• Message from Maria Barry, Director of Community Relations 
• Community Liaison Committee Meets September 13th 
• Family Movie Night September 23rd
• Join AU Neighborhood Partnership
• Art All Night Returns
• Airlie Berkshire Farm: Martha's Table Donation
• OLLI Fall Registration 
• AU Introduces Reusable To-Go Containers in Campus Dining
• The Child Development Center is Accepting Applications for Fall 2022
• Taiwan, China, and the US in the Wake of Speaker Pelosi's Visit
• From the Theatre and Musical Theatre Program

• American University Events

American University’s Community Liaison Committee (CLC) will hold a quarterly meeting on Tuesday, September 13. The in-person meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in Rooms 2 and 3 of Constitution Hall on the university’s East Campus. Neighbors are invited to join AU staff at 6:30 p.m. for pre-meeting refreshments and conversation. Parking for the meeting is available in the East Campus surface lot. 

The CLC was established to foster positive relations and to maintain regular communication between the university and its neighbors. As specified in the D.C. Zoning Commission Order for AU’s 10-year Campus Plan, the CLC comprises individuals from neighboring community organizations and representatives from the university.  

Please RSVP here. Additional information on the CLC, including meeting agendas and minutes can be found at the CLC website. 

We are excited to share that we are partnering with Horace Mann Elementary School and will host a fun-filled movie night on Friday, September 23. Bring a picnic and the whole family to campus for an outdoor screening of the animated hit movie, Paws of Fury

The movie will be screened at the Woods-Brown Amphitheatre at 6:30 pm; movie starts at sunset at 7:00 pm. Free popcorn will be provided, and all are welcome to attend. Please RSVP so that we can gather an estimated count of attendees. 

For additional information, contact Maria Barry, Director of Community Relations at 885-2146 or mariab@american.edu.

Art All Night returns to Tenleytown on Saturday, September 24, from 7pm to midnight, as Tenleytown Main Street celebrates our creative community. Public and private spaces throughout Tenleytown will transform into pop-up galleries and performance stages to welcome more than 100 visual and performing artists from across the DC Metro Area.

This year’s 16 venues offer art lovers of all ages and backgrounds something to enjoy in Tenleytown. Select highlights include:

• A short-film festival in partnership with the 48-hour Film Project, which gives teams of filmmakers a single weekend to write, shoot, and edit their films.
• An exciting performance by Afro-Brazilian percussion group Batalá and their Samba-Reggae rhythms to kick off Art All Night.
• An outdoor silent disco brought to you by Hushed, Inc. – The Silent Experience
• Two art and makers markets with jewelry, textiles, pottery, ceramics, and more from more than 20 DC area creators
• Live music performances spanning bluegrass, rock, jazz, folk, funk, indie-pop, and more.
• Dance from around the world, including Bollywood, belly dancing, flamenco, and Irish dance
• Visual art exhibits that include photography, painting, sculpture, mixed media, and more

Plus, Art All Night attendees can enter a free raffle to win one of 10 $100 gift cards from local businesses just by exploring all this year’s event has to offer.

American University is a proud sponsor of Art All Night in Tenleytown. The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center invites Art All Night attendees to a special after hours viewing of its early fall exhibitions as part of the festival. Free shuttle service will be available between the museum and the Tenleytown Metro plaza, connecting visitors to all Art All Night has to offer.

Find more information about Art All Night, including volunteer opportunities, at www.tenleytownmainstreet.org/event/art-all-night.

American University’s Berkshire Farm at Airlie has had a bountiful season this year and for that we are extremely grateful. At Berkshire Farm, nothing goes to waste, so their team recently donated 200 lbs. of ground pork and 70 lbs. of roast to Martha's Table in Washington, D.C. to fill their freezer TO CAPACITY! These types of gestures are what hospitality is all about, and Berkshire Farm’s team takes pride in their ability to give back to their surrounding communities. Martha’s Table is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to healthy food, quality education, and family supports in the District of Columbia. We encourage you to check out their website to learn how you can get involved!

To plan a stay, visit or learn more about American University’s Berkshire Farm at Airlie please visit https://www.airlie.com/airlie-berkshire-farm. 

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at American University invites you to register for fall classes. Open registration period is from now until September 6, and classes begin the week of September 19. 

Lectures and study groups meet for 90 minutes weekly between September and November and are based on the concept of peer learning and teaching. Members come from varied backgrounds with a shared common interest in continuing their learning experiences and intellectual stimulation in an organization of like-minded people. 

