Embracing Change

American University Rising to the Challenge

Taking you through key moments in American University’s history, this timeline highlights the University’s actions in the face of complex and urgent challenges throughout its history and examines how the University has adapted to meet the needs of the changing world. Change, whether influenced by student-led actions, faculty innovation, the needs of an increasingly diverse community, or values-driven ideals, has pushed the University forward since its inception.


1893

American University is chartered by Congress and designed as a co-educational institution. Its first class in 1914 included 5 women out of 28 students.

1898

Washington College of Law is incorporated. It is the first law school in the world founded by women (Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett) - and the first one with a female dean of a law school in the United States (Mussey). The school began as a part-time evening school for white students only.

1915

Of the first five American University fellows, one is an African-American doctoral candidate, John W.E. Bowen, Jr., and one is a woman, Mary L.T. Morse. While these fellows were selected from a pool of applicants by and received money from American University to study elsewhere, they did not attend nor earn degrees American University.

1917

American University offers the government use of its still unfinished campus for army training. The government establishes two separate camps, Camp American University and Camp Leach. The campus is mainly utilized by the Engineer Officers’ Reserve Corps, who establishes a training camp on the university grounds. In addition, the campus is home to camouflagers, foresters, and the science laboratories of the Bureau of Mines. Camp AU is the birthplace of American chemical warfare, developing gases and apparatuses to be used on the front. The Gas and Flame Battalion (“Hell Fire” Battalion) is organized as part of the 30th Engineers.

1918

From 1918 until 1933, international students enroll in the graduate school with 12 countries represented.

L to R - Ellen Spencer Mussey; Emma Gillett; Washington College of Law lecture announcement; John W.E. Bowen, Jr.; Mary L.T. Morse; WWI army tents occupying AU campus; WWI army buildings on AU campus; 6th Battalion 20th Engineers (Forestry) Camp AU

1920

AU’s School of Diplomacy, Jurisprudence and Citizenship opens.

1921

The first international graduate students earned degrees, representing 12 different countries.

1925

75 undergraduate students enroll at AU. The first undergraduate class is made up of 34 men; 41 women; 2 international students.

1927

The AUCOLA yearbook lists several women professors and administrators (8 out of 26). Chew Lian Chan (Singapore) is awarded the first degree to international undergraduate.

1929

Dr. Ernst Correll is appointed Foreign Student Advisor.

1933

Faculty and students gather on April 27 to “wield a rake for AU’s sake” during the University’s first Arbor Day celebration.

1934

In response to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, the School of Public Affairs is created to train 80 promising young federal government employees in downtown D.C. By 1937, its enrollment had grown to more than 1,000 students, and it quickly expanded its mission to include undergraduate and graduate degrees.

1936

Mrs. Thelma D. Ackiss (later Perry) is the first African-American student admitted to study at the University. She was enrolled for years 1936-1938, and had an approved dissertation titled "The Supreme Court and the Negro", but she did not complete her degree at AU. In 1944, AU President Paul Douglass writes “The American University has been accepting colored students in its School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs since September 1936. During the current academic year, twenty-nine colored students have been enrolled in its undergraduate division and thirty-five colored students in the graduate division.”

1937

The first twelve Hall of Nations fellows are enrolled at AU. The fellowships are for “outstanding graduate students, men or women, from foreign countries, who wish to come to Washington to study the Social Sciences.” Gus Welch is selected as the Director of Athletics and Football Coach. He left the University in 1939. Welch was an Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa) man and a graduate of Carlisle Indian School and Dickinson School of Law. He was a well known athlete, even playing quarterback alongside Jim Thorpe and coached by Pop Warner while at Carlisle. He was also a professional track and field athlete and football player, a WWI Veteran, a collegiate athletic director and football coach at several universities, and operated a summer camp in later life.

1939

Following the enactment of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws in Germany, American University (under a Rockefeller Foundation and the Oberlaender Trust grant) sponsor bringing Drs. Ernst Posner, Fritz Karl Mann, and Ludwig M. Homberger to the University and the United States. Catheryn Seckler-Hudson, Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, Graduate Division of the School of Public Affairs, becomes the first woman to become full professor.

