American University Annual Report 2008-2009

AmericAn University

yeAr in review

2008—2009

frAmingoUrfUtUre

AmericAn University

yeAr in review

2008–2009

frAmingoUrfUtUre

tAble of contentsfrom the chAirmAn of the boArd of trUstees

from the president

introdUction

lAborAtory for leArning

Framing AU’s vision for scholastic excellence

Active citizenship

Framing AU’s contribution to society

A soUnd foUndAtion

Framing AU’s position in higher education

University AdministrAtion

boArd of trUstees

2

3

4

7

19

29

40

40

>>>

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from the chAirmAn of the boArd of trUsteesAmerican University has long claimed to be “distinctive”—in its academic offerings, faculty and staff commitment, student achievement, and ethos of service applied locally, nationally, and internationally. Despite the na-tion’s recent economic challenges, the story of how AU has thrived is both unusual and incredible—and lends credence to how distinctive AU really is. For example:

• Finances are solid because of prudent planning and intelligent resources management.

• Enrollments are strong, record-setting in some categories, and are bringing students of the highest caliber ever to campus to matriculate.

• Faculty are distinguishing themselves through research, publishing, performances, and hands-on teaching to inspire our students toward even higher achievement.

• Leadership is demonstrating the ability and energy to transform AU into an eminent position among the nation’s private colleges and universities.

• Governance is open, inclusive, and transparent to an extent never before seen at AU or many other institutions.

• Institutional plans, from our strategic direction to facilities development, are compass points for the future that will help AU become ever stronger and more distinctive.

This annual report and the financials included suggest a story that is atypical and unusually promising for American higher education in this day and age. I have been involved with AU for almost 45 years as a student, trustee, and now board chair. Never has our future been brighter than it is at this moment.

Gary M. Abramson Chairman, Board of Trustees

from the presidentIt’s ironic that as institutions nationwide rethink their current abili-ties and future priorities because of the current economy, American University is at a fortuitous moment in time. Our financial foundation is solid, our strategic direction is clear, and our commitment is strong as we position AU for the next 10 years.

The guide star is our strategic plan, Leadership for a Changing World: American University in the Next Decade, approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees in November 2008 and providing 10 transformational and 6 enabling goals to chart our direction.

Although ambitious, the plan will enable AU to provide an unsur-passed educational experience; epitomize the scholar ideal; win recognition and distinction; act on our values of social responsibility and service; and pursue the ideals that best define what American University truly is.

The stories in this annual report suggest the significant efforts under-way and achievements already realized to bring the plan to life. Our

students are earning prestige as Truman and Udall scholars, Picker-ing fellows, and Student Academy Award winners. Our faculty are researching religious diversity in contemporary America, the best paths for women into political power, and, with support from a prestigious NIH grant, the influence of environmental conditions on drug addiction. And our entire campus community is demonstrating a commitment to become increasingly green through our daily life and practices.

The next decade can truly become transformational for American University. We welcome the challenge.

Cornelius Kerwin President

3

frAming oUr fUtUre

frAmingoUr

fUtUreAU has excelled in challenging times, and our

commitment to academic achievement, cultural and intellectual diversity, social responsibility, service, high performance, and innovation is unwavering.

4 | frAming oUr fUtUre

frAming oUr fUtUre

AU is poised for prominence in the higher education community, washington,

and the world.

over the last two decades we’ve built a sound financial foundation, growing our

endowment from $18 million to more than $300 million and adopting a conservative

strategy that helped us thrive in the midst of the worst economic crisis in 75 years.

now, during unprecedented global challenges, AU is in an enviable position.

Anchored by our strong financial footing and guided by an expert faculty of

scholars, innovators, activists, and leaders, we are on the cusp of greatness.

in december 2008, AU president neil Kerwin presented, and the board of trustees

adopted, a strategic plan that will guide the university’s vision and planning over

the next decade. ten strategic initiatives—to which we will commit $40 million

during the next two-year budget cycle—will shape our future and help focus our

efforts to reach our potential and underscore our mission:

» epitomize the scholar-teacher ideal

» provide an unsurpassed education and experience

» demonstrate distinction in graduate, professional, and legal studies

» engage the great ideas and issues of our time

» reflect and value diversity

» bring the world to AU and AU to the world

» act on our values through social responsibility and service

» engage alumni in the life of the university

» encourage innovation and high performance

» win recognition and distinction

the stories in this 2008–2009 report of scholastic, ethical, and civic leadership on

our campus, in our city, and around the world set the framework for AU’s exciting

future. from these examples of people whose passion is to learn and lead the

world to a better place, we draw the confidence that the future of this university

is ours to frame.

>>>AmericAn University 2008–2009 Year in Review | 5

At AU, ideAs Are spArKed, plAns

Are hAtched, qUestions Are

At AU, ideas are sparked, plans are hatched,

questions are posed, and dreams are realized.

