A Pyrenees Bike Ride That Became a Scholarship Fundraiser
David Marchick is technically a university president now, but his first days in office looked more like the Tour de France. Marchick, who became interim president of American University in Washington, D.C., on July 1, had long planned a six-day, 550-kilometer bike ride over the hardest climbs in the Pyrenees. Rather than cancel it, he turned the trip into a “Summit for Scholarships” fundraising campaign with a goal of climbing roughly 29,000 feet — about the height of Mount Everest.
The campaign outperformed its target. Marchick said it raised $172,000, surpassing the initial goal of $100,000 from 200 donors. Donations came in from 40 states, and more than 50 faculty and staff members contributed, along with students. He said he finished the ride’s climbing goal on the final day, recounting a 5,295-foot route that closed the last gap on a day he called “brutal.”
The ride is the latest in a series of endurance fundraisers for the 60-year-old dean of American University’s business school, who has climbed Kilimanjaro, biked across the United States in about eight days for student scholarships, and completed Iowa’s RAGBRAI. Marchick said he was thinking of American University students — including single mothers and those working two or three jobs — during the hardest stretches.
Beyond the cycling, Marchick used the interview to sketch his priorities as interim president: a paid internship pledge for every undergraduate, alumni mentors for all students, a new 90-credit public affairs degree, and preparation for what he called “an AI economy.” He plans more rides later — San Francisco to Los Angeles, the French Alps, and a history-themed trip in May after graduation.
What Marchick’s Ride Signals for American University
Two things stand out beneath the road-trip story.
A Fundraiser That Doubles as a Leadership Statement
Marchick’s decision to keep the trip was more than personal stubbornness. By framing the ride as a scholarship drive, he gave his interim presidency an immediate, visible and positive narrative at a moment when he says universities are challenging places to work. The participation of faculty, staff and students in the campaign matters as much as the money: for an interim leader, quickly generating internal goodwill is a practical asset. The $172,000 raised is modest by university fundraising standards, but the real value may be the attention — and the example it sets for how senior administrators can model donor outreach.
The Institutional Agenda Behind the Cycling
The interview also confirmed the substantive priorities Marchick is carrying into the job. The paid-internship pledge for every undergraduate is a concrete, checkable commitment that differentiates American University from many peers, and the 90-credit public affairs degree leans into its reputation as a top-ranked school in Washington for public policy. The emphasis on preparing students to “responsibly and ethically use AI” signals that the university sees AI readiness as a curriculum issue, not just a technology one. None of these are new announcements, but they give faculty, students and donors a clear sense of what the interim administration will be measured against.
In lighter news, Marchick firmly ruled out attempting the Taco Bell DC 50K, an endurance-eating race that stops at nine Taco Bells across the D.C. area. “Absolutely not,” he said.
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