YEREVAN/NEW YORK — The American University of Armenia (AUA) in May announced the appointment of new Provost Dr. Alina Gharabegian. Occupying various teaching roles since the age of 19, Dr. Gharabegian taught in California and New York — at California State University in Los Angeles and throughout four of the City University of New York’s campuses, teaching both literature and composition/rhetoric — before she was hired into a tenure track position at New Jersey City University (NJCU) in 2009. She served as chair of the English department at NJCU from 2014-17, vice president of NJCU’s Union for a term, and interim dean of AUA’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) during her Fulbright stint in the 2018-19 academic year.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gharabegian to the role of provost of the American University of Armenia,” said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian. “She brings a wealth of experience in academic administration, combined with familiarity with the AUA community from her time as acting dean here. As our chief academic officer, she is well equipped to raise the level of teaching and research at this institution to the next level. All of us on the AUA executive team are very much looking forward to working with her.”
Gharabegian holds B.A., M.A., and M.Phil. degrees in the field of English literature, as well as a PhD in English, with an emphasis in Victorian poetry and poetics, from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban university system in the United States. There, she also underwent extensive training and developed expertise in composition/rhetoric theory and pedagogy, in addition to her primary training in 19th-century British literature. We asked Dr. Gharabegian about her vision for the role of provost, her motivation to return to AUA, and more.
What is your vision for your role of provost?
AUA has articulated for itself a sacred mission, in my opinion. Guarding the integrity of this mission is, in part, the provost’s responsibility. As chief academic officer, the provost is charged with maintaining the academic standards and facilitating the academic growth of the institution, so I see my role primarily as serving those twin purposes. I hope to foster a greater sense of community and collaboration among the academic units, and one way to achieve a sense of community is by unifying people, which I take to be part of my charge, as well. I’m a humanist, first and foremost, so I intend to model humanistic conduct — to privilege ethics and rationality, honor and inspire individuals, and expect social responsibility from all. It’s also part of my role, I think, to learn from others and to teach. The provost’s position, if I may be allowed to use an analogy, is that of a conductor who relies on every single individual in the orchestra to make the magic happen — together!
What motivated you to join AUA?