AmericAn University 2008–2009 Year in Review | 7

oUr stUdents come to wAshington from every corner of the globe with

different aspirations and passions, yet they share one important quality:

a thirst for knowledge and change. Our faculty experts inspire these

inquisitive students to engage the great ideas and issues of our time.

lAborAtory for leArning framing AU’s vision for scholastic excellence

>>>

four strategic initiatives serve as a framework for faculty to help students focus their ideas and gain

a broader understanding of the world:

chemistry professor monika Konaklieva and her team of student

scientists are working to combat drug-resistant bacteria in

partnership with some of the area’s top research institutes,

including the children’s national medical center and walter

reed Army institute of research. Using AU’s state-of-the-art

equipment, Konaklieva’s students are gaining valuable, hands-on

experience, while also striving toward a healthier world.

the Kogod school of business has extended its reach across

campus, launching several interdisciplinary offerings, including

a bachelor’s degree in business, language, and culture studies

and a graduate certificate in business and health professional

management. these innovative programs help students acquire

skills across disciplines that will mold them into nimble, savvy,

twenty-first-century professionals.

school of public Affairs doctoral candidate carmen Apaza,

a former customs inspector in peru, is working to rein in corruption

around the world. through her research on corruption control

and prevention mechanisms, she’s engaging scholars and

practitioners around the world, including the organization of

American states, to promote transparency and good governance.

pat Aufderheide, documentary film and media arts professor and

director of the center for social media, has emerged as one of our

generation’s important media minds. her groundbreaking work on

copyright issues and fair use received a career achievement award

in 2008 from the international digital media and Arts Association.

epitomize the

scholAr-teAcher

ideAl

provide An

UnsUrpAssed

edUcAtion And

experience

demonstrAte

distinction

in grAdUAte,

professionAl,

And legAl stUdies

engAge the greAt

ideAs And issUes

of oUr time

putting scholarship to work today and in the future

8 | lAborAtory for leArning


grAd stUdent shines light on A cAncer whose incidence is increAsing

Caroline Stetler was 16 when she was diag-nosed with thyroid cancer and underwent two successful surgeries to remove the three-centimeter tumor and her thyroid. Healthy and happy in the ensuing dozen years, she rarely thought about the dis-ease until last fall, when she was sitting in Profes-sor Charles Lewis’s journalism class.

Lewis, executive editor of the School of Commu-nication’s groundbreak-ing Investigative Report-ing Workshop (IRW), asked his students to

each ponder an unan-swered question that intrigued them. Stetler’s mind raced straight to thyroid cancer.

“I wondered about the cause,” she said. “The first place I went was the National Cancer In-stitute, and when I saw the data, I almost fell off my chair. Thyroid cancer is the fastest growing

cancer among women, and no one’s reporting it.” Until now.

Stetler’s work morphed into a full-blown investigative project for the IRW, where she is a graduate fellow. She wrote four stories, conducted video inter-views with survivors, and compiled a fact sheet—completing the

first student project the workshop has published.

“The mission of journal-ism is to shine light in dark places,” said Wendell Cochran, the workshop’s senior editor. “I hope [Caro-line’s work] brings attention to a medical issue that has largely gone unreported.”

“Thyroid cancer is

the fastest growing

cancer among

women, and no one’s

reporting it.”

through their intellectual curiosity, innovation,

and scholastic achievement, our world-class

faculty and talented student body have estab-

lished the benchmark on which we base our

future success.

sophomores lAnd stAte depArtment’s picKering fellowship

Their dreams to work for the Foreign Service are one step closer to reality for sophomores Joely Hildebrand and Garret Harkins, both students in the School of International Service. They were among 20 fel-lows nationwide selected for the U.S. Department of State’s prestigious Thomas R. Pickering

Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship.

In the past five years AU has had 12 finalists and 6 fellowship recipients.

An international rela-tions major, Hilde- brand, who is proficient in French, German, and Russian, will hone her language skills dur-ing a semester abroad in Russia.

Harkins, a double major in business and international relations, is interested in the For-eign Service and will

spend the year studying at Korean University.

Pickering fellows receive tuition, fees, and a stipend for their junior and senior years of college and first year of graduate study. The fellowship also funds participation in a junior-year summer institute and domestic and

overseas internships with the U.S. Depart-ment of State.

In the past five years

AU has had 12 finalists

and 6 fellowship recipients.


65% of physical and natural

science majors are women.


stUdent nAmed to USA TodAy AcAdemic All-stAr teAm

Since coming to American University four years ago, School of Public Affairs senior Carrie Johnson has been named a 2008 Morris K. Udall Scholar, a 2009 South Dakota Senate Fellow, a Tru-man Scholarship final-ist, and an American University Honors Program Outstand- ing Leader.

But Johnson saved perhaps her greatest recognition for last. She was one of 20 col-lege students in the United States named to the 20th annual USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team.

The $2,500 cash prize is given to undergraduate students who display outstanding intellectual achieve-ment and leadership and apply those talents beyond the classroom to benefit society.

“I know that this is a recognition of what I’ve done academically and my work here on campus and in

the city,” said Johnson. “But I think it’s more a reflection of the in-vestment that AU has made in me. I’ve had tremendous support from the faculty and the staff here that has allowed me to reach my potential.”

the school of public Affairs is no. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 list of top public

affairs programs.

“I’ve had tremendous

support from the

faculty and the staff

here that has allowed me to reach

my potential.”

this year, the washington college

of law digitized 3,300 pages of its historical collection, including

scrapbooks, letters, and old student newspapers.

docUmentAry chronicles mUslim professor’s JoUrney into AmericA

What is the American identity?

Akbar Ahmed, AU professor, renowned Islamic scholar, and award-winning author, poses that seemingly simple, yet complex question at the begin-ning of Journey into America, a new docu-mentary film chroni-cling his 9-month, 75-city tour of the United States.

Supported by a team of his former students, Ahmed set out to learn how Muslims fit into contemporary Ameri-can society. The group’s voyage of discovery took them from St. Louis to the coast of

Georgia, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Los Angeles, with every stop along the way producing illuminat-ing anthropological information.

