SUNNYVALE, Calif. — On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the American University of Armenia (AUA), the Synopsys Corporation hosted a special evening, bringing together AUA’s leadership and many of the dedicated supporters who have helped AUA to flourish. The event highlighted the role of higher education and technology in securing Armenia’s future. It was a very informative and enjoyable evening that witnessed the exchange of many valuable ideas. The attendees had the opportunity to meet the AUA president, members of its Board of Trustees and other officials from AUA and Synopsys.
Bruce Janigian, AUA vice president of development and government relations, opened the evening: “Tonight you will join with the American University of Armenia, a dream which became reality 20 years ago and which is now helping the youth of Armenia to achieve its dreams. Tonight you are standing on the bridge to the future of Armenia.” He emphasized that AUA is helping a new nation to realize a future of progress and achievement that extends all the way to the Silicon Valley, where the intellect and enterprise of young Armenians are helping to design the future of information technology.
Synopsys CEO, Art de Geus, welcomed the guests and highlighted his company’s business relationship with Armenia and the vital access to qualified professionals that the AUA produces. He noted that being technically strong is not enough. For a corporation like Synopsys, which employs 550 scientists and engineers in Armenia, the Western-style management skills provided by AUA are essential to its workforce and future.
Dr. Judson King, the chair of the Board of the American University of Armenia Corporation, former provost and senior vice president of the University of California (UC) Office of the President, and currently the director of the University of California’s Center for Studies in Higher Education, introduced the trustees to the guests and highlighted the importance of the relationship between UC and AUA.
AUA’s President Dr. Bruce Boghosian spoke about AUA’s accomplishments, its recent growth and future development. “Looking to the future, AUA is proposing to expand its impact by adding an undergraduate program, with approximately 300 students in each year of a four-year program, beginning in September 2013 and graduating our first class in June of 2017. At that point, we will have 1,200 undergraduate students, along with 400 graduate students, for a total student body of 1,600 — four times our current size,” he said.
Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, founding dean and current interim provost and trustee, shared the perspectives of a founder and remarked that the university is a purposeful and mature institution moving ahead with major substantive growth and expansion.
