Mission, Values, and Goals

The mission of the American University of Central Asia is to promote critical thinking and rigorous student-centered learning in the liberal arts tradition, innovative and inter-disciplinary curriculums, research, and civic engagement in order to educate a new generation of citizens and leaders in an environment that celebrates intellectual inquiry and academic freedom.

The American University of Central Asia values responsible freedom in the search for truth and justice. We are honest, self-critical, and respectful. We cherish critical inquiry and investigative learning both for their own sake and for the development of an open, multifaceted, and just society that suits the region in which we learn and serve.


INTRODUCTION

AUCA serves Central Asia, where young democracies are emerging in nation states accustomed to more restrictive forms of governance.  We develop the skills and the attitude of mind that foster sensitivity to the region’s rich traditions and adaptability for its democratic development.

Proud of the success of our 2,500 graduates, on our 10th anniversary as an independent learning community we launched a plan for academic development designed to enable our University to soar to a new level of excellence.

Our distinctiveness derives from our highly strategic location, where peoples from east and west have been exchanging goods and ideas for millennia. Our University is a small but powerful engine of intellectual freedom and critical thinking that fuels education in a caring, corruption-free, student-centered environment.

We treasure Central Asia’s historic role as facilitator of mutual understanding and entrepreneurial ideas. Students and faculty eager to study and pursue their dreams come to us from 25 different countries, including all the Central Asian states, Afghanistan, China, Holland, Germany, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Their distinct beliefs, languages and perspectives are openly shared and valued. In this vibrant atmosphere, where the freedom to study is considered a privilege, we design new paths forward for social transformation and international understanding.

To sustain our noble experiment in critical thinking and have a transformational impact on Central Asia for generations to come, we set goals to enhance our academic excellence that will guide our work over the next five years.

Based on our mission and values, our goals enhance our distinctiveness as a learning community grounded in the liberal arts that prepares a new generation of leaders for the democratic transformation of Central Asia and the world beyond.  We are committed to improving the quality of our faculty, our students, and our research oriented curriculum. We are determined to provide the information resources necessary for learning, to broaden the multicultural perspective needed for the transformation of the region, and to enhance our commitment to the common good. We affirm as well the need to deepen and celebrate our distinctive form of academic engagement within and beyond the University.

The university goals are:

• to provide outstanding undergraduate and graduate educational programs with innovative disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs across a range of subjects
  in the humanities, social and natural sciences, the arts, law, business, education and other subjects important for the education of a new generation of citizens and
  leaders in Central Asia and globally;
• to provide student-centered teaching and learning based on the American liberal arts and sciences tradition;
• to produce and disseminate research for the use and benefit of society;
• to promote civic engagement, community-based learning, and engaged research that contribute to the development of communities locally, regionally and globally;
• to develop and implement educational programs that will contribute to the social, political and economic development of Central Asia and across the globe and serve
  to foster mutually beneficial connections between the countries of Central Asia and with the broader international community;
• to serve as a beacon of intellectual freedom, academic honesty, and critical thinking, which inspires innovative approaches in higher education and prepares
  the next generation to thrive in the rapidly changing conditions in Central Asia and the world;
• to maintain and develop mutually beneficial ties to leading educational and research institutions in Central Asia and across the globe to provide educational
  and research opportunities for the University’s students and faculty, and also to gain access to world-class expertise, technologies and educational resources.