American University of Afghanistan

About

The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF; Persian: دانشگاه آمریکایی افغانستان; Pashto: د افغانستان امریکايي پوهنتون) is an online private university. After the fall of Kabul in 2021, many former students of AUAF live abroad and transitioned to online teaching. Subsequently, AUAF established an interim campus at Education City in Doha, Qatar. In-person teaching commenced there in 2022. Funded by Qatar and the US government, the institution had 184 students on site, 118 of whom were women. Around 700 more students were enrolled on online courses in Afghanistan. The temporary arrangement with Qatar was subsequently extended. In 2025, the Qatar Fund for Development announced a new agreement with the Qatar Foundation and AUAF, which did not publicly specify its duration. AUAF was the country's only private, not-for-profit institution of higher education. It was formerly located in the Darulaman section of Kabul. Chartered in 2004, the AUAF offered an MBA program, four undergraduate degree programs, pre-college preparation (Academy) and continuing education and professional development training (the Professional Development Institute). It opened in 2006 with 50 students, which grew to 1,700 full and part-time students. Its alumni include 29 Fulbright Scholars. The spring 2025 semester session at the university was briefly suspended due to funding cuts at USAID with funding later extended until June 2025.

The idea for the American University of Afghanistan began in 2002 with Dr. Sharif Fayez, then Afghan Minister of Higher Education. At this time he proposed the creation of Afghanistan's first-ever private university. The following year in an address before UNESCO, then U.S. First Lady Laura Bush announced her support of educational initiatives in Afghanistan. The U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, likely inspired from his own experience at the American University of Beirut, encouraged the establishment of the American University of Afghanistan. The Afghanistan High Commission for Private Investment offered leases on two parcels of land totaling 55.354 acres (224,010 m2) in the Darulaman area of Kabul until 2013. In addition, the American University of Afghanistan corporation was chartered in the State of Delaware, under the leadership of Dr. Jacob van Lutsenburg Maas, who later became the non-profit corporation's president, to receive these leases. In 2007, the non-profit corporation became a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

A charter for the establishment of the American University of Afghanistan was granted on July 26, 2004, by the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education, under Article 46, Chapter 2 of the new Afghan Constitution and Article 445 of the Civil Code. A feasibility study was initiated by the Coordinating Council of International Universities, based in the United States, to recommend an institutional framework. In December 2004, the inaugural meeting of the Board of Trustees convened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Dr. Fayez was elected President pro tempore, serving in this capacity until April 2007, when he was named "founder" by the new president. He continued to lobby the Afghan government on the university's behalf, served as an adviser to the current president, and maintained an office on campus until his death in 2019. In March 2005, then U.S. First Lady (and former teacher) Laura Bush visited the site and announced a substantial grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to launch the institution. The first students of the American University of Afghanistan enrolled in March 2006. They began with classes to improve their English language and study skills. By September of that year, the university began offering its first credit-bearing undergraduate courses. The Professional Development Institute was also launched in the same year, providing adult professional courses and adult professional level programs. On June 8, 2008, Mrs. Bush announced an additional $40 million (USD) in funding for the subsequent five years. Funding will cover more than half of the university's operating expenses during that period, leaving the university to pursue private funding for the remainder of its operating expenses and for the development of its new campus. The university held its first commencement ceremony in May 2011, awarding undergraduate degrees to 32 graduates. It held its fourth, and largest, graduation in December 2014, where 180 undergraduate and graduate students graduated. In May 2015, the university held its sixth commencement ceremony, honoring the class of 2015, at the university's International campus. The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the Doctorate of Humane Letters Honorary Degree to distinguished guest, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who also delivered the commencement address. In 2019, more than 1,700 full and part-time students from all 34 provinces of Afghanistan are enrolled in the university, including 1,190 students in undergraduate and graduate program, and 950 students in certification courses. About 36% of students for Spring 2015 were women, and more than 85% of the students receive financial assistance. In an interview with Film Annex, Dr. C. Michael Smith, former President of the American University of Afghanistan stated that for the 2012–13 school year over 50% of the entering students were women. The college is also a member of an alliance of universities, non-profit organisations, and educational institutions aiming to provide educational opportunities for Afghan women and girls.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.