On reports that American University of Afghanistan in Kabul is under attack with gunfire and explosions heard there on Wednesday, here’s a brief look at the university and it’s student body.
What is the American University of Afghanistan?
According to its website, "The American University of Afghanistan is Afghanistan's only private, not-for-profit, non-partisan and co-educational university. It opened its doors in 2006 with an initial enrollment of 50 students.
How many students?
AU has an enrollment of more than 1,700 full and part-time students. It has produced 29 Fulbright Scholars, the school’s website said. It has partnered with Stanford University, Georgetown University and the University of California, among other schools worldwide.
What is the school’s history?
Again, from its website, a brief history of the school:
2003: In an address to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), U.S. First Lady Laura Bush announces support for educational initiatives in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad gives strong support for establishing the American University of Afghanistan.
2005: On a five-acre site that is part of the land lease, two buildings heavily damaged in combat between Afghan and Soviet forces in the 1980s and the resulting factional war are repaired for office and classroom use.
2006: In March, AUAF admits its first group of 53 students to its Foundation Studies Program, designed to strengthen student's English language and study skills. In September, the first credit-bearing undergraduate courses are offered, along with the first adult professional level programs.
2008: In June, U.S. First Lady Laura Bush announces $42 million in funding from USAID over five years. By the end of the year, enrollment in the undergraduate and Foundation Studies programs reaches almost 350 students.
2011: The university opens the spring semester in January with its first convocation. Enrollment rises to 789 students, including 21 percent women. In May, the university holds its first graduation ceremony and holds groundbreaking ceremonies for faculty and staff housing on the new campus. In August, a new faculty office building opens on the original campus.
2013: In January, the Department of Law is created, and the first students begin classes. Spring enrollment rises to 958 students, and 50 percent of the 2013 freshman class is female. 123 students – including the first cohort of MBA students – graduate at a ceremony in May held in front of AUAF's new International Center for Afghan Women's Economic Development (ICAWED), a $5 million, state-of-the-art facility designed to support female Afghan business owners. Former Ambassador Ryan Crocker returns as private citizen to deliver the commencement address. The ICAWED Center hosts its first major international conference just weeks after opening. The university signs another five year cooperative agreement with USAID valued at more than $40 million. Fall enrollment tops 1,000 students, a major university milestone, with females comprising 30% of the overall student body.
2014: In 2014, AUAF's Professional Development Institute opened a new branch in Mazar-e-Sharif. The university also launched the MA in Education program with funding from the World Bank and Afghan Ministry of Education, which currently has an enrollment of 320 students from around the country. The International Campus expanded rapidly this year, with extensive landscaping and infrastructure improvements and occupancy of the new staff/faculty apartment block on the new campus. The Business Innovation Hub launched in February with headquarter offices on the International Campus, and subsequently opened a branch office in Herat. To top-off this productive year for the university, a total number of 180 undergraduate and graduate students, AUAF's fourth and largest class, graduated in December in a ceremony held on the International Campus.
Who runs the school?
Dr. Mark A. English is the president of the school.He worked in Oman, where he managed an International Education and Training Program, and Amman, where he was a US Fulbright Scholar and Associate Head of the English department at the University of Jordan, according to Friends of American Univeristy in Afghanistan. Dr. English received his Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education and Arabic Studies from the University of Texas. He also has a Master's degree in Civil Government from Campbell University and earned his Bachelor's from the United States Military Academy, West Point in Engineering. He speaks fluent Arabic. He is married and has a grown daughter. He was a U.S. Army officer for 27 years prior to heading up the school.
Where is it located?
In Kabul, Afghanistan.
How much is tuition?
Tuition per semester is roughly $3,220 in American dollars.
Big donors to the University?
The United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul are lead donors for the University.
In addition, former first lady Laura Bush has been closely connected to the school.
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