American University is a fully accredited university located at Ward Circle, straddling the Spring Valley and American University Park areas of Northwest Washington, DC. It currently has roughly 5,000 undergraduate students, and approximately the same number of graduate students.

It is served by the Tenleytown-AU station on the Washington Metro, which is located roughly a mile from the main campus in the neighborhood of Tenleytown.

AU has recently entered the first tier of US News & World Report's college and university rankings guide.

A leader in global education, AU enrolls a diverse student body from throughout the U.S. and more than 160 countries.

AU is a member of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area , allowing students to enroll in courses offered by other member institutions and students at other member institutions to enroll in courses at AU.

Contents

1 History 2 Campus 2.1 Main campus 2.2 Tenley campus 3 Public radio broadcasts 4 Washington Semester program 5 AU Abroad 6 Technology 7 Academic Organization 8 Notable professors 9 Notable Alumni 9.1 Politics and Government 9.2 Entertainment and Media 9.3 Business 9.4 Literature 10 AU Trivia 11 AU in Fiction 12 External links

History

AU traces its history to a letter written by George Washington, in which he expressed a desire for a "national university" to be located in the nation's capital. AU was chartered by an act of the United States Congress in 1893, nearly a century after Washington's death, and ground was broken in 1896. After some difficulties with funding, the first degrees were awarded in 1916, and the first undergraduates were admitted in 1925.

During both World War I and World War II, the university allowed the U.S. military to use some of its grounds for testing. In 1917, the US military divided American University into two segments, Camp American University and Camp Leach. Camp American University became the birthplace of the United States' chemical weapons program, and chemical weapons were tested on the grounds; this required a major cleanup effort in the 1990s. Camp Leach was the home to advanced research, develop and testing of modern camouflage techniques. During WWII, the campus was home to the US Navy Bomb Disposal School and a WAVE barracks. For AU's role in these wartime efforts, the Victory Ship SS American Victory was named in honor of the university. American took over the previously unaffiliated Washington College of Law in 1949, and added a business school and an international relations program in the 1950s.

In the 1960s, the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency operated a think tank under the guise of Operation Camelot at American University. The government abandoned the think tank after the operation came to public attention.

AU's political intertwinement was furthered by President John F. Kennedy's Spring 1963 commencement address. In the speech, Kennedey called on the Soviet Union to work with the United States to achieve a nuclear test ban treaty and help reduce the considerable international tensions and the specter of nuclear war during that juncture of the Cold War.

Campus

The university has two campuses: The main campus off Ward Circle and the Tenley Campus. The university also owns a few buildings in the Tenleytown area, as well as the Washington College of Law building in Spring Valley. Additionally, in cooperation with Capital Properties, the university operates Park Bethesda, a 258-unit luxury apartment complex in Bethesda, Maryland to house graduate and upperclass-standing undergraduate students.

Main campus

American University's main campus occupies 84 acres (340,000 m²) in a residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., at the intersection of Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues—the top of Embassy Row. Highlights of the campus include a main quadrangle surrounded by several academic buildings, six residential halls, a 5,000-seat arena, and an outdoor amphitheatre.

The major and notable buildings include the following:

• Jack I. and Dorothy G. Bender Library and Learning Resources Center
• Mary Graydon Center, home to the main dining facilities, student organization offices, and the School of Communications. A history of the building
• Abbey Joel Butler Pavilion, administrative offices for the Office of Campus Life
• Sports Center: Bender Arena, Reeves Aquatic Center
• School of International Services, ground broken by President Dwight Eisenhower. A new building is slated to begin construction in 2006.
• Hurst Hall, ground was broken for this first building in 1896 for what was to be the College of History.
• McKinley Building, had its cornerstone laid by President Theodore Roosevelt. Slated to become the new home to the School of Communications.
• Battelle-Tompkins Building, formerly the library until 1977 and now home to the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Ward Circle Building, built in 1968 as a home for the School of Government and Public Administration (now the School of Public Affairs). The largest classroom building on campus.
• Kay Spiritual Life Center, a nondenominational place of worship built in 1963, it is the home to the University Chaplains and is used for speeches and performances.
• Kogod School of Business, formerly the home to the Washington College of Law. Is set to annex the now empty Experimental Theatre and Butler Instructional Center in 2006.
• Residences: There are 6 residence halls on the main campus, capable of housing approximately 3000 students. Anderson, Letts and Centennial halls make up the southern cluster of residence halls, and Leonard, McDowell and Hughes halls make up the northern cluster of residence halls.

