Forged in Fire: Launching a New University in a War Zone

In a fateful conjunction of high hopes and unlucky timing, Ambassador Kurt Volker, one of the co-founders of the American University Kyiv (AUK), announced the launch of the University on February 3, 2022—just three weeks before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite the University's current success, its beginnings were almost unimaginably turbulent.

When Russia launched its invasion on February 24th, the AUK leadership team faced the seemingly impossible task of marketing, recruiting, and obtaining accreditation for a fledgling institution amid a full-scale war. Between February and early April, Kyiv was the target of missile strikes, artillery shelling, and aerial bombings. The Russians bombed military targets and, at times, civilian infrastructure such as residential buildings, schools, and hospitals. The University could easily have been a smoldering ruin.

Dan Rice

Even after the Russians withdrew from Kyiv, blackouts and sporadic shellings continued. Knowing that in-person learning was impossible under such conditions, AUK pivoted the University to operate entirely online, with classes starting in a virtual format for 102 bachelors and masters students in September 2022.   

In the fall of 2022, AUK recruited Dan Rice, an American West Point graduate, who was serving as the Special Advisor to General Zaluzhnyi, to join as President of AUK. Rice was appointed in March 2023 and opened the university’s Riverport campus in May 2023. In-person learning finally began in September 2023, more than a year after the invasion, with over 100 students already enrolled and actively participating in online education. 

The University’s official opening was fraught. Rice intentionally kept the gathering small; in Ukraine, large events present a significant risk, as they can be targeted by Russian forces. A common saying captures the grim reality: “The larger the gathering, the more likely the target.”

AUK’s mission aligns with one of Ukraine’s important national goals. For over a decade, Ukrainians have grappled with the status of their three main languages: Ukrainian, Russian, and English. The debate over language is deeply tied to Ukraine’s identity, sovereignty, and resistance to Russian influence. On June 4, 2024, the country’s governing body, the Verkhovna Rada, voted that Ukrainian is the national language and English would be the language of commerce.

AUK addresses the essential need for future diplomats, business leaders, and policymakers to achieve fluency in English. Classes are conducted entirely in English, preparing students to interact politically and commercially in the rebuilding of Ukraine. In addition, students learn a more Western approach to governance, such as adherence to the rule of law and the importance of transparency.

“We’re different from the old-style Soviet approach to education,” Rice points out. “Instead of talking down to students, we view them as clients whose needs we are here to meet. We are also the most technologically advanced educational system in Ukraine. As part of Arizona State University, the largest public university in the United States with 250,000 students, we leverage ASU’s technology, curriculum design, and programs. Our international professors, many from Eastern Europe and trained in the U.S., bring an American teaching style to the classroom.”

Tailoring the curriculum to Ukrainian needs is also essential to AUK’s mission. “The case studies we use are Ukrainian case studies,” Rice emphasizes.  

Now in its third year, AUK has enrolled 503 students and has seen master's students graduate with degrees from both AUK and Arizona State University through a dual degree program. This university, “forged in fire,” is now a tremendous success and ranked #3 out of 106 universities in Ukraine. In the coming years, AUK is expected to expand to several thousand students and could become the most desirable university in Ukraine for those aspiring to take on leadership roles in the country’s post-war recovery.

One of the crown jewels of AUK is its summer global internship program, providing students with meaningful paid opportunities at top-tier companies such as J.P. Morgan, Blackstone, 7-Eleven, DOKA, Logistics Plus, Castleton Commodities and Casey’s General Stores. These internships offer experiences in areas such as global financing, debt lending, franchising, supply chains, artificial intelligence, and IT, preparing students for impactful roles in the world economy. In 2024, AUK sent 18 students abroad in the Global Internship program, and in 2025 Rice plans to send 200 students abroad as one of the primary pillars of the AUK experience.  

Rice envisions AUK graduates, equipped with the language skills, cultural understanding, and technical expertise, will make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s post-war recovery. By combining advanced technology, Western teaching methods, and a curriculum tailored to the country’s needs, Rice believes that the American University Kyiv will prepare its students to lead and help shape Ukraine’s future.