For a membership fee, participants may enroll in up to four study groups (three before the lottery and a fourth after), either by leading them or attending them. There are no tests and no grades, as members participate purely for the joy of learning. In addition to study groups, OLLI offers a Friday Lecture Series during each semester.

To become a member of OLLI, simply create an account, pay the membership fee, and register for the study groups of your choice during open registration. Membership costs $300 per semester or $550 if you choose to pay for fall and spring. Benefits of becoming an OLLI member include: 

• Eligibility to enroll in up to four study groups in a semester (three before the lottery and a fourth after).
• Opportunity for increased social interaction and new friendships based on a shared interest in learning; and informal lunchtime discussions and special events such as open houses or the holiday party.
• Invitation to attend Special Events featuring day trips, museum tours, discussions, and other activities.
• Invitation to attend a holiday party held in December and a springtime social event.
• Access to AU's Bender Library during the academic programs for which you are registered.
• Eligibility for an annual membership at the Jacobs Fitness Center at a discounted rate.
• Eligibility to enroll in February and July “Shorts,” three-to-five-day immersion study groups; and June “Minis,” study groups which are one session per week for four weeks.
• Access to OLLI’s permanent Digital Library, which holds recordings of online classes from previous academic sessions.

Visit the OLLI website for more information and to register for classes. 

If you have been a member of OLLI in the past, you may login to renew your membership.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at American University is an association of, by, and for the people in the Washington, DC area who wish to continue to study and learn. OLLI at AU is dedicated to the proposition that learning is a lifelong process, and that curiosity never retires.

Takeout dining is a staple of college life, but it creates a lot of waste. Building on its comprehensive commitment to sustainability, American University is introducing reusable takeout meal containers in its main residential dining facility to reduce the waste created from single-use containers.

From its dining facility Terrace Dining Room (TDR), AU serves roughly 39,000 meals per semester in takeout containers. It is estimated that the university will divert 2,571 pounds of landfill waste by switching from single-use to reusable containers. The nearly 4,000 AU students on university meal plans will receive free reusable takeout meal containers. Staff, faculty and other students who do not participate in meal plans can purchase a container for a small fee.

“AU is committed to acting on its zero-waste goals and to further reducing its impact on the environment,” said Megan Litke, director of sustainability. “The use of reusable containers helps to reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill and reduces emissions from the creation and disposal of single-use items. It also supports Washington, D.C. in its goal to reduce single-use food service items across the city.”

In its new sustainability plan, AU committed to achieving zero waste by 2030. The path to zero waste includes eliminating single-use plastics or containers and increasing the percentage of waste that is composted and recycled.  

AU received a grant of $24,750 from the “District of Columbia Ditch the Disposables Award Program.” The program, coordinated by Chesapeake Bay Trust, the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, provides support to schools and community-based organizations for their activities that will reduce food, food packaging and food waste. This work is another example of AU’s strategic priority to expand the university’s engagement with the greater Washington, D.C. region.

Chartwells Higher Education, AU’s dining partner, helped obtain the grant and is working with the university to make the transition to reusable containers.

AU will use O2GO reusable meal container by OZZI, which may be used up to 300 times. It is BPA free and recyclable, meaning that once an O2GO container has become worn down from repeated use, the plastic can be melted down and remade into other recycled material products. Students may use the O2GO container to get a meal-to-go from TDR and then return it for cleaning and re-use.

“As the dining provider on campus, we are committed to supporting American University’s efforts to achieve their zero-waste goals,” says Monalisa Prasad, National Director of Sustainability for Chartwells Higher Education. “The introduction of OZZI’s reusable to-go containers is just one example of how we are working together to reduce waste at its source for a more sustainable future.”

AU’s leadership in sustainability is woven throughout campus. From being the first carbon-neutral university in the country and eliminating fossil fuel investments in our endowment to the updated 2021 sustainability plan and campus arboretum, AU is working to address the challenge of climate change.

AU's Child Development Center provides high-quality education and care for children 2-1/2 to 6 years of age. The Center uses a research-based system that offers a comprehensive, evolving set of resources that emphasizes the developmental uniqueness of each child. . For questions, please contact, Beth Root, Director, Child Development Center, eroot@american.edu. To learn more about the Center, follow the link Child Development Center | American University, Washington, DC

Overture  

Directed by Tara Giordano

Overture welcomes AU’s newest actors from the dynamic class of 2026 to the stage. Showcasing the unique talents of its performers, this production features music, text and movement assembled and devised by the student company, in collaboration with faculty director Tara Giordano. 

When: September 30, 8 p.m. October 1, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.  
Where: Studio Theatre, Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW 

American University Events