YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Shant Shahrigian as the inaugural director of the University’s new Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ). In 2023, AUA, in partnership with Washington State University, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the Center and create a new master’s program in journalism education. The $1.3 million, four-year university partnership initiative is funded by the United States Embassy in Yerevan to support Armenia’s media sector. CEJ will serve as a hub for journalism education and leadership in research, training, best practices, and collaboration with leading experts and policymakers that advances knowledge of how quality journalism can serve as a bulwark against misinformation and improve networking within Armenia’s journalism ecosystem. The Center will also offer professional development programs serving the wider media community.
As director, Shahrigian will collaborate with AUA colleagues, working journalists, students, and other stakeholders to make CEJ a vibrant part of Armenia’s journalism landscape. He will also teach undergraduate and graduate students, with the goal of nurturing the country’s next generation of leaders in the field.
Shahrigian comes to AUA after working for over a decade in New York City, where he covered politics, the COVID-19 outbreak, and other metro stories for The New York Daily News, going on to serve as its night news editor. He also did a stint at The New York Post and was editor-in-chief of The Riverdale Press, which twice won the New York Press Association’s award for best community newspaper in the state under his leadership. Prior to that, Shahrigian reported and edited for Deutsche Welle’s English department in Bonn, Germany during the European debt crisis. His freelance reporting has appeared in numerous local and international publications.
Shahrigian earned master’s degrees in business journalism and philosophy from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the City University of New York Graduate Center, respectively. He has taught at the City College of New York and Manhattan College.
Shahrigian was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia and received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. A lifelong lover of languages, he looks forward to finally nailing down his Armenian during his time at AUA.
The American University of Armenia, in partnership with Washington State University, signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 to establish a Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) and create a new master’s program in multiplatform journalism. The $1.3 million, four-year university partnership initiative is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan to support Armenia’s media sector. CEJ will serve as a hub for journalism education and leadership in research, training, best practices, and collaboration with leading experts and policy makers that advances knowledge of how quality journalism can serve as a bulwark against misinformation and improve networking within Armenia’s journalism ecosystem. The Center will also offer professional development programs serving the wider media community.