“My aim is simple,” Ahmed said. “It is to improve understanding and increase dialogue between different peo-ple, different cultures, different religions. I believe if we can re-mind Americans of the visions of the founding fathers, there’s nothing more powerful.”

The film, which was shot, edited, and writ-ten by the AU team on a shoestring budget, premiered July 4 at the Islamic Society of North America conven-tion at the Washington Convention Center and has been screened in cities across the na-tion and world.

1,575 students major in international

studies—the largest undergraduate

program.

55% of AU students

study abroad prior to graduation.

“I believe if we can

remind Americans

of the visions of

the founding fathers, there’s

nothing more

powerful.”


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psychologist lAUded for cUrvebAll reseArch, brings vision science stUdies to AU

Curveballs curve. Arthur Shapiro wants to be absolutely clear about that. They just don’t curve as much as we think they do, and he created a computer illustration to prove it.

“There’s good physics to show why curveballs break,” said Shapiro.

“The problem is there’s nothing about the curveball that says it should break so dra-matically. For someone standing at the plate, it has to do with the transition between looking at it directly and looking at it in the periphery.”

Shapiro, a vision science expert in the psychol-ogy department, won

the Neural Correlate Society’s Best Visual Illusion of the Year in May. The winning entry, created with research-ers from the University of Southern California, Dartmouth, and SUNY Optometry, is a computer- generated graphic that shows how the eye tricks the brain.

“Nothing about the curveball

says it should

break so dramatically.”

of undergraduates participated in a co-op or internship prior to graduation.

80%

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mArKeting stUdents crAft winning plAn for fAir trAde chocolAte compAny

Victory is sweet for a team of six busi-ness undergrads, who placed third in a national marketing

competition sponsored by Divine Chocolate.

The students in Kogod professor Sonya Grier’s marketing class created an innovative campaign to introduce Divine’s fair-trade chocolate bars to college students across the country.

The team wrote an executive summary, conducted market research, and drafted a

budget aimed at boost-ing long-term sales and educating consumers about Divine’s efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa through fair-trade business practices.


the Kogod school of business made

Business Week’s annual undergraduate rankings

this year for the first time ever, landing at no. 28.

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the school of international service’s international relations track ranked no. 8 among master’s programs

and landed at no. 17 on Foreign Policy magazine’s list of top undergraduate programs.

A pAtent thAt coUld chAnge the fAce of the internet

As an executive in residence at the Kogod School of Business, Nicole Melander is not only shaping the next generation of business minds, she’s changing how people use the Internet.

Melander and her research partner invented a way for computers to analyze the meaning of text on the Internet, not just the text itself. It’s part of Web 3.0, or the so-called “semantic Web” of the future.

Melander’s method—for which she received a patent in March— will herald a new age of searching the Internet. Now, she explains,

Internet search engines rely on keywords, a “rudimentary” tool for conducting searches. For example, if you Google “turkey,” the computer doesn’t know whether you want information on a country or a bird.

While the patent is owned by Oracle, for whom Melander worked when she completed the research 10 years ago—so Melander won’t

be getting rich from her invention—she said simply “receiving the patent was excit-ing because the process took so long, and also it was a validation of the research.” Knowing that her research will change the way people use the Internet and her students’ under-standing of the high-tech industry is plenty enriching, she said.

Melander’s invention

will herald a new age

of searching the Internet.

AU celebrAtes ninth trUmAn winner in nine yeArs

A stellar 3.86 GPA and an unwavering commitment to victims of domestic violence helped junior Kyrie Bannar land the presti-gious Harry S. Truman

Scholarship this year. A double major in the School of Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Science, Bannar is AU’s 16th Truman scholar and the 9th winner in as many years.

Bannar serves as direc-tor of AU’s Take Back the Night and Domes-tic Violence Awareness Programming. She also works as a court watch volunteer and on-call

advocate for Survivors and Advocates for Em-powerment, taking on late-night shifts with the Metropolitan Police Department in South-east Washington.

Bannar will receive $30,000 for graduate training in law and public policy.

16 AU students have won truman scholarships.

AU, nAtionAl Archives pArtner for reseArch

AU students and fac-ulty know the National Archives is one of the richest resources in Washington, D.C. It’s “a treasure trove of information for original research,” said Provost Scott Bass. “People from all over the world fly in to have that access.”

A new formal agree-ment between the National Archives and AU will encourage sig-nificant collaboration between the organiza-tions—it’s a partner-ship that provides remarkable opportuni-ties for AU, said Bass.

This five-year agree-

ment signed in Janu-ary by the National Archives and Records Administration ensures

the archives and AU will cooperate on teach-ing and research proj-ects, internships, field

studies, exhibitions, and other programs.

spA reseArcher sUggests breAstfed children hAve AcAdemic AdvAntAge

School of Public Affairs professor Joseph Sabia has found a likely con-nection between breast-feeding and academic achievement.

Published in the Journal of Human Capital, and noted in a Business Week story, the study compared the academic achieve-ment of siblings—one of whom was breastfed as an infant and one of whom was not. It also examined siblings who were breastfed for dif-ferent durations. Sabia found that breastfeed-ing was consistently associated with higher high school GPAs and

a greater likelihood of college attendance.

This research, the first of its kind to use sibling data, was conducted by Sabia and University of Colorado Denver pro-fessor Daniel Rees.

“Our study suggests that the cognitive and health benefits of breastfeeding may lead to important long-run educational benefits for children,” said Sabia, a public policy professor.


