American University of Nigeria's impact on Northern Nigeria

Ensign, who led AUN from 2010 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022, highlighted how the institution's focus on community engagement was crucial for its survival amidst threats from Boko Haram. AUN, located in rural northeastern Nigeria, established the Adamawa Peace Initiative in 2012, bringing together Muslim and Christian leaders, businesspeople, and youth leaders. This initiative focused on engaging youth, promoting religion as an instrument of peace, empowering women, and emphasizing education as the foundation of society.

Programs like Feed and Read aimed to reduce hunger and increase literacy among street children, while Peace through Sports united youth from diverse backgrounds. The Technology-Enhanced Learning for All initiative helped over 20,000 internally displaced children learn to read via radio. AUN also provided the Library on a Flash program to local hospitals for medical research access.

The university granted scholarships to 21 young women who escaped Boko Haram. When 300,000 refugees arrived in Yola in 2014, AUN utilized its community relationships to provide food and housing, and opened its facilities to students from a destroyed university. Ensign noted that every department at AUN integrated community-based projects into its curriculum, including entrep