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Categories: Universities and colleges in Washington, DC | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools | Space-grant universities | Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church American UniversityAmerican 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.
HistoryAU 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. CampusThe 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 campusAmerican 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:
Former buildings include:
Tenley campusThis 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.
Public radio broadcastsAmerican 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 programAmerican 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 AbroadAmerican 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. TechnologyIn 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
Notable professors
Notable AlumniPolitics and Government
Entertainment and Media
Business
Literature
AU Trivia
AU in Fiction
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Categories: Universities and colleges in Washington, DC | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools | Space-grant universities | Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church |
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