Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The College of Arts and Sciences spans the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, and has nearly 400 full-time faculty, serving 50 different majors. With programs like our CAS Antiracist Curriculum Development Initiative we continue to work toward ensuring a seat at the table for faculty, staff and students from groups that have been historically excluded based on race and ethnicity, physical ability, gender expression, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background.

We are committed to doing this work by consistently refining and expanding our efforts to ensure that equity and inclusion are at the center of the CAS experience.

Please see additional DEI resources:

 

Selected
Groups & Cohorts
Scholarships & Postdocs
Committees & Working Groups
Grants & Awards
Courses
Students hold AU banner
  • Underrepresented Students in STEM (USS)
    The USS club aims to support underrepresented students in STEM and provide them the tools they need to succeed which they may have otherwise never gotten. We aim to not only help students maximize individual potential but to give mentorship, guidance, and financial support in furthering education to fuel the next generation of STEM leaders.
  • American University Women in Science (WIS)
    The WIS Facebook group showcases the many activities (professional, academic, research, service & outreach, and social) that the women and men in the sciences at AU are involved with. This includes the Women in Science (WIS) Student Organization at AU. Current undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, prospective students, faculty, administrators, and friends of WIS are welcome to join. All who are interested in WIS at AU activities are encouraged to become a part of this group!
  • CAS LEAD
    CAS LEAD is a 12-credit, cohort based four-year certificate program designed to teach and empower students to become effective and ethical leaders. Working with a close-knit cohort in seminars and on community based learning opportunities, you will learn how to lead in a productive and emotionally-intelligent way. You will work with others to develop solutions to promote justice and confront ethical challenges.
  • AU Partnership with the CIRCUIT program at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
    The Circuit Program offers undergraduate students an opportunity to participate in a yearlong cohort-based research experience as integral members of APL project teams and participate in unique, hands-on learning in a fun, collaborative environment.
  • Please see resources for student counseling, disability accommodations, LGBTQIA, and more at AU Diversity.
  • DC NASA Space Grant Consortium
    Headquartered right here at AU, the DC NASA Space Grant Consortium funds internships and summer research experiences at NASA.
  • AU Career Center (AU students only)
    The Office of Merit Awards in the Career Center offers excellent opportunities through its CareerWeb and other resources.
  • Postdoctoral Fellowships
    CAS offers fellowships including the Academic Diversity Fellowship and Afghan Exile Scholar Fellowship.

CAS Diversity Committee

  • Núria Vilanova, CAS DEI Officer
    vilanova@american.edu
  • Seçil Akin, Post-Doc Academic Diversity
  • Shashank Aswathanarayana, Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Performing Arts
  • Omi Davis-Smith, DEI Fellow-Arts
  • Kirsten Dorr, DEI Fellow-Humanities
  • Nabina Liebow, CAS LEAD Director
  • Bashir Mobasher, Post-Doc Fellow, Afghan Exile
  • Cathy Schaeff, DEI Fellow-STEM
  • Buck Woodard, DEI Fellow-Social Sciences

CAS Diversity Fellows

  • Cathy Schaeff, STEM
  • Omi Davis-Smith, Arts
  • Kirstie Dorr, Humanities
  • Buck Woodard, Social Sciences

Initiative on STEM Education, Equity and Ethics (ISE3)

The ISE3 mission is to prepare diverse student populations for transferable academic and non-academic 21st-century careers in science and technology.
 

  • NSF Advance Grant

  • NSF Advance Grant is a two-year grant of $300,000 from the National Science Foundation for an analysis of gender and racial equity among its STEM faculty, with the aim of increasing AU’s number of women and underrepresented minority STEM faculty.

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Driving Change & ISE3

  • The Driving Change award through AU's Initiative for STEM Education, Equity and Ethics (ISE3) seeks to effect genuine and lasting culture change on research university campuses so that undergraduate students from all backgrounds, particularly from historically excluded groups, will excel in STEM and graduate from college well prepared to pursue advanced degrees and eventually assume leadership roles in STEM. AU was invited to submit a proposal to this highly competitive process; only 38 of 99 schools are generally invited, many of who are R1s.

These courses are part of the AU Core Curriculum with a "DIV" designation which indicates that these courses attend to issues of power, privilege, and inequality that are embedded in social, cultural, or economic hierarchies, including (but not limited to) those around race, ethnicity, class, ability, gender, and sexuality.

CAS DIV Courses

For a list of "DIV" courses across the university, please read the AU Core page.

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Our Community: Inclusion

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The college's plan for Inclusive Excellence reflects AU's commitment to diversity and inclusion for our international student body, students of color, and LGBTQ population.

Video View more about CAS Community.

See also: