American University of Armenia

After the Spitak earthquake, several seismologists from the West came to Armenia to restore the region. In 1989, Yuri Sargsyan, the rector of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, proposed to Armen Der Kuregian, professor of construction engineering at the University of California (Berkeley) , to create an Armenian technical university based on the Western model of education, to further promote educational progress in Armenia.

It was decided to create a university where the American model will be taken as a basis. Der Kuregyan and another American seismologist Migran Agbabyan, professor at the University of Southern California , set about realizing the goal. A number of American and Armenian academicians supported this concept of creating a university. Der Kureghyan and Agbabyan, and later Stepan Karamardyan, former dean of the Gary Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Riverside , presented their proposal to the Armenian Government ^[3] .

Two organizations took up the idea of ​​creating the American University of Armenia - the All - Armenian Charity Union (AGBU) and the University of California . Also, the Armenian government represented by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (now the Ministry of Education and Science) provided financial and logistical support to the university from 1989 to 1991 . In 1990, the Presidium of the University of California decided to cooperate with the new university, which resulted in technical support, exchange of experience and training for the American University of Armenia.

After the independence of Armenia, in September 1991, 101 students studied at the university ^[3] .

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  AUA building and surroundings

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  Main building

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  Entrance to the building of Parmazan Avetisyan

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  View of the main building and the building of Parmazan Avetisyan

The two main buildings of the University - the Main Building and the Paramaz Avetisyan Building are located at the same address - 40 Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, in the center of Yerevan. ^[4] Marshal Baghramyan Avenue is one of the main streets of the city, on which the Presidential Residence and the National Assembly of Armenia are also located. The British Embassy is located next to the main building of the university. The statue of the Soviet marshal of Armenian origin - Ivan Baghramyan (Hovhannes Baghramyan) , in whose honor the street is named, was erected in front of the university in 2003. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Main building

In Soviet times, the main building of the university, which is informally called the "old building" (հին մասնաշենք), ^[8] housed the House of Political Education of the Central Committee of the Armenian Communist Party. ^[9] The building was provided to the university on September 21, 1991 by decision of the government. ^{[10] [11]} Initially, classrooms, laboratories, a library and offices were located on 6 floors of the building. ^[12] After the completion of the Paramaz Avetisyan building in 2008, the main building began to be used for administrative and non-academic needs. ^[13] On the roof of the main building there are solar panels with a capacity of about 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh), with a photovoltaic power of 5 kWh, which ensures continuous operation of the system. ^[14]

Paramaz Avetisyan Building

The construction of the building designed by Gagik Galstyan ^[15] began in 2005 and was completed on November 1, 2008. ^[16] The Avetisyan building is located next to the main university building. ^[17] Classrooms, classrooms, laboratories, a research center, and faculty offices are located on an area of ​​nearly 100,000 sq. Ft. ^[13]

AUA Center

The AUA Center is located at 9 Alec Manukyan Street , in the center of Yerevan. ^[4] This is a multifunctional business center with 2 conference rooms, a meeting room and a large audience. ^[18] The center was founded in 1999 with financial support from the US government. ^[nineteen]

The Wartakes Building and Asmik Barsam

In 2005, he received a gift from Vartakes Barsam Hye Business Suites Hotel on Mgera Mkrtchana 8. The building is used to accommodate invited teachers and students and provides additional income to the university. ^{[20] [21]} The US Agency for International Development invested $ 300,000 in building renovation. ^[22]

AGBU Papazian Library

The library was opened in the year the university was founded - 1991. The library is named after the Papazyan family, a generous AU donor. ^[23] According to June 2015, the library has 45,291 printed books and 205,000 digital books, magazines, CD / DVDs and audio tapes. ^[24] Several prominent American Armenians donated books to the library. Including historian Richard Hovhannisyan, who donated 1339 books, academician and teacher Vartan Gregorian, who has donated books from his personal library since 2010, by 2014 the collection consisted of 600 books, mostly in English. ^[25]

