President’s Message

Watch Now: AUA 25th Anniversary Clip

 The American University of Armenia is 25 years old!  

Armen-Der-Kiureghian_portraitFirst, I would like to congratulate our graduating class of 2016 and look forward to their continued engagement in the life of AUA in their new status as alumni.

AUA opened in 1991 with 101 students in three graduate programs in a Soviet-era facility. A quarter of a century later, we have more than 1,500 students (approaching 2,000 in fall 2016) enrolled in 8 graduate and 3 undergraduate degree programs, a University Extension that offers continuing education or preparatory courses to more than 3,000 students annually, nine research centers that address critical national and international problems, a vibrant program of digitizing classical and Western Armenian literature, and the Turpanjian Rural Development Program that trains and assists entrepreneurs in rural areas of Armenia to start their own businesses. We have enhanced and grown our facilities threefold with modern classrooms, auditoria, offices, food facilities and, most recently, student dormitories. And, we have the best English-language library in the region, serving more than 15,000 patrons from within and outside the University. Along the way, we have achieved accreditation through the WASC Senior College and University Commission, one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education, as well as licensure from the Ministry of Education of Armenia. These recognitions are testaments to the quality and rigor of our curricular and co-curricular programs.  The Armenian and American governments have demonstrated their unwavering support for our mission and programs.

The above has been possible in large part due to the dedication to the mission of the University among our students, faculty, staff and alumni. All of us at AUA see our roles as more than educators; we are committed to the betterment of human life and to having a transformative impact on the social and economic conditions of Armenia and the region.

Equally important, the above advancements could only have been possible due to the generosity of our benefactors. Thanks to them, we have been able to open the University to all qualified students, regardless of their financial abilities. Our benefactors have helped us create endowment funds exceeding $45M and a campus with classrooms and public spaces that rival those of the best universities in the world. Projecting to the next quarter century, we envision the further growth of our academic programs, facilities and enrollments. In the near term, we hope to introduce new degree programs on the bachelor’s level. Longer term, we envision additional graduate degree programs, including doctoral, doubling the size of our campus, adding science labs and instructional spaces to diversify learning, and accommodating students from Armenia and abroad.

We invite you to join us on this journey.

Armen Der Kiureghian

President