Asian University for Women
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| Type | Independent, international, liberal arts and sciences |
|---|---|
| Established | 2008 |
| Chancellor | Cherie Blair and Dr. Nirmala Rao |
| Students | 600+ |
| Location |
Chittagong, Bangladesh 22°21′29″N 91°49′26″E / 22.358131°N 91.823843°ECoordinates: 22°21′29″N 91°49′26″E / 22.358131°N 91.823843°E |
| Website | asian-university |
Asian University for Women (AUW) is an independent, international university in Chittagong, Bangladesh seeking to educate a new generation of leaders in Asia. AUW admits students solely on the basis of merit, regardless of their family’s income level, and nearly all students are on full scholarship with many as the first in their family to attend university. AUW offers two pre-collegiate bridge programs called Access Academy and Pathways for Promise, as well as a three-year undergraduate program based in the liberal arts and sciences. The University is committed to graduating generations of women leaders who will tackle their countries’ social, economic, and political issues while collaborating across cultural, ethnic, and religious lines. AUW has more than 600 students enrolled from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East.
The story of AUW began well before its inaugural Access Academy class entered in 2008. The idea for the University grew out of the World Bank/UN Task Force on Higher Education and Society. In 2000, the Task Force, which included Kamal Ahmad, Harvard University's Dean Henry Rosovsky and the World Bank's former Managing Director Mamphela Ramphele, published its findings in a report entitled “Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise” (more information available at http://www.tfhe.net/), which concluded that developing countries must improve the quality of their institutions of higher learning, in both governance and pedagogy, in order to compete in today’s increasingly globalized, knowledge-based economy.
In January 2004, the Government of Bangladesh granted more than 100 acres of land for the construction of AUW’s permanent campus in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Fundraising and planning efforts for AUW officially began in November 2001, when AUW Support Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit institution under section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code. AUW’s Support Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors, which was established upon the group’s incorporation as a non-profit organization.
AUWSF Board of Directors published a Plan of Operations in May 2005, laying out the basic plans for AUW’s curriculum, target student population, and sustainability efforts.
Grants from the Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2005 and 2006 provided the start-up funds that enabled AUW to become operational in 2008. In September 2006, the Parliament of Bangladesh ratified the University’s charter, which guaranteed full autonomy and independence to AUW in its operations and academics, a unique arrangement in the region.
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