The American University of Armenia was accredited by the University Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 2006. The university received candidate status for accreditation in 2002. ^[26] AUA was the first university in the post-Soviet space accredited by the United States Educational Institute. Accreditation of AUA means that a degree obtained at a university is recognized in the United States and has the same status as an education received in the United States. ^[27] By 2013, the AIA received accreditation from the Western Association and a license from the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia for providing a four-year education. ^[28]

In 2014, about 1200 students studied at the university. Armen Der Kiuregyan, president of the university, said that by 2014 the university graduated 2500 students, 71% of graduates live and work in Armenia. ^[29]

Among the graduates of the University:

• Emil Babayan - Deputy Prosecutor General (2013), received a master’s degree from the Faculty of Jurisprudence in 2001. ^[thirty]
• Sedrak Barseghyan - Advisor to the Minister of Staff of the Government of Armenia (2013). He graduated from the university in 2009. ^[31]
• Lilit Galstyan - Member of Parliament from the Dashnaktsutyun Party (2007-2012), graduated from the Department of Political Science and International Relations in 1996. ^{[16] [32]}
• Tevan Poghosyan - Member of Parliament from the Heritage Party (since 2012), graduated from the Department of Political Science and International Relations in 1996. ^[33]

Branches

• College of Business and Economics
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Technology and Engineering
• School of Public Health

Undergraduate

• Business
• English
• Computational Sciences
• Engineering
• Computer techologies

1. Migran Aghbabyan (1991-1997) ^[34]
2. Haroutune Armenyan (1997-2009) ^{[35] [36]}
3. Bruce Boghosyan (2009—2014) ^[37]
4. Armen Der Kiuregyan (2015-) ^[38]

American University is considered one of the best universities in Armenia. He was recognized as such by the former Minister of Education Armen Ashotyan (2009—2016), ^{[39] the} American Embassy in Armenia, ^{[40] the} newspaper Armenian Weekly, ^{[41] the} Armenian branch of Radio Liberty , ^[42] independent news agency CivilNet ^[29] and other media representatives. ^{[43] [44]} AUA ranks second among Armenian universities (after Yerevan State University ) in the following ratings:

In 2009, a business report prepared by the University of Michigan stated: “According to surveys, the only worthy MBA program in Armenia is taught in Yerevan at American University.” ^[47] In 2004, the US Embassy in Armenia prepared a report “Corruption Causes Great Damage to Armenian Universities,” which states that, according to graduates, American University is the only “clean”, non-corrupt university in Armenia, where students' performance is the result of their work. . ^[48]

In 2004, AUA was one of the four universities in Armenia, where they studied in the specialty of Public Administration . ^[49]

Richard Mills, US Ambassador to Armenia, delivering an opening speech at ACA in 2015, said: “The American University of Armenia is not like any other university in the country. Nowhere do you get so critical of thinking like here. Continuing the traditions of the educational system of the University of California, the American University gives birth and nurtures critical thinking skills to students, which will serve them well throughout their lives. ” ^[50]

At a fundraising banquet for an American university in June 1994, the US ambassador to Armenia, Harry Gilmore, called the university an “island of light” in a country engaged in hostilities and experiencing economic difficulties, where people lived without heating or electricity for several years. Gilmore praised the university as follows: ^[51]

The list of prominent people who visited the university and / or gave lectures there includes Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Representatives Committee (April 2014), ^[52] rock singer Serge Tankyan (April 2015), ^[53] former president Armenia Serge Sargsyan (July 2015), ^[54] Michael Dukalis , former Massachusetts Governor and 1988 US Democratic candidate (April 2016), ^{[55] [56]} Jim Costa, California Democratic Party representative (July 2016 ), ^[57] Yuri Hovhannisyan , a Russian scientist in the field of ex Peripheral Nuclear Physics (September 2016). ^[58]

Other Foreign Universities in Armenia

• French University in Armenia
• Russian-Armenian University

Other American Universities

• American University of Beirut , Lebanon
• American University of Central Asia , Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
• American University of Cairo , Egypt
• BYU Center in Jerusalem, Israel
• American University of Paris, France
• American University of Dubai, UAE

• Cooperative Efforts of Libraries . 2002

• Official site