“ Our study suggests that the cognitive and health benefits of breastfeeding may lead to important long-run educational benefits for children.”

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new director to gUide women And politics institUte

Political scientist and author Jennifer Law-less has assumed the top position at AU’s Women and Politics Institute (WPI). The former Brown Univer- sity professor and author of It Takes a Can-didate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office fills the shoes of WPI founder and director Karen O’Connor, herself a renowned political scientist.

Since its founding in 2000, WPI has helped train hundreds of future woman lead-ers and produces important research on women’s politi-cal leadership. This year, for example, its researchers identified involvement in student government as a key “pathway to power” for women in Congress. According to a study of women currently serv-ing in the U.S. Con-gress, 53.7 percent of respondents served in some form of student government, in high school, college, or both.

“These statistics are significant to our understanding of the women entering the ‘political pipeline.’ Most pipeline research starts with state legislatures, but our original data indicate that student government is an important part of the profile of female hold-ers of higher office,” said WPI researcher Barbara Palmer.

Several students partic-ipated in the study. The findings were released in May.

“Student government is an impor-tant part of the profile of female

holders of higher

office.” About 47% of women in the senate and 63% of women in the house

responded to the survey.

AU students are the most politically active in the

nation, according to the Princeton Review’s 2009 guide to “the best 368 colleges.” AU was also

named one of the country’s best institutions for

undergraduate education.

todAy’s stUdents come towAshington

hoping to mAKe the world A better

plAce, And leAve AU

today’s students come to washington hoping

to make the world a better place and leave AU

with the tools and skills to do so.


todAy’s stUdents come towAshington

hoping to mAKe the world A better

plAce, And leAve AU

when John fletcher hUrst foUnded AU in 1893, he envisioned a university that

would foster a passion for public service; AU has always seen that mandate as the

core of its mission.

Hurst built AU on the spirit of service and, a century later, the university continues to

turn out good neighbors, motivated volunteers, fiery activists, and thoughtful change

agents who are leaving their mark in Washington and beyond. They are our legacy.

Active citizenshipframing AU’s contribution to society

>>>

three strategic initiatives guide AU as we continue to shape active citizens—men and women who wield

the tools of social justice and civic engagement on behalf of a better world:

even as the economy sputtered in 2008 and 2009, AU enrolled a

strikingly diverse and talented group of freshmen. this year, we

awarded more than $50 million in need-based grants to our racially,

ethnically, and socio-economically diverse student body, which

hails from all 50 states, the district of columbia, and 144 countries.

in the spring, department of performing Arts professor gail

humphries mardirosian traveled to prague on a fulbright

scholarship to direct a long-lost play written by prisoners at the

terezin concentration camp. she also taught acting at prague’s

Academy of the performing Arts, bringing to life an important

piece of world history for students from across europe as well as

for our own AU actors.

during the 2008–2009 academic year, 1,876 students

volunteered 83,422 hours of service at 169 sites across the

washington area in partnership with the national park service,

d.c. reads, habitat for humanity, locks of love, and other

community organizations. And AU’s spirit of service extends far

beyond our backyard: this year, for example, students conceived

a project that sent 500 boxes of girl scout cookies to troops in

iraq, including several AU alumni.

reflect And

vAlUe diversity

bring the world

to AU And AU to

the world

Act on oUr

vAlUes

throUgh sociAl

responsibility

And service

putting our values to work today and in the future

20 | Active citizenship


psychology stUdent gives voice to homeless

The Washington Post and Time don’t often quote interns. But Tony Taylor, CAS/BA ’09, isn’t a typical intern.

The psychology major with “a passion for poverty issues” began interning last summer at the National Coali-tion for the Homeless, which is supporting leg-islation that will make crimes against the homeless hate crimes.

To bolster the case, Taylor enlisted sociol-ogy professor Andrea Brenner as a mentor and designed a survey to research incidents of violence against homeless men and women. Then he spoke

to AU classes and en-listed volunteers to fan out to soup kitch-ens and shelters with the questions.

The findings: one in four homeless people in D.C. had been a victim of violent crime by the non-homeless.

Meanwhile, Penny Pagano, SOC/BA ’65, director of AU’s Office of Community and Local Government Relations and a veteran D.C. political insider, connected Taylor with some of the city’s key players.

He has since testified before the D.C. City Council, found a sup-porter in Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and earned his wings as a media spokesman for the homeless.

Taylor regularly spent 24 hours a week at his unpaid job, far more than the internship requirement—all while maintaining an honors- level GPA.

141

AU students volunteered several hours a week at

seven sites across the city for d.c. reads.

through the classes, internships, and projects

they took on during the 2008–2009 academic

year, our students have demonstrated that they

are capable of reaching—and exceeding—our

ambitious goals.

stUdents heAd to gAlApAgos for fresh looK At globAl problems

The students and professors who spent 10 days in May in the Galapagos Islands may be the next step in AU’s evolution.

Certainly they’re on the cutting edge of change. Shortly after the spring semester ended, a team-taught class, Practice of Envi-ronmentalism, flew to

the Galapagos Islands, where they traveled from island to island, filming and interview-ing in teams to create real-world messages for policy makers and the public.

Mark Petruniak, SIS/BA ’09, hoped to end up with a film he can enter in film festivals. “What we end up with isn’t just going to be for a grade,” he said. “I want to get it seen.”

Students prepared for their island adventure all semester by studying the natural history, biol-ogy, and ecology of

island environments; the global policy issues that affect how scientific issues can be addressed politically; and how those complex matters can be captured in ways that will encourage the public to listen.

