Dr. Cornelius M. Kerwin became American University’s 14th president in September 2007. He leads an institution of about 13,000 students, 1,300 teaching and administrative faculty, and 2,500 staff in the nation’s capital; oversees a $548 million operating budget and $434 million endowment; and in 2010, led the $200 million capital campaign to a successful conclusion of more than $213 million raised.

Dr. Kerwin joined AU in 1975 and holds a faculty appointment in the School of Public Affairs, Department of Public Administration. He was dean of the School of Public Affairs from 1988 to 1997; provost from 1997 to 2005; and acting—then interim—president of American University from 2005 to 2007.

A nationally recognized specialist in public policy and the regulatory process, Dr. Kerwin is actively engaged in research and periodically teaches courses in administrative process, policy implementation, and American government. He founded AU’s Center for the Study of Rulemaking and is the author of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy and co-author of How Washington Works: The Executive’s Guide to Government.

Dr. Kerwin is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration; a former president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration; and founding chair of the Section on Public Law and Administration of the American Society for Public Administration. He received degrees from American University (BA), the University of Rhode Island (MA in political science), and Johns Hopkins University (PhD in political science).

Dr. Kerwin is a member of the board of directors of the American Council on Education (ACE), the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. He was named a 2009 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine in its January 2010 issue. He was also named to the inaugural Irish Education 100 List, compiled by the Irish Voice and comprised of the 100 most influential Irish educators at colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada.

Before retiring in 2007, Dr. Kerwin's wife, Ann (BA 1971), was the director of Human Resources at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, one of the nation's oldest museums.