Billed as the country's first independent university, the American University of Afghanistan was established in 2004 with financial support from the highest levels of the American and Afghan governments. But its development has been rockier than anticipated, even taking into account Afghanistan's growing instability. A number of current and former faculty members say that a good share of the blame goes to the university's recently departed president, Thomas M. Stauffer, a former head of two U.S. universities, who stepped down in September without offering any explanations about why he was leaving after less than two years. Critics describe Stauffer as an absent administrator, detached from the realities on the ground and uninterested in soliciting advice from the staff. Stauffer's controversial leadership and abrupt departure raise questions about how he was hired and what potential may have been squandered during a critical time in the university's growth.