AUA Launches AUA Press with Shushan Avagyan as its Inaugural Director

2 min read

YEREVAN, Armenia ‒ The American University of Armenia (AUA) is proud to announce the launch of the AUA Press, which will serve as the publishing arm of the University. Dr. Shushan Avagyan was appointed as its inaugural Director, effective January 15, 2019. She assumes this position in addition to her current responsibilities at AUA as Assistant Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) and as the Coordinator of the graduate Certificate in Translation program.

“As one of the faculty members behind the movement to start a press at AUA, I have always believed that the University ought to and can produce works of high intellectual merit that will contribute to scholarly dialogue in Armenia and abroad,” remarked Dr. Avagyan. “Due to its geopolitical location, links to the diaspora, and mission to disseminate scholarship to both local and international academic communities, as well as readers in general, AUA Press will effectively contribute to and impact critical discourses in English and in Eastern and Western Armenian.”

With fifteen years of experience in publishing both in the U.S. and Armenia, Dr. Avagyan served as Editorial Assistant for Dalkey Archive Press and for Mandorla Magazine. For the former, she also served as Book Review Editor of contemporary Armenian and Russian fiction and as in-house literary translator. Having moved to Armenia in 2012, she has produced a number of books in collaboration with several organizations, including the Women’s Resource Center, the Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum, the Open Book Initiative, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Dr. Avagyan received her undergraduate degree in book arts and printmaking from Cedar Crest College, and her graduate and doctoral degrees in English studies from Illinois State University, both in the U.S. She has an extensive record of publications, including articles in peer-reviewed journals, translations, as well as reviews and interviews.

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 value.