“The Galapagos is a place where people

and nature are coming together in new ways for the first time,” said School of International Service (SIS) profes-sor Simon Nicholson, who led the class with faculty from the School of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences. “It’s been an isolated place. The

islands are known for being pristine. But now, there’s been such an in-credible tourist influx.”

Nicholson said the trip enabled students to take a fresh look at global problems and help contribute to the solution.

The Galapagos is a place where people and nature are coming together in new ways for the first time.

AU’s alternative breaks program was named the 2008 excellence

award gold medal winner by nAspA—student Affairs Administrators in higher

education for its service-learning and community service programs.


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dAncer stAges benefit for bUrmese cyclone victims

Arts management stu-dent Simone Jacobson had just returned from her first visit to her mother’s homeland in May 2008 when a cyclone roared into Burma, leaving 100,000 dead and missing.

Jacobson wanted to help, so she did what she does best: dance. Last September, she organized a benefit master class series with Washington’s top mod-ern dance company, CityDance Ensemble at the Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.

Some 150 dancers came to the workshop, which raised more than $2,000 for the Foundation for the People of Burma—enough to purchase 15 boats to replace those lost by village fishermen.

“What she’s doing is complicated, ambitious, and very necessary—not only for the people we’re helping, but for those who need to understand there is a need,” said CityDance artistic direc-tor Paul Emerson.

150

students participated in 11 alternative break trips

around the world.

The workshop

raised more than $2,000

for the Founda-

tion for the People of Burma—enough to purchase 15 boats.

1,876 students volunteered 83,422 hours at 169 sites

across washington; had they been paid, they would

have earned $1,689,295.

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reseArch on A little litter goes A long wAy to Aid science

Each bottle, bag, and fishing line picked up by 30 students on the banks of the Potomac one Saturday was one less threat to sea turtles, birds, and other wildlife.

It also advanced important research being undertaken by AU’s Kiho Kim and the Ocean Conservancy.

Kim sits on the Ocean Studies Board, part of the National Research Council, whose most recent report con-cluded that current measures to prevent and reduce marine debris are inadequate. The report, released to Congress last sum-mer, relied in part on a study by the Ocean Conservancy, using

data from volunteers doing beach cleanups between 1996 and 2006. Their findings: 80 percent of what ends up in the oceans comes from land, said Kim, a marine biologist.

To drive that point home, last fall Kim’s biology students combed the water’s edge by Fletcher’s

Boat House, a popular recreation area near Georgetown, as part of the 23rd annual International Coastal Cleanup. They gath-ered 60 bags of trash and inventoried their findings for the Ocean Conservancy.

Eighty percent of what ends up in the

oceans comes from land. the corporation for national and

community service named AU to the 2009 president’s higher education

community service honor roll.



mbA stUdents stUdy AgribUsiness in senegAl

In August 2008, three MBA candidates from the Kogod School of Business traveled half a world away to under- take a project that could better the lives of scores of West Afri-can farmers.

Krissa Lum, Joe Sidari, and Fadel Kane spent 10 days in Senegal, analyzing the tomato industry and its players.

“We wanted to tackle a current problem and

apply what we were learning in business school,” said Lum. “School is great be-cause it’s a controlled environment, but to do something in the real world and apply the skills we’ve learned was very attractive.”

In April, the team presented their find-ings to AU faculty and students. They recom-

mended the farmers utilize a local aid group to share best practices and work together to demand more money for their product from the tomato company.

But most importantly, the students shared their experience. They chronicled the unfore-seen costs, the hard work, and ultimately, the reward of getting out

of the classroom and using their business knowledge to improve someone else’s situation.

Sidari called the proj-ect the highlight of his grad school experience. “In 10 or 15 years, we may remember a few people or a few profes-sors, but this project is something we will always remember.”

665 students performed 12,000 hours of volunteer work at 49 sites throughout the d.c. area during the 2008 freshman

service experience.

School is a controlled

environment, but to apply skills in the

real world is very

attractive.

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peppers, peAs sproUt in commUnity gArden

A cornucopia of fruits and veggies sprouted in AU’s first community garden, a 100-square-foot swath of soil be-hind Nebraska Hall.

Tended by a group of green thumbs from EcoSense, a student en-vironmental club, the plot featured lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, peas, carrots, basil,

watermelon, and egg-plant. The perimeter was lined with mari-golds to fend off bugs.

“It’s important to eat locally as much as possible,” said Kate Pinkerton, one of the students who managed the project. “Knowing that you produced your own food and that you reduced your carbon footprint in the process is even better.”

lAcrosse plAyers, coAches pArt with hAir for A cAUse

In May, three AU la-crosse players and two of their coaches parted with their hair for Locks of Love, an orga-nization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from medical hair loss.

Juniors Amanda Ma-koid and Lisa Schaaf, sophomore Erin McDe-vitt, head coach Katie Woods, and assistant coach Courtney Farrell each cut off at least 10

inches of hair for the organization, which has helped more than

2,000 financially disad-vantaged youngsters since 1997.

Five students

and coaches each cut off

at least 10 inches

of hair.

“It’s important to eat locally as much as possible.”



stUdents develop deAth penAlty cUrricUlUm for high schoolers

Amanda Fulton and Molly Kenney’s senior honors project turned into so much more.

The pair, both 2009 graduates of the School of Public Affairs, used their research project to create a high school curriculum on the death penalty, which explores the history of capital punishment, methods of execution, and issues surrounding race, gender, and socio-economic status.

