Category: 2022

YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) is proud to announce two Endowed Named Professorships reflecting the University’s commitment to excellence in research for the benefit of society. The Endowed Named Professorship Program seeks to attract world-class scholars to advance disciplinary and transdisciplinary research at the University.

The ultimate goal of the Endowed Named Professorship Program is to have one to two Endowed Named Professorships in each AUA college. The first two recently established are the William Frazer Professorship and the C. Judson King Professorship, both of which were endowed by AUA Trustee and longtime benefactor Edward Avedisian.

The William Frazer Endowed Professorship was created in honor of Professor William Frazer, University of California (UC) Senior Vice President Emeritus, Academic Affairs, and Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley Department of Physics. Dr. Frazer has served as Chairman of the Board of the AUA Corporation (AUAC), UC Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Acting Provost of UC San Diego’s Third College, and research scientist at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.

The C. Judson King Endowed Professorship was created in honor of Professor C. Judson King, UC Provost and Senior Vice President Emeritus, and Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Dr. King has served as Chairman of the AUAC Board of Trustees. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and served as Director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education of UC Berkeley.

An AUA endowment may support a part of the salary or costs directly related to the professorship research activities, such as a graduate assistant stipend or postdoctoral fellowship, administrative assistance, research instrumentation, travel, etc. Endowed Named Professors will be assigned to an AUA college where they are encouraged to produce high-quality research.

Appointment to an Endowed Named Professorship is the highest academic honor at AUA, which grants appointees the opportunity to make significant contributions to their respective research fields and reach their academic aspirations. The appointment also gives the Endowed Named Professor the opportunity to fulfill the expressed intentions of the benefactor aimed at the continued and enhanced development of the university.

Aside from these endowments, Avedisian has fully funded the AUA Zvart Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR) and the Paul Avedisian Center for Business Research and Development (CBRD). Additionally, he was the principal benefactor of the AUA Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB). In 2017, Avedisian was bestowed the inaugural AUA Presidential Commendation award.

Scholars interested in the C. Judson King Endowed Professorship and William Frazer Endowed Professorship are invited to apply here.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values. 

ANTALYA, Turkiye 

We are obliged to bring peace, prosperity and cooperation to the Black Sea region, said the head of a regional organization. 

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum which concluded last week, Asaf Hajiyev, the secretary-general of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), said the most important resource of the Black Sea region are the people who live there.

“Black Sea is important for the world because it can be considered as a bridge between Asia and Europe. At the same time the region is very rich in energy sources,” said Hajiyev.

“But the most important value of the region is not its geographical position or its resources. In fact, the most important value of the region, is the people who live here, different nations, with different traditions, different cultures, and moreover, with different religions,” he added.

“And we are in debt, we are obliged to bring peace, prosperity, and cooperation for the region,” he added amid a war between two PABSEC member states, Russia and Ukraine.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has not only affected those two countries and the PABSEC, but also the region and the world, said Hajiyev.

He said parliamentary diplomacy can play a positive role in ending the war and also dealing with its consequences, mainly the refugees.

“Parliamentary organizations, like PABSEC, have some good opportunities to start discussions between MPs,” Hajiyev said.

“As a result of this war, we now have more than 2 million refugees. They have to live a normal life, normal standards. So, it’s necessary to prepare some legislation for refugees to organize for them normal life,” he added.

“Today in the world, (there are) more than 86 million refugees plus 2 million from Ukraine, it’s close to 90 million,” he said.

This means every one in 100 people in the world is a refugee, he added.

But in the Black Sea region, this number is two times higher, he said. Among 50 people there is at least one refugee because the region has a population of 350 million, he added.

Hajiyev called for ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. “It’s very, very dangerous situation in the Black Sea and all countries are trying to help, of course, is a very complicated problem.”

He said: “History shows that confrontation gives nothing to the world.”

“I think the Black Sea, I mean in our region should not divide countries, but it should unite people, unite countries, unite people with different religions, different culture, different nations.”

– Resumption of direct talks between Turkiye and Armenia

Hajiyev said that he is optimistic about the resumption of direct talks between Turkiye and Armenia.

A historic meeting took place Saturday between Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on the forum’s sidelines. It was the first high-level visit to Turkiye from Armenia after many years.

Cavusoglu told reporters that the meeting was “extremely fruitful and constructive.”

“I guess the new authority and nation in Armenia, at last, understood that it’s necessary to have cooperation. But in this cooperation, Armenia is more interested than Turkiye,” said Hajiyev.

“And I hope that … the new prime minister, the new party, they have to start cooperation with Turkiye. Turkiye is a huge, very important country in the world, and the huge neighbor of Armenia,” Hajiyev said, adding that also establishing relations with Azerbaijan will positively reflect on Armenia and its economy.

“And there are a lot of common things between Armenian and Azerbaijani people because we live in one region, South Caucasus, not big region, small region. And here should be friendship, should be cooperation, should be peace,” he concluded.

Turkey deployed Syrian mercenaries to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces during 2020 Artsakh war

A group of civic organizations has compiled a detained report about the role of mercenaries—jihadists—deployed by Turkey to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 Artsakh War.

The report was proposed by and will be submitted to the United Nations Working Group on use of mercenaries.

According to the Open Society Foundations-Armenia, the report is  based on the evidence a group of human rights activists obtained  during and after the 44-day war.  

“The submitted evidence proves that Syrian mercenaries were hired and  transported to Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh Armenians and took  part in the hostilities for material gain, which was a violation of  the international humanitarian law. The evidence is incorporated in  the report entitled ‘Human rights violations during the 44-day war,’”  an OSF report reads.

Both Armenian servicemen and civilians, including the elderly who were unable to leave the combat zone, were killed by the mercenaries. 

The NGOs are calling on the relevant U.N. agencies to investigate the facts of hiring and using mercenaries by Azerbaijan and Turkey in  Nagorno-Karabakh and in other conflicts, as well as to apply  sanctions against the Turkish and Azerbaijani officials involved in  hiring and deploying Syrian mercenaries. The NGOs also proposed  submitting the evidence to the International Criminal Court for  holding Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as other countries,  responsible for using mercenaries. 

The NGOs point out a disturbing fact of the UN Working Group using  Azerbaijan’s false claims in their statements. They stress that by  equating the two parties this and other international agencies  aggravate the atmosphere of impunity and reduce the possibility of  compensations to the victims. 

The report has by prepared by the Open Society Foundations-Armenia,  Helsinki Citizens Assembly- Vanadzor, Protection of Rights Without  Borders, Transparency International, Public Journalism Club,  Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation and For  Equal rights NGOs.