American University of Armenia
Diana Manukyan | AUA PR Manager
Office of Communications
40 Marshal Baghramyan Ave. | Yerevan, 0019, Armenia
Tel: +374 60 612 522; Email: [email protected] |
American University of Armenia Develops Partnerships with Two UC Campuses
LOS ANGELES – At a ceremony held on January 15, 2015 on the University of
California at Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, AUA and UCLA jointly announced the
launch of a new AUA-UCLA Summer Intensive Program in Armenian Studies. At
the same event, AUA signed a memorandum of understanding with the
University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine) with the aim of promoting
future educational and scientific cooperation between the two universities.
Present at the meeting were AUA President Armen Der Kiureghian, AUA
President Emeriti Mihran Agbabian and Haroutune Armenian, AUA Trustee and
UCLA Professor Ann Karagozian and Alen Amirkhanian, the Director of AUA’s
Acopian Center for the Environment.
Representing UCLA were Dr. Peter Cowe, Narekatsi Professor of Armenian
Studies, Professor Gregory Areshian and Dr. Anahid Keshishian Aramouni.
Also present was UCLA Professor Emeritus Richard Hovhannisian and several
other UCLA faculty, staff, and students, who were there to help celebrate
this momentous occasion.
Representing UC Irvine were Dean Georges Van Den Abbeele of the School of
Humanities, Marijana Lekousis, Interim Director of Development, and several
students and supporters of UC Irvine’s burgeoning program in Armenian
studies.
The AUA-UCLA summer study abroad program has been developed within the
context of a wider range of collaborative projects discussed by Professor
Cowe and President Der Kiureghian. Being located in Armenia, AUA offers an
ideal hub for scholars and students of Armenian studies. The summer program
is the beginning of a joint effort that hopefully will lead to a broader
program of student and faculty interactions with UCLA and study-abroad
opportunities for students from all universities in the Diaspora. It is
noteworthy that both AUA and UCLA are accredited by the WASC Senior College
and University Commission in Alameda, CA. This facilitates transfer of
credit for courses taken in the summer program.
The 2015 AUA-UCLA summer program at AUA will comprise language courses in
Eastern Armenian at the introductory and intermediate levels, a survey
course on Armenia in the context of history of civilizations, and an
undergraduate research seminar-workshop. Professor Areshian and Dr.
Keshishian will deliver three of the courses. The program will commence on
June 15 and continue for five consecutive weeks. Visits to historical
sites, participation in cultural events, and interaction with prominent
artists and scholars in and around Yerevan as well as guided weekend
excursions to other regions of the republic will add a further dimension to
the students’ experience.
AUA President Dr. Der Kiureghian said, `We hope students from UCLA
as well
as other universities across the world will take advantage of this unique
opportunity. We are committed to making sure that students will have a
wonderful learning experience, not only in the classroom, but also through
a rich program of excursions and cultural events.’
AUA is also developing relations with other UC campuses. The Memorandum of
Understanding, which was signed by Dean Van Den Abbeele on behalf of the
entire UC Irvine campus and by AUA’s President Der Kiureghian, is a result
of the desire of the two universities to promote interactions and exchanges
between their students and faculty. UC Irvine has a large number of
Armenian students and is in the process of establishing an endowment to
support Armenian studies.
Dr. Der Kiureghian said, `We are very pleased to have this agreement with
UC Irvine, which aims at facilitating study abroad and faculty interactions
between our two universities. AUA provides an ideal choice for study abroad
for UC Irvine students who are interested in Armenian studies or wish to
study in their ancestral homeland for a summer, a semester or a year. We
would also be very pleased to host UC Irvine faculty who are interested in
studying the history and culture of Armenia or would like to spend a
sabbatical leave at AUA. We hope our students and faculty will be able to
make reciprocal visits and benefit from the many rich programs available at
UC Irvine.’
Dean Van Den Abbeele remarked, `We are most pleased and proud to enter into
this exciting new partnership with the American University of Armenia not
only for the tremendous opportunities it provides for our own burgeoning
program in Armenian studies here at UC Irvine, but also for the wider
exchange of scholars and students it will generate between all our fields
of inquiry, both at Irvine and in Yerevan.’
For further information about AUA summer programs, visit admissions.aua.am
or on Facebook fb.com/AUAadmissions, or email [email protected].
*Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private,
independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the
University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and
the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies,
encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic
values.*