“Our goal in doing this was to help others

articulate an educated view of the issue,” said Fulton.

Their goal is playing out this fall, since their cur-riculum was adopted by the Washington College of Law’s Marshall-Bren-nan Constitutional Lit-eracy Project and is now being taught in a dozen high schools across the District of Columbia and Maryland.

The curriculum was incorporated into the constitutional law and juvenile justice course taught by Marshall-Brennan fellows, 45 second- and third-year law students. Founded in 1999 by WCL professor Jamin Raskin, the program recently expanded to 10 law schools across the country.

hoops coAch spends weeK with AmericA’s teAm in irAq

The “American” written across the jerseys of Jeff Jones’s players never meant so much.

For five days in Au-gust, AU’s head men’s basketball coach led a squad that played not in Bender Arena but in a sweltering gym at Camp Victory, a U.S. military base near Baghdad International Airport. His athletes: men and women of the armed forces fighting in Iraq.

Jones and seven other collegiate basketball

coaches directed teams of service men and women in a hoops tournament as part of Operation Hardwood, a USO-sponsored goodwill tour of the Middle East. Through coaching, meeting, and greeting military personnel and hand-ing out T-shirts and hats, Jones and his colleagues provided a much needed diversion to troops fighting on the front lines.

“It was a remarkable experience,” Jones said. “It really wasn’t about basketball, it was our attempt to say thank- you and show our appre-ciation to the men and women there.”

“It really wasn’t about

basketball, it was our

attempt to show our

appreciation to the men

and women there.”

132students participated

in the 2009 martin luther King Jr. day of service.

greAtness is within oUr grAsp—And we

wAnt the world to Know AboUt it.

greAtness is within

greatness is within our grasp—and we want

the world to know about it.


greAtness is within oUr grAsp—And we

wAnt the world to Know AboUt it.

greAtness is within

AU is on the verge of greAtness. Years of sound financial stewardship have

strengthened our foundation and our reputation, enabling us to attract the resources

and faculty to help shape the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and doers.

From our world-class faculty to our dedicated alumni to our talented students,

AU is poised for prominence. And the physical structures, virtual presence, and

financial safeguards put in place this year are the building blocks for the future.

A soUnd foUndAtionframing AU’s position in higher education

>>>

three strategic initiatives will enable AU to garner recognition from the higher education community—

and beyond—for excellence that has been building for decades:

dean factor, Kogod ’87, inherited more than a famous name from

his great-grandfather, makeup legend max factor. the smashbox

ceo also acquired an entrepreneurial spirit that helped his cosmetics

company blossom into a $200 million per year business. in november,

factor, a member of the Kogod Advisory council, shared his secrets

to success with students as part of the Alan meltzer ceo leadership

series, sponsored by another AU alum, insurance mogul Alan meltzer,

spA ’73.

sensing deteriorating conditions in the credit markets at the end of

2007, AU’s office of finance and treasurer launched an overhaul of

outstanding debt in an effort to reduce our market exposure. this

debt restructuring will enable us to weather this period of global

economic uncertainty better than many of our peer institutions.

in march, AU launched our award-winning web site, featuring a

virtual tour of the campus, a wiki, a real-time newswire, and other

web 2.0 features to share news about academics, athletics, the

arts, and more. the site garnered top honors at July’s eduweb

conference, an annual gathering of it specialists from around

the world.

engAge AlUmni

in the life of

the University

encoUrAge

innovAtion

And high

performAnce

win recognition

And distinction

putting excellence to work today and in the future

30 | A soUnd foUndAtion


grants won by our faculty, awards garnered by

our students, and accomplishments of our alumni

signify others’ recognition of the abilities and

talents that abound at AU.

psycholo-gists lAnd nih grAnt to stUdy drUg Addiction

A five-year renewal of a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable AU psychologists Stan Weiss and David Kearns to continue their re-search on environmen-tal stimuli that elicit cravings in drug users.

Weiss and Kearns, CAS/PhD ’05, who have been working on the research for more than a decade, saw a 60 percent increase in funding with the re-newal of the R01 grant, NIH’s largest and most competitive award.

“In a sense, we’re the 100:1 long shot in the Kentucky Derby,” said Kearns of the $300,000 grant, which

is frequently awarded to Ivy League universi-ties and large research institutions. “We’re the stable with two horses, competing against all the big players.”

Up to this point, the pair has studied drug-seeking behaviors in rats and tested treat-ments to curb their

cocaine addiction. They’ve also examined how environmental conditions can influ-ence the degree to which the rats will crave the drugs.

Now the researchers will focus on “deepening the extinction” of these environmental cues, thereby eliminating

cravings. They also hope to partner with clini-cians and translate their research for human use.

“There’s no effective treatment for co-caine—that says a lot about the power of ad-diction,” said Kearns. “Finding a treatment is sort of like the search for the Holy Grail.”

“In a sense, we’re the 100:1 long shot in the Kentucky Derby.”

new web site is front door of AU

Virtual tours. Web 2.0. The language of today’s high school and college students has a technological twang that could leave all but the most tech savvy a step behind.

But AU now speaks the students’ language.

On March 30, the university launched a redesigned Web site that features a virtual tour of the campus, a master events calendar, and other Web 2.0 fea-tures. The site serves as the university’s vir-tual town square where people can share news, applaud successes, or gather in a crisis.

In July, the site took home two prestigious eduStyle Higher-ed Web Awards for Best Overall Web Site and Best Use of Interactive Media for its Discover AU virtual tour.

