• Message from Maria Barry, Director of Community Relations
• Full Moon Tour of the AU Arboretum
• Campus Plan 2021: Jacob's Field Further Processing Application
• Join AU Neighborhood Partnership
• Open Streets Comes to Tenleytown
• Last AU Farmers Market Event of the Season
• Massive Marabar Art Installation Moves to AU
• AU Alumni and Community Updates - Spring 2023
• How Many Elections Can Israel Handle?
• Celebrate the Season During Tenley WinterFest
• American University November Art Events 
• American University Events

Dear Neighbors,  

Wishing you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday. 

We are grateful for our community and for having all of you as our neighbors. We love to stay in touch and are always happy to hear from you if you have ideas, thoughts or to share any concerns. 

As a reminder, to help ensure our off-campus students are adjusting to their new neighborhoods, we offer a mandatory web-based off-campus living orientation and accompanying Eagle Living Guide with tips on how to successfully and respectfully live in the community. These materials remind undergraduate students residing in the 20016 and 20008 zip codes of their responsibilities under AU’s Student Conduct Code and District law.  

Occasionally, some of our students become a cause for concern to their neighbors. We want to assure you that we are here to help in those instances. We expect AU students to be responsible and considerate neighbors, whether they live on or off campus.  

If you have concerns, we urge you to Call 311 to report incidents in progress that are a violation of DC Municipal Regulations to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) or call 911 to report an emergency. Then, call the American University Police Department (AUPD) at 202-885- 2527 to inform AUPD of the complaint and that MPD has been notified 

If intervention by Campus Life staff seems to be the most appropriate response, you may call the Office of the Dean of Students at 202-885-3300 (Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) or file a complaint online at www.american.edu/ocl/dos.  

We are always available to you. 

Best regards,  

Maria Barry
Director of Community Relations
American University

On September 19, 2022, American University filed a Further Processing Application with the DC Zoning Commission requesting review and special exception approval of zoning relief to construct an acoustical sound barrier wall located between the William I. Jacobs Recreational Complex and the property located at 4710 Woodway Lane, N.W.; and to replace the existing scoreboard at the adjacent Reeves Field. For more information please click HERE.

If you have questions or comments, please email  communityrelations@american.edu

A truck carrying boulders weighing nearly the same as 20 grown elephants made trips from downtown DC along Massachusetts Avenue in September in a unique sight for onlookers. 

Twelve boulders, weighing 250,000 pounds or 125 tons, destined for American University’s campus weren’t for landscaping, at least not the traditional kind. The boulders comprise sculptor Elyn Zimmerman’s Marabar, an art installation which has stood at the National Geographic Society downtown since 1984. The rock-and-water sculpture will become a permanent fixture on AU’s campus after completion early next year. 

The move gave the Marabar installation a second lease on life, as it had been in danger of being demolished to make way for a new entrance pavilion at the NGS. 

Through the “Save Marabar” advocacy efforts of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a DC-based nonprofit, as well as letters from more than two-dozen architects, art critics, and museum leaders to the city’s Historic Preservation Review Board, an agreement was reached after two years of negotiations to relocate the installation to AU. NGS will pay for the move. 

The NGS and AU obtained permits this past summer from the Department of Transportation to make the move. Cranes at NGS lifted each boulder onto a low-slung flatbed trailer truck that would bring them one at a time to the AU campus. Cranes also were installed at AU to receive the boulders, place them in a staging area next to the Kay Spiritual Center and ultimately be arranged in their final location in the ellipse along Massachusetts Avenue. 

The challenge was to transport the massive split-rock, red granite boulders of varying dimensions from their downtown 17th St. NW location to AU with minimal disruption to the neighborhoods and commuters along the way.  

On the morning of September 19, the first boulder was placed onto the flatbed truck and driven on the DDOT-approved nearly four-mile route starting at 17th St., NW., proceeding to M St., then on to 18^th St. and Connecticut Ave., through Dupont Circle, and north on Massachusetts Ave.  Once the boulder arrived at Glover Gate on the AU campus, workers crane-lifted the boulder off the flatbed and placed it in the staging area. 

“Our initial plan was to move one boulder a day. However, things progressed smoothly enough that some days we actually transported multiple boulders and managed to complete the entire move ahead of schedule in about a week and a half,” said Max Wnorowski of Davis Construction, the construction manager for NGS. 

Prior to the arrival of the boulders, the telecommunications infrastructure that runs underground beneath the installation’s proposed location was encased using two truckloads of concrete to protect it from the weight of the installation. Additional concrete also was laid to serve as the foundation for the sculptures, and water lines were run from Kogod to supply the installation’s reflecting pool. 

“While Marabar is a technically simpler project than many others on the university campus, like the recently completed Hall of Science, it had implementation challenges like any other. It is exciting to be a part of a different sort of project, adding to the aesthetic of the university landscape,” said Tony Cortés, project manager for AU. 

Due to its placement in the ellipse, the installation will be reimagined and configured differently from how it was at the NGS. The engineers have worked closely with Zimmerman to ensure that the installation is true to her artistic vision and meets with her approval. 

In the month since the move, six accent boulders already have been placed in their permanent location and, in the coming weeks, the six main sculpture boulders are expected to be installed as well. Pavers also will be installed around the installation’s perimeter. 

Jack Rasmussen, director of art gallery and curator of the AU Museum currently is working with Zimmerman to create an official exhibit to showcase the installation. 

• Enjoy fresh-baked bread and treats from RavenHook Bakehouse. 
• Mesisam the Ethiopian Eatery serves a variety of authentic Ethiopian vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. 
• Airlie Farm will have fresh meats and honey brought in from the local VA farm.  

Academic Conference | November 13-14, 2022 

Hosted by AU Center for Israel Studies and co-sponsored by School of International Service and School of Public Affairs 

Location: American University East Campus Conference Center in Washington, DC. 

In recent years, scholars, activists, and democracy watchdog organizations have expressed growing concerns about the fragility of Israeli democracy. An illiberal wave has swept much of the world, including Israel, as state institutions have come under attack by politicians who have increasingly resorted to divisive rhetoric, populist-nationalist policies, and the subversion of democratic norms. The polarization and splintering of the Israeli party system has led to five national elections in three-and-a-half years. 

Is Israeli democracy in real danger or are the dire warnings an exercise in hyperbole? What measures might Israel take to strengthen and help to preserve its democracy? The conference addresses these and other related questions in what promises to be a thought-provoking series of panel discussions. 

Keynote address November 13, 6:00 PM "The November 2022 Israeli Elections and the Future of Israeli Democracy" by Aluf Benn, editor in chief, Haaretz 

All Day Panels on November 14. Click Here for Conference Schedule and registration: https://www.american.edu/cas/israelstudies/democracy.cfm  

The Invisible Made Visible American University Chamber SingersDaniel Abraham, directorSara Clarke Kaplan, commentatorAbramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts CenterNovember 12, 7:30 p.m., November 13, 3 p.m.In collaboration with the Antiracist Research & Policy CenterTickets are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general admission.

Join the Chamber Singers for a program centering the music of outstanding underrepresented choral creators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

American University's Dance Program presents: MO(ve)MENTUM Artistic Director Ama LawHarold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre, 4200 Wisconsin Ave. NWNovember 18–19, 8 p.m.Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, and senior citizens, $15 general admission.

American University Events