Former buildings include:

• Leonard Learning Center/Cassell Center
• Clendenen Hall

Tenley campus

This campus, formerly the Immaculate School, is located half a mile east of the main campus, and was purchased by American University in 1987. During the academic year, Tenley Campus is home to the Washington Semester Program students, and during the summer, American University uses the residence halls for summer interns. Administratively, Tenley Campus is home to the Washington Semester Program, the Office of Development, University Publications, and Media Relations.

• Capital Hall, the oldest and most ornate of the Tenley Campus buildings, it houses 170 students, a fitness center and the stained glass chapel that is used for dance and music recitals.
• Congressional Hall, with 156 students, contains the central reception desk for the Tenley Campus
• Federal Hall, housing 107 students, contains the mailroom and the cafeteria on its first floor.
• Dunblane House, a small administrative building.
• Constituion Building, an administrative building.
• A sports field used for intramural sport matches.

Public radio broadcasts

American University also operates a pubic radio station, WAMU, broadcasting at 88.5 mHz on the FM band. The commercial free station is affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Radio International. The station began broadcasting as the student radio station, but developed into a professionally staffed station when the administration spun off the student radio station. Original programming includes the Diane Rehm Show and Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Washington Semester program

American University also offers a "Washington Semester" program to subscribing colleges and universities nationwide. The purpose of the program is to bring students from various backgrounds together for a semester of study combining access to Washington, DC, insiders in a variety of different fields ranging from political science to journalism and the arts. Students enrolled in this program are also expected to find and hold an internship in their field of study during the 3-4 month program.

AU Abroad

American University offers one of the most comprehensive and renowned study abroad programs in the United States. Open to both AU Students as well as students from other American universities, students can chose to participate in a number of diverse programs around the globe. Utilizing partner institions as well as AU-operated programs abroad, students can take courses and/or intern in over 30 countries. Additionally, students may arrange to study at a non-partnered or hosted instution abroad through AU Abroad. Programs are offered by semester, year or summer.

Technology

In 1997, American University was been included as one of the top 50 "wired campuses" in the United States by a Yahoo! survey. Since adding a campus-wide advanced wireless broadband network in 2001, American University has been classified as one of the most "unwired" campuses in the U.S. by Intel. Recently, American University has expanded its wireless precense by teaming with T-Mobile to first convert American University into the first HotSpot campus in 2004 and then again in 2005 when the Kogod School of Business became the first business school to integrate RSS data services with BlackBerry devices distributed to all graduate business students. In 2005 American University became one of the first Universities in the country to provide all students in on campus housing access to download free movie and music content via the Ruckus Network. The University Library also launched a program whereby its Media Services Department is converting films to digital format for exclusive use by faculty in teaching their coursework for streaming media content.

Academic Organization

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) 

Department of American Studies
Department of Anthropology
Department of Art
Department of Biology
Department of Computer Science, Audio Technology, and Physics
Department of Chemistry
Degree Completion Programs
Department of Economics
Department of Education
Department of Environmental Studies
Department of Health and Fitness
Department of History
Department of Jewish Studies
Department of Language and Foreign Studies
Department of Literature
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Department of Multimedia Design & Development
Department of Performing Arts
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Department of Psychology
Department of Sociology
Department of Women's and Gender Studies

Kogod School of Business (KSB) 

Department of Accounting
Department of Finance
Department of International Business
Department of Management
Department of Marketing
Department of Information Technology

School of Communications (SOC) 

Department of Film and Media Arts
Department of Journalism
Department of Public Communication

School of International Service (SIS) 

Department of Comparative & Regional Studies
Department of Global Environmental Politics
Department of International Communication
Department of International Development
Department of International Economic Policy
Department of International Peace & Conflict Resolution
Department of International Politics
Department of U.S. Foreign Policy

School of Public Affairs (SPA) 

Department of Government
Department of Justice, Law, & Society
Department of Public Administration

Washington College of Law (WCL)

Washington Semester Program (WSP)

Notable professors

• Akbar S. Ahmed (former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States)
• Richard Berendzen Department of Physics
• Jesse Bernard former professor of Sociology
• Julian Bond
• Max Cleland (former professor)
• Christine DeGregorio Department of Government
• Ofield Dukes (former professor)
• Lincoln Furber (Retired professor of broadcast journalism, CBS Anchor, Anchor of Washington Week in Review)
• Valerie French Department of History
• Lesley Gill Department of Anthropology
• Robert Griffith Department of History Chair
• Alan Kraut Department of History
• Jane Hall School of Communications
• Susan Hammond Department of Government
• Peter J. Kuznick Department of History
• Harvey Lieber Department of Public Administration
• Karen O'Connor Department of Government
• Edward C. Smith Department of American Studies
• Ben Stein (former professor)
• Henry Taylor (1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner)

