-= AUA =- 10TH ANNIVERSARY !!!

[MosJan]

AUA MARKS ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS The American University of Armenia (AUA) marks this year the 10-th anniversary of its establishment. The President of the University Harutyun Armenyan met today with reporters to discuss anniversary and future plans related issues.

The American University of Armenia became a reality thanks to the steadfast support of the Armenian government and two major institutions in the United States: the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the University of California (UC).

On September 21, 1991 Armenia declared its independence. On the same day, AUA began instruction with 101 students enrolled. In a phenomenally short time, the vision had become a reality. Today, the American University of Armenia (AUA) operates as an independent, private, non-profit institution of higher education in Armenia.

AUA's academic program provides graduate education in Business and Management, Industrial Engineering, Information and Communication Technologies, Political Science, Health Sciences, Law, Comparative Legal Studies, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Parallel to its academic programs, AUA has established the Center for Business Research and Development, the Engineering Research Center, the Center for Policy Analysis, the Center for Environmental Management and Research, the Center for Health Services Research, and the Legal Resource Center to promote research in conjunction with graduate teaching.

At first there were concerns that the graduates would not remain in Armenia preferring to seek better paid jobs abroad, but out of 780 students who have graduated from the AUA, 72% work in the Armenian public and private sector organizations,

The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the main fund provider, has reduced the allocated money from $1 mln to $720,000.

The 10th anniversary of AUA will also be marked in San Francisco and Los Angeles December 7,8.

The head of the AGBU Armenia office Ashot Ghazarian said the AUA was one of those many AGBU-supported projects which have proved to be most efficient.