L to R - Chew Lian Chan; Arbor Day campus cleanup 1934; Arbor Day campus cleanup 1937; Arbor Day campus cleanup 1937; Arbor Day campus cleanup 1937; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the 1934 inauguration of AU's Chancellor Gray; Memo explaining admission of Mrs. Thelma D. Ackiss; Hall of Nations 1939; Gus Welch; 1938-1939 AU football team coached by Gus Welch; Ernst Posner; Catheryn Seckler-Hudson

1940

AU sponsors the Institute on World Organization.

1941

As during the First World War, American University offers its facilities again to the government upon entering World War II. The campus is used by a variety of military groups including WAVES, SPARS, the Red Cross, the Armed Forces Institute, the Chesapeake and Potomac Communications School, the Navy Communications School, and the Navy Bomb Disposal School.

1944

AU ranks 11th in international student enrollment with 109 students.

1945

The first Black PhD is Williston H. Lofton (Sociology). His dissertation is titled "The Development of Public Education for Negroes in Washington, D.C. : A Study of 'Separate by Equal Accommodations.'"

1947

The Washington Semester Program begins. WSP provides college students from the US and around the world with internships and experiential courses that align professional development with academic coursework. WSP is the nation's oldest and largest experiential learning program. The Pan Ethnon Society is founded to promote friendship and understanding among international students. Continuations of the group have been operating under different names since.

1953

After merging with AU in 1949, Washington College of Law graduates its first African-American student that we know of - James Taylor of Prince George's County, Maryland. WCL had previously graduated a foreign-born student - Josefa Larroque Harriague of Uruguay in 1905, and Indigenous student Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin in 1914.

1957

President Dwight Eisenhower speaks at the school's groundbreaking ceremony in 1957. Following Eisenhower's call to encourage higher-education to embrace international affairs, American University proposed the School of International Service to serve the global community. SIS opens in 1959 and enrolls it's first class of 85 students representing 36 countries.

L to R - Red Cross booth at AU; Red Cross students on quad; Secretary Forrestal makes inspection of Navy Bomb Disposal School; Training at Navy Bomb Disposal School; 1948-1949 Washington Semester Program; 1951-1952 Washington Semester Program; 1962 Pan Ethnon; President Eisenhower at 1957 SIS groundbreaking; President Eisenhower giving the 1957 commencement address; SIS building (now the East Quad Building)

1961

American University hosts the National Conference on Youth Service Abroad. The conference is sponsored by the National Student Association, and has great support from American University administrators and students. During the conference, approximately 500 representatives from student and youth groups from over 300 schools from over 45 states gather at AU to discuss the feasibility and seriousness of the Peace Corps. The conference consisted of forums, panels, workshops, and speakers including keynote speaker Congressman Henry S. Reuss (D-Wisc.), who originally proposed the Peace Corps to Congress; Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps; Senator John Cooper (R-Ken.); and Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.) The conference receives much national attention, and is considered a great success. Since, American University continually ranks among the top Peace Corps Volunteer producing school.

1963

On June 10th, 1963 President John F. Kennedy delivers his famous commencement address to an audience of students, parents and faculty in the midst of the Cold War. Titled, "Strategy for Peace," this speech called on the Soviet Union to work with the United States towards solutions for peace and a nuclear test ban treaty specifically. He believed this type of treaty might prevail and help reduce tensions and the specter of nuclear war at that time.

1964

AU has over 600 international students from 86 nations enrolled.

1965

The first African-American member of Board of Trustees - Bishop Prince A. Taylor, Jr. (President of the Council of Bishops of the Methodist Church).

1966

Norman Early is the first elected Black president of Student Association.

1967

A handful of Black students on AU’s campus form one of the first Black student unions based at a predominantly white university. They call themselves the Organization of African and Afro-American Students at the American University, or OASATAU. Initial efforts focus on “curriculum reform, more and better Black representation in social and political activities on and off campus, cultural awareness, Black consciousness, and pride in Black heritage.” American University holds its first International Week. Sushil Verma chairs the committee, and other members include Petra Kelly, Sharon Lambeth, Pap Secka, Art Lieber, William Sharpless, and Holly Kristoffersen.

1968

American University students are regularly recognized as some of the most politically active students across the nation. In 1968, the Kennedy Political Union (KPU) was founded as a non-partisan, student-run, student-funded, lecture series. By inviting speakers from all ends of the political spectrum to campus, KPU engages AU students, faculty, and staff. Over the years, KPU has established a culture of service and responsibility by broadening interest in social and political activities on the college campus. The range of KPU guest speakers reflects AU’s commitment to value diversity across campus. American University begins the International Communication program. The Frederick Douglass Scholarship is established. Like many other Black scholarship programs across the country, this developed shortly after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. With the admittance of the program's first twenty-five students in the fall of 1968 "the University made a commitment, that twenty-five disadvantaged students from 'the District of Columbia would be admitted each year for four years,' and that the program would renew itself at the end of each four year cycle." The program is restricted to graduates of DC high schools, and has counterparts at other local universities.