Notable Alumni

Politics and Government

• Abdulwahab A. Al-Hajjri , Ambassador of Yemen to the United States
• Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, SPA '92
• Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ali Al-Khalifa , Ambassador of Bahrain to the United States
• Hatem Atallaj , Ambassador of Tunisia to the United States
• Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, Vice-President of Iraq under the Iraqi Transitional Government of 2005, President of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005
• Robert Byrd, United States Senator from West Virginia, WCL '63
• Kenneth Duberstein, Chief of Staff to President Ronald Reagan
• Achilles Exarchos , Ambassador of Greece to Nigeria, Permanent Representative of Greece to UN/FAO, WFP and WFC , SPA
• Patricia Harrison , Co-chair, Republican National Committee
• Cameron R. Hume , Ambassador of the United States to Algeria (1997-2000), South Africa (2001-Present), WCL
• Petra Kelly, Founder of Germany’s Green Party, '70
• Koko Tanimoto-Kondo , Prominent atomic bomb survivor (Hiroshima) and international peace activist
• Donald Manzullo, United States Representative from Illinois, SPA '67
• James McGovern, United States Representative from Massachusetts, CAS '81, SPA '84
• Howard Mills , New York State Assemblyman, 2004 US Senate Candidate, SPA '88
• Kevin Owen , SPA '01, WCL '05
• Longin Pastusiak, Marshal of the Senate, Republic of Poland, '62
• Alice Paul, Feminist, author of the Equal Rights Amendment, WCL '22
• Mohammed Sadiq , Chief of Mission, Embassy of Pakistan in Washington
• Peter L. Scher , United States Special Trade Ambassador for Agriculture
• Carlos Quintanilla Schmidt , Vice President of El Salvador
• Edward Schrock, United States Representative from Virginia
• Donna Shalala, United States Health and Human ResourcesSecretary, Washington Semester
• Paul Strauss , United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia, SPA '86, WCL '93
• Kantathi Suphamongkhon , Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand
• Salvador Stadthagen , Ambassador of Nicaragua to the United States, KSB/BSBA '83
• Ed Whitfield, United States Representative from Kentucky

Entertainment and Media

• David Aldridge , ESPN Sportscaster and Columnist
• Heidi Bressler , Candidate on the first season of The Apprentice
• Sonya Gavankar , Miss DC competator in the 1997 Miss America Pagent, '99
• Goldie Hawn, Actress
• Star Jones, Co-host, The View
• Jeffrey Jurgensen , Screenwriter, Agent Cody Banks
• Barry Levinson, Film Director, SOC '64
• Mike O'Meara, Co-host, The Don and Mike Show, nationally syndicated radio show
• Benjamin Salisbury, Actor, role of Brighton Sheffield on The Nanny
• Willard Scott, Performer, The Today Show NBC
• Judy Sheindlin, "Judge Judy"
• Kermit Washington, Professional basketball player
• Chris Wylde , Actor and game show host, Taboo, TNN

Business

• Michael Chasen , CEO and Founder of Blackboard, Inc., KSB '76
• Robert Kogod , President of the Charles E. Smith Companies, KSB/BSBA '62
• Clint Kreitner , President and CEO of The Center for Internet Security
• Gary Pudles , CEO of AnswerNet Network
• William Tartikoff , Senior Vice President, Calvert Management
• Thirachai Vudhidhama , Board of Directors, Thai Airways International

Literature

• Matthew Lesko , Author on government grants
• Florence King, Writer
• Bruce Scheier , Author, leading internet security advisor
• Alice Sheldon, Writer

AU Trivia

• During the 1963 spring commencement ceremonies, President John F. Kennedy addressed the university. Given in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy used the speech to call on the Soviet Union to work with the United States to achieve a nuclear test ban treaty and help reduce the considerable international tensions and the specter of nuclear war at that juncture of the Cold War. The speech is depicted in Oliver Stone's 1991 film JFK.

• Ten U.S. presidents have either served on the AU Board of Trustees or spoken on campus.

• AU is the only university to be chartered by an Act of Congress.

• AU’s School of Communication trained the cast and crew of MTV’s Road Rules and the Real World in public speaking.

• Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed New York City’s Central Park, was AU’s first architect.

• AU chancellor Charles McCabe taught "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" to Union POWs in the South early in the Civil War and was later invited to the Lincoln White House because of his actions.

AU in Fiction

• The X-Files’ Agent Scully found she had an alien virus in AU’s Paleoclimatology Lab in the fall 1997 season premiere.

External links

• American University official site
• AU's Daily Jolt
• The Eagle, student newspaper
• A digital collection of AU photographs
• Washington Semester Program, the American University
• WAMU 88.5AM American University Public Radio
• A retrospective look at the WWII era
• Official history
• Official timeline
• AU Abroad official site