Initiative featured programming tackling intersections of sport, gender, and race in society. We invested in community building, among the student body and within the staff and faculty, and we continued to look outward, leveraging our platform and privilege as a national law school in the District of Columbia to continue to engage the communities beyond the monuments. One exciting example of this is the newly-launched pipeline program through which we partner with DC–area public and charter schools to bring in high school student delegates who plan and participate in a youth law summit hosted on the AUWCL campus. Also, in the wake of the US Supreme Court decisions in the higher education admissions cases this past Term, we remain laser-focused on maintaining our commitment to a diverse student body within the bounds of the law and our accreditation standards.


We also continued to strive toward a world-class student and alumni experience at AUWCL. We made investments in bar passage and academic excellence and in student mental health and wellness. Furthermore, our newly launched Dean’s Professionalism Certificate helps to further illuminate career pathways for our students and enhance their professional development. In addition to our ongoing campaign to expand our placement of AUWCL students in large law firms, government agencies, and clerkships, we have made a historic investment in public interest; this year, we doubled the number of Public Interest Program Scholarships (PIPS) awarded to incoming 1Ls, and we tripled the amount of summer public interest grant funding. We also launched the first AUWCL Alumni Association, with a founding steering committee of alumni volunteers from regional chapters across the country, including New York City, southern California, and the greater Washington area. Soon to come are regional chapters in northern California, South Florida, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, as well as international chapters. I have been on the road to meet alumni around the country and around the world, and we also introduced new alumni programming such as the wildly successful inaugural AUWCL Black Alumni Homecoming in April.


Finally, and importantly, we advanced our commitment to financial resources and sustainability. Our ambitious new budget model is bearing fruit; we ended the fiscal year having outperformed our budget projections, and are projecting an even stronger year to come. In addition to working to ensure our fiscal health, we have made tremendous strides on the development front. Much of the exciting activity mentioned in this letter was made possible by generous alumni and donor support. Building on the momentum of the previous year when we saw significant increases in number of donors, new donors, giſts, and dollar amounts, this past year also saw extraordinary gains in donor retention—a key sign of the ongoing support of our alumni community. We exceeded our fiscal year goals for dollars raised for the second year in a row and saw the largest level of support for the Dean’s Innovation Fund on record.


Now, in my third year as Dean of the American University Washington College of Law, I think back to the ambitious, but achievable, strategic vision I challenged the AUWCL community to embrace when I began my tenure. I am happy to report that, because of the faith and commitment of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and donors, that vision is quickly becoming a reality. Thank you for everything you have done, everything you are doing, and everything you will yet do to help AUWCL fuel its critical mission of preparing ethical, well-trained lawyer leaders who Champion What Matters.


With gratitude,


ROGER A. FAIRFAX JR. Dean and Professor of Law American University Washington College of Law


AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW 3


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