A 7-Year Strategic Plan
2019-2025
American University’s seven-year plan builds on our legacy of leadership, scholarship, and service and focuses on the challenges facing our community and higher education, as it boldly embraces opportunities for greater impact.
Five Years of Impact: A Look at AU's Changemaking Work
Our plan is organized into three strategic themes — scholarship, learning, and community — with key imperatives to guide our focused efforts.
Scholarship
Scholarship is central to AU’s future. We will develop areas of strategic focus that draw on fields where AU already excels, where our expertise crosses schools and disciplinary boundaries, and that hold promise for the future. We will establish new ways to support the work of faculty across a range of disciplines.
Learning
Learning is at the core of AU. As we prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities, we continue to embrace the highest-quality teaching, while exploring new frontiers of learning and scholarship. We will expand opportunities for lifelong learning experiences that are more flexible, personalized, and accessible.
Community
AU is an institution deeply rooted in community — locally, nationally, and globally — and when our community grows stronger, so do we. Over the next seven years, our strategic efforts will expand and strengthen our ties to communities, both internal and external.
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Mission
- To advance knowledge, foster intellectual curiosity, build community, and empower lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
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Vision
- American University is a leading student-centered research university where passionate learners, bold leaders, engaged scholars, innovators, and active citizens unleash the power of collaborative discovery. We partner with key organizations in the Washington, DC, region, and around the globe to better the human condition, learn from a vast array of experiences and internships, create meaningful change, and address society’s current and emerging challenges.
Values
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Integrity
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Excellence
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Human dignity
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Community
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Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusive excellence
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Free inquiry and
seeking truth -
Impact
Measuring Success
Built on AU's established strengths, the success of the new plan will be measured across four impact areas:
- Improve retention and graduation rates
- Achieve operational excellence throughout AU
- Enhance our reputation
- Diversify and grow revenue
Building on Our Strengths: Scholarship
Powerful Conversations
A university-wide initiative, the Sine Institute will leverage the university’s intersection of multiple sectors and industries to convene powerful conversations. The Institute will engage each of AU's schools and experts throughout campus – including the School of Public Affairs, School of International Service, School of Communication, Kogod School of Business, and the Washington College of Law – to fuel and facilitate ongoing dialogue and debate to gain insights and engender knowledge. Drawing on their expertise in government, politics, journalism, nonprofits, and business, Sine Institute Fellows will uncover new policy solutions and problem-solving methods informed by evidence and a cross-sector perspective.
A PDF of the printed plan is available on the myAU portal with a valid AU login.