Snagging the people’s choice and judges’ awards in both cat-egories at the annual eduWeb Conference in Chicago was confirma-tion that AU’s new Web strategy is a winning one.

More than 5,000 pages were created or rede-signed and migrated for the March launch. The project required well over 25,000 hours work by more than 125 AU staff members in 20 departments across the university.

The site took home two

prestigious eduStyle

Higher-ed Web Awards

for Best Overall Web

Site and Best Use of Interactive

Media. more than 5,000

pages were created or redesigned for the march 2009 launch of

AU’s new web site.

125 staff members in 20 departments worked more than 25,000 hours

on the new web site.



And the oscAr goes to . . .

In June, Lauren DeAngelis, SOC/MFA ’08, became the second AU filmmaker in two years to win a Student Academy Award for her documentary, A Place to Land.

DeAngelis, an online writer and editor at U.S. News & World Report, won a bronze medal and $2,000 at the June 13 ceremony in Los Angeles. Her 30-minute thesis film chronicles the compli-cations and challenges of caring for parrots in captivity.

Last year, Laura Wa-ters Hinson, MFA ’07, also a graduate of the School of Communica-tion, won a student Oscar for As We Forget, a documentary about reconciliation efforts in Rwanda.

DeAngelis is the

second AU filmmaker

in two years to win a Student

Academy Award.

95% of the undergraduate class

of 2008 are proud to be an AU graduate.

Ph

oto

by M

att

Peti

t

tv execUtive And AlUmnUs helps stUdents mAKe mArK on film

Washington is a media town, and AU is in the center of it.

The District “has become the capital of nonfiction production in the country,” said Michael Cascio, SOC/MA ’73. In the future, AU will play an even bigger role in the world of ground-break-ing, award-winning documentary films.

Cascio knows the industry well. A senior vice president at the National Geographic Channel, he was a top executive at Animal Planet, created major shows for A&E, and helped launch the History Channel. In September, he also picked up an Emmy for Outstanding Science, Technology, and Na-ture Programming for National Geographic’s Five Years on Mars.

And now, he’s sharing his expertise with stu-dents from the School of Communication.

Cascio speaks regularly at a class taught by two-time Oscar winner Russell Williams, SOC/BA ’74, and at Center for Environmental Filmmaking events. On the School of Com-

munication Dean’s Advisory Counsel, his insider’s view of this fast-changing field helps keep the school on the cutting edge. He also mentors a student each semester, meeting one-on-one, looking at film footage, and helping each one make contacts.

“AU is the best-kept secret in the industry,” he says. “It’s amazing to me how many peo-ple in major decision-making positions come from AU.”

“It’s amazing

to me how many people

in major decision-

making positions

come from AU.”

AU’s endowment has grown from $18 million to $300 million in the

last 20 years.



eAgles soAr to second pAtriot leAgUe chAmpionship

This year saw AU’s sec-ond consecutive Patriot League championship and the men’s basket-ball team’s return to the Big Dance, where it once again scared the daylights out of a national powerhouse, earning admiration from basketball fans around the country.

AU defeated Holy Cross before a stand-ing-room-only crowd of 3,123 fans in March,

earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in a row. Just like its 2008 trip to Birmingham, Alabama, AU was a major story in Phila-delphia, where its presence opened the eyes of even casual bas-ketball fans who might not have known much about the school prior to its visit.

Although the 14th-seeded Eagles fell to Villanova, 80-67, in the first round of the tourney, the entire campus community ral-lied around the league champs, staging a pep rally in Bender Arena

to see them off. Some Eagles fans, sleep-ing bags and snacks in hand, even waited for up to 10 hours for tickets to the East Regional matchup at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. After the game, national commentators praised AU’s efforts and the character of its players.

“I’m proud of their effort . . . our kids came to compete and they

did exactly that,” said head coach Jeff Jones.

The whole nation took notice of their play—and of the school they represented.

National commentators praised AU’s

efforts and the character of its players.

6 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 gpA in the

fall 2008 semester.

Kogod expAnsion open for bUsiness

This spring, a $14 mil-lion Kogod expansion opened its doors, more than doubling the size of AU’s business school.

The state-of-the-art facility is the first structure built entirely with philanthropic

dollars, including a siz-able gift from Robert and Arlene Kogod, for whom AU’s business school is named. More than 25 donors funded the expansion.

The building includes the Financial Ser-vices and Informa-tion Technology Lab, which will help prepare students for the rigors of Wall Street.

Equipped with a trad-ing wall that features a stock ticker and news feed, the lab boasts 37 workstations loaded with 13 software pack-ages, including a suite donated by Thomson Financial that delivers real-time financial and banking data.

The oversized screens make lighter work of spreadsheet data on programs like Excel and SPSS and ease the chore of building Web pages on Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Jill Klein, information technology executive in residence, expects

students who master the tools packed into the virtual trading floor will gain the skills and confidence that will land them their first jobs and internships.

Klein says having an in-house lab is also a boon to productivity and student-teacher relationships, “I know my students are down there, so it gives me the opportunity to work with them more outside of class.”

The Kogod expansion is the first campus structure built entirely with philan-thropic dollars.

more than 25 donors funded the new $14 million

Kogod school of business expansion.



Arbor dAy foUndAtion lAUds AU

AU is doing its part to improve Washington’s tree canopy and bolster the city’s environmen-tal efforts.

