The American University of Rome educates students to live and work across cultures as thoughtful, skilled citizens of a globalized world. Our mission—to provide a liberal arts education within an international, interdisciplinary environment where Rome itself serves as a living classroom—depends on intellectual openness and mutual respect.
AUR seeks to nurture academic excellence, personal growth, and an appreciation for cultural diversity. These goals require a community willing to question, debate, and exchange ideas across cultural and religious divides, because it is through such engagement that students learn to address complex problems with creativity and an eye toward sustainable solutions.
As a liberal arts institution, AUR is devoted to exploring, generating, and disseminating knowledge. Every belief, practice, idea, and institution is open to careful examination. The University encourages conversations that challenge assumptions, scrutinize social arrangements, and inspire new understanding. Our highest calling is to cultivate curiosity, empathy, and the courage to pursue hard questions—habits of mind that prepare graduates to thrive amid global challenges and diverse perspectives.
Because our purpose is the education of all students, the University does not issue statements on contested political and public matters or engage in actions that would risk discouraging dissenting opinions and narrowing the space for dialogue we are bound to protect. This decision to refrain from political pronouncements is not based on indifference or withdrawal from the world; it is a deliberate commitment to safeguard the freedom of every member to speak, question, and act according to conscience.
In rare and exceptional circumstances—when the University’s core mission or the conditions that make free inquiry possible are directly threatened—AUR may act collectively to defend its independence and the principles that sustain it. Such action reflects not partisanship but loyalty to the values that enable genuine dialogue.
The strength of The American University of Rome rests not on wealth or political leverage, but on integrity, intellectual rigor, and the vibrant diversity of its community. By remaining faithful to its mission—educating students to think critically, engage across cultures, and work toward sustainable solutions through courageous dialogue—AUR as an academic community serves society more profoundly than any partisan declaration by the Administration could ever achieve.