Founding History

AUP Founding Week is a celebration of our global community and an opportunity to honor those who came before us. On March 27, 1962, AUP’s founder, Dr. Lloyd A. DeLamater, signed the original charter of the American College in Paris, thereby realizing his vision of an American international institution in the heart of the City of Light. 

This burgeoning AUP tradition, first celebrated in 2022, is a moment to reconnect with AUP’s foundational values—openness to cultural exchange, engagement with dialogues across borders and a commitment to international cooperation. Community members are invited to attend celebrations across the world, as well as campus animations organized by students, staff and faculty.

Discover this year's events, taking place from March 24-28

The charter of the American College in Paris was signed by our founder, Dr. Lloyd A. DeLamater, on March 27, 1962, thereby realizing DeLamater’s vision of an American international institution in the heart of the City of Light. The college aimed to teach students from all over the world to thrive in international environments, to respect and engage with multiple perspectives and to strive for collaboration across borders, languages and cultures. 

Since then, our community has achieved more than 60 years of rigorous academic discussion on the banks of the Seine. Students have spent six decades putting theory into practice with Cultural Program study trips across the world. They’ve forged lifelong friendships in the AMEX Café and collaborated on cross-border projects with peers from over 100 countries. The belief in the importance of an international community connects global explorers across our history and today inspires new students to join the ongoing debate. 

ACP began in a series of rented rooms in the basement of the American Church of Paris with an entering class of 100 students. Describing this first intake, DeLamater praised not only students’ academic performance, but also how each studied French as a foreign language, with many achieving fluency and rapidly adapting to French culture. Today, our consolidated campus on the banks of the Seine hosts a student body representing over 100 nationalities. We’ve graduated more than 20,000 alumni who live and work in 145 countries worldwide. By engaging in rigorous liberal arts scholarship across cultures, languages and disciplines, our community collaborates toward tangible solutions to global problems, united by a respect for diversity, by the celebration of difference and by a deep commitment to transformative liberal arts learning. 

Want to learn more about AUP's Founding? Discover more stories, archival photos and landmark dates below.