PRESS RELEASE
July 13, 2009
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gaiane Khachatrian
E-mail: [email protected]
AUA HOSTS TWO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES FOR UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS
The American University of Armenia hosted two conferences for overseas
American universities in May 2009, the annual meeting of the Association of
American International Colleges and Universities (AAICU) and the 2009
meeting of the American International Consortium of Academic Libraries
(AMICAL).
AAICU is an association of American universities established to promote
American standards of education, cultural exchange, and research and
development, as well as serving to bridge cultures and foster dialogue
within the framework of the American liberal arts tradition. During the
2009 meeting, the association reaffirmed its commitment to the AAICU Cairo
Declaration, which stated that the association serves as a "bridge for
encouragement of quality American-style education outside the United States
and for the translation of cultural and educational values in countries
where AAICU institutions are located to constituencies in the United
States."
"We were pleased to host both the AAICU and AMICAL meetings this year and to
have the opportunity to showcase the American University of Armenia and
Armenia for so many university presidents, provosts, and library directors
from all over Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia." remarked AUA
President Haroutune Armenian. The meetings were hosted in the new
state-of-the-art Paramaz Avedisian Building facilities.
An AAICU delegation will visit Washington, DC, in the fall of 2009 to
promote international dialogue on the core values of American higher
education, encourage expansion of support from the U.S. Agency for
International Development, and seek the extension of Pell grants to U.S.
students studying at AAICU member institutions and federal research grants
eligibility and institutional support to AAICU member institutions.
AAICU member institutions strive for a global standard of excellence by
providing privileged spaces of intellectual interchange, academic freedom
and responsibility. They also promote the pursuit of learning and of
democratic values so their graduates are prepared for the rapidly changing
needs of the twenty-first century.
AAICU members include the American University of Armenia, American
University of Cairo, American University of Beirut, The American College of
Greece, St. Louis University, Madrid Campus, Haigazian University, American
University in Kosovo, American University of Central Asia, American
University in Bulgaria, Lebanese American University, American College of
Thessaloniki, Institute for American Universities, Franklin College, The
American University of Paris, John Cabot University, Association of American
Colleges and University Programs in Italy, American College Dublin, American
University of Sharjah.
The AMICAL conference was the sixth in the series of annual conferences,
supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and brought together 60
participants including library, information and instructional technology
staff members and faculty from 21 AMICAL member institutions higher
education.
This year’s conference focused on "The Learner’s Perspective – Adapting
Information Services for Today’s Students" and how students are using
information resources in academic work and what technology needs. The
four-day conference featured two keynote speakers, Nancy Foster, University
of Rochester and James Simon of Sun Microsystems and a post-conference
workshop led by Matt Goldner, OCLC Executive Director.