AUA to Enroll More Students

YEREVAN—Last week, a shipment of 450 new high-quality student chairs, as well as office desk chairs and equipment for the Acopian Center for Environment, arrived at the Yerevan campus of the American University of Armenia (AUA). The chairs, purchased in the U.S. and shipped to AUA with the help of the United Armenian Fund, will be used in the newly refinished and furnished classrooms of the university’s original building. The complete renovation of the building, along with the recent opening of a new campus building, has upgraded and substantially increased the university’s capacity to enroll more students and initiate new academic programs.

It has been two and a half years since AUA opened a new, state-of-the-art building—the Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB)—on its Yerevan campus. This construction was made possible by significant contributions from the Avedisian family, the Manoogian Simone Foundation, the TF Educational Foundation, and many other past and present supporters of AUA. The PAB is a four-story, 108,000 square foot building designed to accommodate the latest in classroom video, computer, and telecommunications equipment.

The renovation and furnishing of the classrooms and offices, as well as the upgrade of AUA’s information technology infrastructure in the PAB, was made possible by a grant from USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program. This grant also included replacement of all old windows in the original building, installation of an air-conditioning system, improvement of network connectivity, and the purchase of desktop computers, printers, notebooks, and software. These infrastructure improvements were necessary to further AUA’s mission to introduce new and transformational methodologies for training and educating future leaders and entrepreneurs in Armenia and the surrounding region.

By increasing its classroom space and improving its facilities, AUA will have the capacity to more than double its current enrollment, and also to welcome new students from outside of Armenia and create a more diverse campus environment. The university also aims to expand adult and professional education programs and to host more academic conferences, to reach a wider audience.

The AUA community expresses its gratitude to the Lincy Foundation, the United Armenian Fund, and USAID for their past and present support to the university, and for their assistance and cooperation in advancing education in Armenia through AUA.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia is affiliated with the University of California system and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, one of the six regional accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Through teaching, research, and public service, AUA serves Armenia and the region by supplying high-quality education in seven different major fields, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting democratic governance.