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American University of Armenia: A Groundbreaking Year in Review

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  • American University of Armenia: A Groundbreaking Year in Review

    American University of Armenia: A Groundbreaking Year in Review

    http://asbarez.com/117909/american-university-of-armenia-a-groundbreaking-year-in-review/
    Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

    The AUA's Avedisian building

    For the American University of Armenia, 2013 has been an historic year.

    When the university was originally founded in 1991, its leaders were
    intellectual and geopolitical pioneers, bringing an American education
    to the former Soviet Union, where no American-accredited university
    had ever gone.

    The American University of Armenia was founded through a unique
    partnership with the University of California, the U.S. Agency for
    International Development, the Armenian General Benevolent Union and
    the Armenian government, and accredited through the prestigious
    Western Association of Schools and Colleges.*

    Since that time, the American University of Armenia has built and
    consistently strengthened academic and cultural bridges between the
    United States, Armenia and the broader region, fostering a passion for
    intellectual freedom and inquiry, and educating graduate students from
    across the world.

    Now, the American University of Armenia has broken new ground once again.

    AUA students at a lecture hall

    Expanding the Scope of a Global Education
    This fall, the American University of Armenia has matriculated its
    first ever undergraduate class, marking another monumental step
    forward for the university and the intellectual discourse between the
    United States, Armenia and the culturally diverse region that
    surrounds it.

    This new undergraduate program will drastically expand the American
    University of Armenia's educational scope, allowing the university to
    reach an even broader group of ambitious scholars.

    University leaders say that the new program will help them instill a
    new generation of young people with practical lifelong learning skills
    and the knowledge necessary to think critically and creatively about
    the challenges of tomorrow's changing world.

    `There are more students in our halls and classrooms than ever
    before,' said Dr. Bruce M. Boghosian, president of the American
    University of Armenia. `This will help us better fulfill our mission,
    which is to address the needs of Armenia and the surrounding region
    for sustainable development. We want to create an educational setting
    that values and develops academic excellence, free inquiry, integrity,
    scholarship, leadership and service to society.'

    The program will also enhance the university's efforts to connect
    young minds from all over the world, and empower them to become the
    next generation of leaders in Armenia.

    Boghosian says that, after so much hard work by so many university
    stakeholders to establish the undergraduate program, watching the
    program come to fruition has been hugely rewarding.

    `Seeing these young undergraduate students exploring the campus and
    attending classes for the first time has been a profoundly moving
    experience for all of us,' Boghosian said. `We always strive to
    enhance intellectual and cultural bonds between students and faculty
    from across the world. We are proud to see that happening on our
    campus every day, and we know that our new undergraduate program will
    help us make our educational experience even stronger.'

    AUA students in a classroom

    Bringing Change to Communities Across the Region
    The matriculation of its first undergraduate class isn't the only
    progress the university has made this year. The American University of
    Armenia has continued to engage actively in philanthropic efforts that
    provide underserved students access to educational resources; empower
    entrepreneurs to start businesses and create jobs; help to protect
    endangered regional wildlife habitats; and contribute to many other
    critical efforts across the region.

    The Turpanjian Rural Development Program hosted by the university, for
    example, encourages economic development in rural areas of Armenia by
    providing entrepreneurs education, access to funding and support to
    start businesses and create jobs. So far, the program has helped 250
    entrepreneurs actively operate businesses and contributed to the
    creation of more than 500 jobs.

    Another of the university's programs provides tuition-free college
    preparation and career development courses for Syrian-Armenians whose
    access to educational resources has been substantially hindered by the
    ongoing crisis in Syria.

    In addition, the American University of Armenia's Acopian Center for
    the Environment fosters a strong commitment to environmental
    protection in Armenia by working to strengthen crucial wildlife
    habitats, educating students about biodiversity and collaborating on
    conservation initiatives with environmental groups across the region.

    A Tradition of Excellence in Graduate Education
    The university also continues to provide the top-notch graduate
    programs that have made it a unique institution in Armenia for the
    last 20 years. Specifically, the university offers programs across a
    wide array of academic fields, including in Business and Economics,
    Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, Public Health
    and the Environment.

    But most importantly, whether in the context of its new undergraduate
    program, its elite graduate courses or its critical philanthropic
    work, the American University of Armenia continues to provide a
    nurturing environment for a global community of students to learn and
    grow.

    `Every day when you go out, you're just surrounded by these youthful
    people, part of the change in this country,' said Lilit Markosian, an
    undergraduate student from California. `I just feel really lucky I get
    to witness that.'

    The American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent
    university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded in 1991, AUA is
    affiliated with the University of California. Through teaching,
    research, and public service, AUA serves Armenia and the region by
    supplying high-quality, graduate and undergraduate education,
    encouraging civic engagement, and promoting democratic values.

    *The American University of Armenia is accredited by the Accrediting
    Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western
    Association of Schools and Colleges, 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100,
    Alameda, CA 94501, (510) 748-9001.

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