In April, AU was designated a 2009 Tree Campus USA University by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to campus forestry man-agement and environ-mental stewardship. AU is the first educational institution in Washing-ton to earn the honor.

AU’s sustainability initiatives garnered another “green” honor this year: the EPA’s 2008–2009 College and University Green Power Challenge award.

The challenge tracks and recognizes colle-giate athletic confer- ences in the U.S. with the highest combined green power purchases in the nation. AU was among only 22 universi-ties nationwide—and two in the D.C. area—to earn the recognition.

AU boasts the only university arboretum in the district of columbia.

AU scholAr-Athletes score high-est gpAs in nAtion

At AU, the discipline and teamwork that student-athletes ex-hibit on the field help them win big in the classroom. Our Eagles constantly strive for excellence, as both scholars and athletes.

This year, the men’s swimming and diving team posted a 3.54 GPA in the spring semes-ter, the highest team

grade-point average of all Division I programs. The women’s program placed 14th in the na-tion with a 3.44 GPA.

Based on their aca-demic accomplishments, both teams were named Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of Amer-ica’s Scholar-Athlete Teams for the 29th consecutive semester.

And, for the second year in a row, AU’s wrestling squad at-tained the highest GPA of all Division I wrestling programs and has been crowned the

National Wrestling As-sociation’s Champions of the Classroom. AU achieved a combined GPA of 3.28, besting Harvard, Stanford, and Duke, which fin-ished second through fourth, respectively.

“It is a testament to the hard work and

dedication that our student-athletes put into their studies and the sport year-round,” said wrestling head coach Mark Cody.

70 student-athletes were named to the 2009 winter-

spring patriot league Academic honor roll,

earning a 3.2 gpA or higher.


Discipline and team-work help

students athletes win

big in the classroom.


historiAn’s booK Among finAlists for prestigioUs literAry AwArd

History professor Allan Lichtman’s 2008 book, White Protestant Nation, was among five final-ists for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award. Dubbed “deeply researched yet

. . . spiritedly written,” the book details the origins, evolution, and triumph of modern conservatism.

Lichtman always has been enthralled by the history of politics, and he wrote the book to fill what he considered a “hole” in the research on the topic.

“Most historians tend to be liberal, and they’ve written exten-

sively about liberals and even radicals, but there had been very little written about con-servatives,” he said. “I felt that by writing the history of the last 100 years of conservatism, you almost are writing all of American po-litical history because conservative ideas and policies and programs and politics touch upon everything.”

94%of AU faculty have

the highest degree in their field.

AU snAgs $2.4m Knight foUndAtion grAnt

J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journal-ism moved last year from the University of Maryland to its new home at AU’s School of Communication. Here, it will expand its opera-tions thanks to a $2.4 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“Our new affiliation is a good fit for J-Lab’s mission, to help trans-

form journalism for today and reinvent it for tomorrow,” said Jan Schaffer, J-Lab’s execu-tive director.

At AU, J-Lab will use the Knight grant to fund 16 “New Voices” citizen-media projects; build a community media toolkit to help foundations fund, vet, support, and measure local media projects; and create 8–10 Knight Citizen News Network learning modules.

These innovative proj-ects are geared to train journalists, new media

entrepreneurs, and citizens to use digital technologies to develop new ways of participat-ing in public life.

“Our new affiliation is a good fit for J-Lab to help transform journalism for today and reinvent it for tomorrow.”

University AdministrAtion

Cornelius M. Kerwin, President Scott A. Bass, ProvostTeresa Flannery, Executive Director, University Communications and MarketingGail S. Hanson, Vice President of Campus LifeMary E. Kennard, Vice President and General Counsel Thomas J. Minar, Vice President of Development and Alumni RelationsDonald L. Myers, Vice President of Finance and TreasurerDavid E. Taylor, Chief of Staff

Kay J. Mussell, Interim Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Academic AffairsRichard M. Durand, Dean, Kogod School of Business Louis W. Goodman, Dean, School of International ServiceClaudio M. Grossman, Dean, Washington College of LawLarry Kirkman, Dean, School of CommunicationWilliam M. LeoGrande, Dean, School of Public AffairsPeter Starr, Dean, College of Arts and SciencesLinda Bolden-Pitcher, University RegistrarWilliam A. Mayer, University Librarian

boArd of trUstees

Gary M. Abramson,* ChairmanJeffrey A. Sine,* Vice Chair Gina F. Adams*Stephanie M. Bennett-Smith Richard BeyerPatrick Butler*Edward R. Carr*Jack C. Cassell*Gary D. Cohn*Seth D. Cutter*Pamela M. Deese*Jerome King Del PinoDavid R. Drobis*Marc N. Duber*Fuad El-Hibri Hani M. S. Farsi*

C. A. Daniel Gasby Thomas A. GottschalkGisela B. Huberman*C. Nicholas Keating Jr.*Cornelius M. Kerwin*Margery Kraus*Charles H. Lydecker* Robyn Rafferty Mathias*Alan L. Meltzer*Regina L. Muehlhauser*Arthur J. Rothkopf Mark L. Schneider John R. Schol Neal A. Sharma*Stephen Silvia Virginia Stallings

* alumna or alumnus of American University

40 | University AdministrAtion And boArd of trUstees

nondiscriminAtion notice

American University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, disabil-ity, source of income, place of residence or business, and certain veteran status in its programs and activities. The following persons, located at 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016, have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the university’s nondiscrimination policies:

Dean of Students, 202-885-3300Executive Director for Human Resources, 202-885-2451Provost, 202-885-2127

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