Cornelius M. Kerwin
President, American University
Effective September 1, 2007, Cornelius Kerwin will become the 14th president of American University, leading an institution of 11,000 students and 3188 faculty and staff in the nation’s capital.
Proven Track Record
Dr. Kerwin has led American University since August 2005, serving first as acting president, then as interim president. Since that time, he has overseen AU’s $400 million dollar budget, an endowment of some $400 million, the $200 million “AnewAU” capital campaign (currently at $142.3 million raised), and construction projects that will result in new homes for the School of Communication and School of International Service and expand facilities for the Kogod School of Business. Academically, AU has reached new peaks in student recruitment and faculty quality. Freshmen applicants for fall 2007 came in record numbers and with the highest levels of student quality. Faculty quality and diversity have risen as well, and externally funded research for FY 2006 reached its highest level in the history of the university. AU was designated a 2006 Truman Honors Institution for its support of students entering public service careers and its success in the Truman Scholarship competition (including two recipients this past year). AU graduate students have received more Presidential Management Fellowships than any other institution during the last three years and our students were recently awarded Marshall, Boren, Fulbright, Pickering, Killam, Rotary, and other prestigious fellowships. AU's graduate programs continue to receive high rankings, with top-ranked programs in the Washington College of Law, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs.
Commitment to Academic Excellence
Dr. Kerwin has spent his entire academic career at American University, beginning in 1975 as an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs. He holds a faculty appointment in the department of public administration and has directed the school’s political science programs, coordinated doctoral programs, and served as dean from 1988 to 1997.
As provost from 1997 to 2005, Dr. Kerwin served as the university’s chief academic officer, leading approximately 475 full-time teaching faculty in AU’s six schools and colleges (College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, School of International Service, School of Public Affairs, and Washington College of Law). He also supervised admissions, financial aid, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the University Library, the Office of the Registrar, and other offices, including the Washington Semester Program and those reporting to the Dean of Academic Affairs (General Education Program, University Honors Program, Center for Teaching Excellence, Career Center, and Office of Sponsored Programs).
He worked with the deans and faculty committees to complete a review of AU’s master’s and doctoral programs, resulting in fewer programs but creating distinctive market niches, improved physical facilities, and enhanced national reputations. He also oversaw the creation and 2005 launch of AU’s University College Program, an integrated learning-living program for first-year undergraduate students. During his time as provost, the university conducted reviews of the General Education Program, University Honors Program, and academic advising system.
In 2002, Dr. Kerwin led the process to restructure faculty governance, helping to create a new Faculty Senate. In 2003, he oversaw AU’s decennial self-study that resulted in the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s unconditional reaccreditation and the Commission’s Self-Study Institute’s adoption of AU’s self-study report and design as a model for other schools.
As provost, Dr. Kerwin advanced major efforts to support faculty scholarship, teaching, and service; diversify the faculty; bring faculty salaries to the AAUP–Level 1 standard; enhance technology resources and utilization; and develop comprehensive plans for assessing student learning, promoting academic integrity, and improving administrative processes.
Expert in Rulemaking and Public Policy
Dr. Kerwin is a nationally recognized specialist in public policy and the regulatory process. He is actively engaged in teaching and research and teaches courses in administrative process, policy implementation, and American government. He is the author of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy (3rd ed., 2003, Congressional Quarterly Press) and the coauthor of How Washington Works: The Executives Guide to Government (3rd ed., 1996). Dr. Kerwin’s scholarly articles have appeared in Public Administration Review, Journal of Politics, Policy Studies Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Judicature, Justice System Journal, and Harvard Journal on Legislation. He is also the author of numerous monographs, chapters in edited books, anthologies, and articles in professional and popular publications.
Under Dr. Kerwin’s leadership, the university established the Center for the Study of Rulemaking in July 2004. As part of its mission to better understand and improve the processes and techniques used by government agencies to develop regulations, the Center organizes conferences, symposia, and workshops, which bring together scholars, public and private sector personnel, and the larger academic community.
Dr. Kerwin’s experience in the public sector includes work with the Office of Personnel Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Public Health Service. In the private sector, he has served as a consultant to IBM Corporation and General Electric.
Dr. Kerwin is active in a number of professional associations and societies. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). He served as president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) in 1996 and was founding chair of the Section on Public Law and Administration of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and Pi Alpha Alpha national honor societies for the fields of political science and public administration, respectively. At American University, he received awards for outstanding teaching and for outstanding contribution to academic program development.
Deep Ties and Longstanding Commitment to AU
In addition to his academic ties to AU, Dr. Kerwin is an alumnus, having received a BA from American University in 1971, followed by an MA in political science from the University of Rhode Island in 1973, and a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University in 1978.