1969

The first International Student Conference is held. American University introduces interdisciplinary courses in the late 1960s. One of the first was called “University and Revolution,” a three credit hour independent research course. This course was extremely popular and ran for two years. 250 students enrolled in its first semester. In small, seminar style classes, students discussed topics including the Black student in the university revolution, the individual spiritual awareness and revolutionary social vision, the effects of social revolution on the structures and functions of the contemporary university and the university in revolution centering on the university in the U.S. A volunteer faculty member moderated each of the sections. About once a month the entire class came together for a guest speaker. The Kennedy Political Union provided funding for honoraria for a diverse array of guest speakers including Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panther Party, Ralph Abernathy from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, student leaders Ewart Brown (Howard) and Mark Rudd (Columbia), and conservatives Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley. Students enrolled in this pass/fall course had to submit a research paper on their seminar topic. During the second year, the course delved into specific themes such as “White Student Movement and Black Movement: A Contrast and Comparison.” In the fall of 1969, the course leaders Gary and James Weaver, published a compilation of the lectures from the previous year.

L to R - National Conference on Youth Service Abroad program; President Kennedy's 1963 commencement address; Bishop Prince A. Taylor, Jr.; Norman Early; OASATAU; "Black Men Lost" Eagle article about OASATAU; 1967 International Weekend Committee; Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. at AU, 1968 KPU speaker; Dick Gregory at AU, 1969 KPU speaker; University and Revolution Eagle article; The University and Revolution book cover; Frederick Douglass Scholarship Eagle article

1970

The first Earth Day is celebrated by more than 20 million Americans. AU's festivities include a lecture by Rep. Brock Adams (D-WA), a screening of Noise: A New Pollutant, outdoor rock and folk concerts, and stream cleanup at Four Mile Run in Northern Virginia. AU's first student ecology group was formed. Before becoming the first Black woman to run for President, Shirley Chisholm delivers a KPU speech about the Black protest movements in her 1970 speech. She was the first woman speaker, and first Black woman speaker.

1971

American University students form the Women's Liberation group.

1972

The first group of American University gay students forms off-campus. American University students establish the Women's Center in MGC, which consolidates service and safe space.

1973

The first year long overseas study program launches – American University Year Abroad in Israel. The first African American woman VP is Lenora Cole, 1973-1977 (VP Student Life).

1974

The International Development (ID) program is established. For more than 40 years, students in the program have strived to improve opportunities for the world's poor and disenfranchised.

1979

The first group of scholars from the People’s Republic of China arrives as part of a formal exchange program between U.S. and mainland China.

1980

American University Gay Community (AUGC) is established “to provide a sense of community, friendship, and openness among the Gay and Lesbian students, faculty, and staff.”

1982

AU establishes a Minor in Women Studies.

1986

AU’s World Capitals Study Abroad program begins.

1989

AU’s Human Diversity League: A Union of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Supportive Students is formed. It states four main goals: 1) provide a feeling of unity, 2) provide information (including Aids information), 3) support social life, and 4) instill a sense of pride, self-worth, and self-understanding among members. AU begins a recycling program, in accordance with DC law.

L to R - Eagle article about first Earth Day; Earth Day poster; Eagle article about first student ecology club; Shirley Chisholm at AU, 1970 KPU speaker; AU women occupying the President's Building to protest lack of women's health services on campus; Eagle article about the first Gay AU student group; VP Lenora Cole in her office; Constitution of the American University Gay Community 1980

1990

Civil Rights activist Julian Bond is appointed as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Residence in SPA.

1993

At American University's Centennial Convocation, President Bill Clinton speaks about the importance of American leadership during times of global change. In 1997, Clinton returns to campus to deliver his "Back to Work" speech. He focuses on issues of equal access to education, national education standards and government efficiency. WINS (Washington Internship for Native Students) is created. Participating students gain professional work experience through interning at a federal agency or private firm, and take academic courses focusing on Native American public policy concerns.

