Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. American University was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893 at the urging of Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst, who sought to create an institution that would promote public service, internationalism, and pragmatic idealism.

[8] American University was established in the District of Columbia by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892, primarily due to the efforts of Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst, who aimed to create an institution that could train future public servants.

[citation needed] At this time, the university admitted both women and African Americans, something uncommon for institutions of higher education.

[citation needed] AU's relationship with the U.S. government continued during World War II, when the campus hosted the U.S. Navy Bomb Disposal School and a WAVE barracks.

Financed with $5 million from and named for Saudi Arabian Trustee Adnan Khashoggi, the building was intended to update athletics facilities and provide a new arena, as well as a parking garage and office space for administrative services.

A team of senior AU administrators relocated to Sharjah to assist in the establishment of the university and guide it through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process.

[14] One month after the faculty vote, the board of trustees decided that Ladner would not return to American University as its president.

[16] According to The Chronicle of Higher Education,[17] Ladner received total compensation of $4,270,665 in his final year of service, the second-highest of any university president in the nation.

The university considered the incident to be racist, and then-president Neil Kerwin called it a "cowardly, despicable act."

[24][25] Also in May 2018, Dumpson filed a lawsuit against several people, including Andrew Anglin, the founder of the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer.

Although Dumpson and Anglin have not settled, she settled in December 2018 with one of the people who harassed her, a man from Oregon who was required to apologize, to renounce white supremacy, to stop trolling and doxing online, and to provide information to and cooperate with authorities in the prosecution of white supremacists.

[27] According to Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy (Dean of SOE) the move was made to "encourage more students to pursue careers in education".

The school is home to the Institute for Innovation in Education and the newly created Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success.

AU owns several other buildings in Tenleytown, Spring Valley, East Campus in Wesley Heights, and American University Park areas.

AU's campus is predominantly surrounded by the affluent residential neighborhoods characteristic of the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.

The campus includes a main quadrangle surrounded by academic buildings, nine residential halls, a 5,000-seat arena, and an outdoor amphitheater.

The program combines two seminar courses three days a week with a two-day-per-week internship that gives students a unique look at Washington, D.C.[45] Admission to American is considered to be "more selective" by the U.S. News & World Report.

[52] In 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2018, American University was named the most politically active school in the nation by The Princeton Review's annual survey of college students.

[65] Because the field of international relations is not evaluated by U.S. News & World Report, the College of William and Mary published the results of their survey, which ranked the AU international relations master's degree in the top 10 in the United States and the doctoral degree in the top 25.

Folio has printed interviews with prominent writers, most recently Ann Beattie, Alice Fulton, Leslie Pietrzyk, Gregory Orr, and Adam Haslett.

Among the notable stories that first appeared in Folio are Jacob M. Appel's "Fata Morgana" and "Becoming Coretta Davis" by I. Bennett Capers.

The WRLC operates a consortium loan service between member institutions and has a shared collections site in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

The Library's Archives and Special Collections houses unique and rare materials and information on the institution's history.

There is an internationally top-ranked Model United Nations team (ranking 1st in North America following the 2021–2022 academic year).

An environmental science class at American conducted a study from February to April 2009 to measure the amount of food waste avoided by eliminating trays from one of the college's dining halls.

Bender Arena opened on January 23, 1988, when AU's women's basketball team hosted James Madison University.

[citation needed] Reeves Field, home to AU's soccer team, earned the 2002 College Soccer Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association, hosted its fifth NCAA Tournament game, and served as the training site for the Uruguay national football team.

[96] On March 14, 2008, AU earned its first NCAA tournament berth in men's basketball by defeating Colgate University in the Patriot League Championship Game.

William I Jacobs Recreational Complex is also located on campus, containing an AstroTurf surface, a softball diamond, and two sand volleyball courts.

[97] Off-campus facilities include the Massachusetts Ave. Field, which hosts intramural and varsity athletic practices for both the Men's and Women's soccer teams.