Families, we shared this update with our students, faculty and staff a few moments ago. We share it with you now for your reference.

Dear AU Community,

Campuses and cities across this nation are facing a resurgence of the scourge of antisemitism. We are also seeing a rise of Islamophobia, hate, and bigotry. When recent events in our community showed the insidious nature of hate, we immediately partnered with the FBI in a collaborative effort to bring perpetrators of those vile acts to justice as quickly and as consequentially as possible. With the current environment in the world and incidents on campus, we are taking specific actions to address antisemitism. Concurrently, we are addressing the hurtful impacts of Islamophobia in our community and working to build upon our previous efforts with enhanced attention and strategies for combating all forms of hate going forward. All this work is dedicated to the safety of our community and the well-being of our community members. We hear our community’s pain, and I want to share further actions that we are taking to address concerns, focus on safety, and promote community.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia are not and will not be tolerated at American University. An immediate priority is helping students feel safe on campus. We are continuing to confront hate and bigotry by enforcing our policies on behavior and conduct, which helps to address individual incidents and build the inclusive and supportive community we all seek. In addition to continuing to work with the FBI, we are addressing other harms that undermine our sense of community even if they may not involve law enforcement action. We are working to strengthen policies and practices to ensure that all student organizations are welcoming to all students.

We are launching a series of broader additional steps to advance the critical priority of stopping hate and bigotry and provide learning opportunities that illustrate the historical context and current insidious impacts of hate. This work is alongside our ongoing efforts to provide support to community members and engage experts within our community for their input and counsel on our actions. Bringing people together and learning from each other as members of our one AU community makes us stronger and furthers our mission.

Additional steps include:

1. Advance core efforts to address antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate, and bigotry within our overall inclusive excellence approach. We are integrating antisemitism and Islamophobia throughout our inclusive excellence work across the university in ways they previously have not been. Working with Nkenge Friday as she joins us as vice president of inclusive excellence, and collaborating with experts from our community, we will engage a dedicated individual for a one-year period to help develop both immediate actions and a sustained strategy that furthers the intended integration. We will determine if the expert is from our community or an external resource, but in either case, the work will draw upon the extensive knowledge within our community to inform, coordinate, and implement our actions. The work will help connect our inclusive excellence work to broader engagement, learning, and support for oppressed communities and promote greater understanding of the history and current implications of hate and bias.

2. Develop new educational approaches to enhance understanding of the root causes of hate across the community. We will work with faculty curriculum committees to update the AUx2 curriculum to provide a more comprehensive examination of antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate, and oppression through multiple lenses. We will produce educational opportunities (curricular and cocurricular) in the coming weeks and into the spring semester for the whole community, such as teach-ins, on antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the relationship of hate and bias to broader impacts on society.

3. Accelerate our work to support AU’s Jewish community and their sense of belonging, including by supporting organizations such as AU Hillel to facilitate space and opportunities for gathering, educational programming, and community building. This will include advancing existing efforts with AU Hillel to provide space opportunities in conjunction with the organization’s 100th anniversary and programming needs.

4. Continue to address online harassment with action on current cases and update policies to reflect new language and shared understanding of evolving forms of online harassment. Recent instances of online harassment and targeting threatened the safety of students, with particular concerns for our Muslim, Palestinian, and Jewish communities, which affects sense of belonging. We are acting on the individual cases involving this unacceptable behavior now. At the same time, we are going to strengthen and clarify our definitions and policies to address modern types of online harassment. We will collect community input and share the revised language.

We are dedicated to this work because inclusion brings us together in community as a bulwark against hate. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate and bigotry are antithetical to our mission and values. By learning together and standing together as a community, we can pursue the common purpose that we share as Eagles. This work will continue as a core focus, and we will provide additional updates and information.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I hope you have time for rest, recharging, reflection, and joy with family, friends, and loved ones. I am always thankful for this community and our care for one another.

Onward, 

Sylvia M. Burwell
President, American University