1994

In October, 600 students, faculty, and staff participate in the inaugural Campus Beautification Day. Lesbian and Gay Faculty and Staff Committee send a memorandum to the Dean of Students expressing support of the proposed Lesbian and Gay student center. Transgender students are mentioned in the memorandum but not in the name of the center.

1995

First students enroll in Women and Gender Studies major. MA program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution is created.

1996

The Master of Science in Environmental Science degree is first offered by CAS.

2000

SIS establishes the Global Environmental Politics program, which features a dual-degree partnership with the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica via the Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (NRSD) degree.

2001

The GLBTA Resource Center sends a memo to AU Administrators called “Administrative Support of Transgender Students, Faculty, and Staff at American University" that outlines issues faced by trans students at AU and proposes some trans-affirming policies.

2003

American University formally dedicates its campus to become an arboretum named “American University Arboretum and Gardens.” Mark Feist (assistant director of facilities management), Mike Mastrota (landscape architect), and H. Paul Davis (landscape architect), pushed the boundaries with their holistic and sustainable approaches that turned AU’s campus into a public garden and an arboretum.

2005

The Center for Environmental Filmmaking is founded. Film topics have ranged from air pollution and the disparity of regulatory enforcement, effects of tourism in the Galapagos Islands, the impact of private development on forests, to plastic pollution and ocean sustainability.

2006

The first DC Metro Area GLBT Studies Symposium is hosted by American University.

2008

American University makes its first climate commitment, alongside 500 other higher education institutions.

2009

The Office of Sustainability is created to meet the university's goal of "acting on our values of social responsibility, service, and an active pursuit of sustainability."

L to R - Julian Bond at AU, 1984 KPU speaker; President Bill Clinton at AU in 1993; President Bill Clinton at AU in 1997; WINS brochure 1997; Campus Beautification Day 1994; Campus Beautification Day 1994; Women and Gender Studies Newsletter 1994; campus circa 2013; campus circa 2013

2010

AU's Zero Waste Policy is established to protect and restore the environment and protect and enhance the health of the University community. The Center for Environmental Policy is established. President Barrack Obama's speech at American University's School of International Service serves as a landmark in immigration politics. His call for comprehensive reform of immigration came at the end of a series of meetings with some of the largest Hispanic organizations in the nation including National Council of La Raza and League of the United Latin American Citizens. In the new School of International Service building (SIS) at AU, this speech continued the tradition set by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower who participated in the 1957 groundbreaking for the original SIS building. Obama returns to campus in 2015 to deliver his Iran Nuclear Deal speech.

2011

The School of International Service is the first building on campus to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

2012

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion opens, having been created as a part of AU's 2008 Strategic Plan. Specifically, the Center works to achieve Transformational Goal #5, which states that "American University embraces diversity in its broadest sense, including diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, nationality, disability, socioeconomic standing, and intellectual viewpoint. The university views diversity as an essential component of the educational experience of our students and an important indicator of our success in adapting to the dramatic demographic shifts that will occur in the decades ahead."

2014

AU issues its first sustainability plan. 50% of campus power from solar energy.

2017

Sylvia M. Burwell is inaugurated as American University's 15th president and the first woman to serve as president. Taylor Dumpson is the first Black women student government president. The first full length “Transgender Studies” course is taught at AU.

2018

AU is the first US university, the first urban campus, and the first research university in the US to reach carbon neutrality. This goal is achieved two years ahead schedule by using innovative strategies to reduce our overall emissions, use renewable energy, and offset the small remainder. The Anti-Racist Research and Policy Center opens. The idea was envisioned by its founding director, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. AU's Slavery Working Group convenes to study the influence of slavery on American University and how the land AU occupies was used prior to the University's founding. Until 1690, this land was inhabited by the Piscataway peoples. Between 1713 and 1861, the land developed and worked by enslaved people. The Working Group also investigated AU founder Bishop John Fletcher Hurst's and his family's participation in chattel slavery.

2019

Inclusive Bathroom Mapping Project is organized.

2020

AU eliminates all public fossil fuel investments from its endowment.

2021

There are 2,282 international students enrolled from 119 countries. AU releases a new five-year sustainability plan.

L to R - President Barack Obama at AU 2015; SIS green roof; CDI graphic explaining merger; SIS solar panels; Inauguration of President Sylvia Burwell in 2017; Office of Sustainability carbon neutrality graphic; Murdock House image used in the Slavery Working Group report; Inclusive Bathroom Mapping graphic; International students at AU


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