Athletics.

Beth Muha first joined AU in 1989 as a benefits manager. She returned in 1994 as an SPA graduate student and rejoined the staff as executive director of Human Resources in 1997. For the past 25 years, she worked with the talented and dedicated HR team to design and implement many of our vital employee best-practice programs, including the performance management process, the AhealthyU wellness program, and leadership and staff development programs such as the 21st Century Leadership Institute, the Supervisory Academy, and Mentoring Matters. Beth played a critical role in supporting faculty and staff during the pandemic and helped the workforce return to campus in our hybrid work modalities. Throughout her AU career, Beth has focused on supporting our people while navigating the changing needs of the workplace. A capstone to Beth’s career will be the Workday implementation, which will bookend work when she first joined AU and supported the Colleague system launch. In her career, Beth held HR leadership roles at the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation and the National Committee for Quality Assurance and played an active role in her professional association, most recently serving as a member of the College and University Professional Association (CUPA) Eastern Region Board of Directors.

We will begin searches immediately to identify successors for Billy and Beth. Our goal is to have new leaders hired for each position in the spring so they can collaborate with Billy and Beth during their respective transitions. We will have celebrations to honor Billy and Beth in the spring.

Every day, we are working together to support the people that make our AU community great–our students, our faculty and staff, and one another. It is an exciting time at AU, as we recognize the impactful work of dedicated Eagles like Billy and Beth, advance the ongoing contributions of leaders like Seth, and collaborate to shape our bright future. Please join me in congratulating and thanking them for their commitment to the AU community.

Sincerely,

Sylvia