A Guide to President Jon Alger’s Washington

Upon returning to Washington after 24 years, President Jon Alger marveled that some places looked the same-the building not far AU where he used to live, for example, and the Friendship Heights restaurant where he and wife Mary Ann went after they got engaged-while other corners of the city, from the Wharf to Nationals Park, have been completely transformed.

Even still, DC "very much feels like home to me."

As Alger, who joined AU on July 1, gets to the know the campus and our community, he's also getting reacquainted with the city where he lived for 11 years, fresh out of law school. Here, AU Now presents a guide to some of Alger's favorite DC haunts and pastimes-a way for us to get to know him.

"In this temple . . ."

More than 8 million people each year visit the Lincoln Memorial-by far the city's most popular monument. Modeled in the style of a Greek temple, the memorial, which honors the country's 16th president, is our 16th president's favorite monument in a city that boasts more than 100 of them.

"I always liked the fact that Lincoln-even though he's a towering, larger-than-life figure-is seated. He's not on a horse, he's not brandishing a sword. It's almost like you want to crawl into his lap," Alger said. "Being surrounded by the words from some of his greatest speeches invites me in [to the space] in a different way from many other monuments."

Fun fact: From head to toe, the 175-ton statue of Lincoln is 19 feet tall. The scale is such that, if Honest Abe were standing, he would be 28 feet tall.

Worm into a book

Whether you're in a beach chair near the ocean or a recliner in your living room, a good book is a great way to pass the summer.

A Harvard-educated attorney, Alger has a penchant for John Grisham's legal thrillers. He also has an affinity for history books-particularly those that chronicle the founding of our nation.

The former president of James Madison University has about 20 books about that particular founding father. But Alger said he's looking forward to digging into a biography of AU's founder, Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, published more than a century ago and gifted to him by a colleague.

Fun fact: History and mystery/crime are the most popular genres among American readers, according to the Washington Post.

And speaking of history . . .

Also on Alger's Washington to-do list is a visit to his favorite of the Smithsonian institutions-the National Museum of American History. (Natural history is a close second.)

"I'm a history buff, and I've always said, if you're going to live in a city like DC, you have to take advantage of these unique opportunities," he said.

The Smithsonian-headed by Secretary Lonnie Bunch, CAS/BA '74, MA '76-boasts about 157 million objects, works of art, and specimens. Among the most popular items on exhibit at the American history museum are George Washington's uniform, Thomas Jefferson's lap desk, Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, and the American flag that inspired the national anthem.

Fun fact: Last year, there were 17.7 million visits to the Smithsonian museums-the most since 2019.

Single or double?

Raise a cone (or a cup) to National Ice Cream Month with a scoop of your favorite sweet treat.

Alger is nuts for peanut butter chocolate, which checks in at No. 12 on YouGov's 2023 survey of Americans' favorite flavors. Vanilla tops the list, followed by chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, and chocolate chip.

"Chocolate and peanut butter is the combination of choice for me with ice cream, cheesecake, pie, candy-all of it," Alger said with a smile.

Fun fact: The average American eats about four gallons of ice cream each year.

Life's a stage

A lifelong theatergoer, Alger is eager to amass more playbills from DC playhouses, from the Kennedy Center and Arena Stage to the National Theatre and Ford's Theatre.

"Our daughter, Eleanor, who now lives in Los Angeles, majored in theater and got a master's in dramatic writing for the stage and screen. So, I've learned a lot through her eyes about theater and what makes a great production," Alger said.

Top of his list for the 2024-25 season is Les Misérables, which kicks off its monthlong run at the Kennedy Center Opera House next summer.

"I've seen it multiple times and the reason I like it so much is that it's a fascinating study of the conflict between manmade law and a higher spiritual law. It's always been a show that really made me think about relationships and how we deal with one another," he said.

Fun fact: Since it opened in 1985, Les Misérables has been seen by more than 130 million people in 53 countries, 438 cities, and 22 languages.

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