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Հայերեն (Armenian)
YEREVAN, Armenia — In 2024, the American University of Armenia (AUA) released its latest 10-year Strategic Plan, focused on positioning the University as a leading academic institution in Armenia and the region. Among the Plan’s seven institutional priorities, maintaining shared internal governance remains central to ensuring that the University’s growth is grounded in transparency, collaboration, and community engagement.
Shared governance at AUA emphasizes the active participation of faculty, staff, students, and executives in institutional decision-making. It is a process that fosters mutual accountability, shared responsibility, and inclusive dialogue — elements that are essential to the University’s long-term success.
Through the Faculty Senate, Staff Assembly, and Student Council, AUA ensures that shared governance is both structured and meaningful, providing clear channels for representation, consultation, and collaboration.
“As the official representative body of the faculty, the Faculty Senate contributes through thoughtful recommendations on policy development, active participation in collaborative committees and working groups, and continuous communication between faculty and administration. It also advocates for academic quality and faculty welfare by conveying faculty concerns, priorities, and feedback directly to University leadership, ensuring that faculty perspectives are incorporated early and meaningfully in the decision-making process,” remarked Dr. Lena Seissian, chair of the AUA Faculty Senate.
Shared governance reform efforts are reinforced by ongoing trust- and community-building initiatives among students, faculty, staff, and alumni, grounded in the principles of belonging, access, and community. Together, they embody AUA’s mission to serve as a center of academic excellence, innovation, inquiry, and diversity, advancing Armenia, the region, and the world. Members of the AUA community continue to serve actively on internal and external committees and advisory bodies, ensuring that governance remains both participatory and forward-looking.
Further reflecting on the importance of shared governance, Dr. Seissian noted: “Shared governance fosters trust and collaboration by creating inclusive processes, in which all institutional stakeholders can meaningfully contribute to decision-making. By ensuring that faculty, staff, and students have a voice in shaping the University’s direction, it encourages open dialogue and helps build a sense of shared purpose and collective responsibility across the institution. This approach promotes mutual respect, shared stronger communication, and higher engagement across the campus community.”
While the Faculty Senate provides a representative voice for academic personnel, the Staff Assembly plays a parallel role for AUA’s non-faculty employees, ensuring their perspectives and needs are likewise represented within the University’s governance structure. Acting as a key liaison between staff and University administration and other relevant stakeholders, the Staff Assembly aims to advocate for staff interests, support a healthy workplace culture, and strengthen employee engagement within the AUA community.
“The Staff Assembly strives to promote a positive and inclusive working environment and safeguard staff welfare. To achieve this, it provides an effective channel for communication with the administration, serves as a stakeholder in upholding existing AUA Personnel Policies and advocating policy changes that benefit employees, and fosters a sense of community by encouraging both individual and collective participation in University life,” noted AUA’s Assistant Vice President Anahit Ordyan.
Together with the Faculty Senate and the Staff Assembly, the Student Council completes AUA’s shared governance structure by providing formal representation for the student body. The Student Council representatives remarked: “For us, shared governance means that the student perspective is considered when important decisions are being made. Our job is to make sure that happens to the maximum extent possible, and it’s a big responsibility to shoulder. We regularly meet with the provost and the Board of Trustees once a year and communicate student concerns. It’s a bit like a balancing act.”
Student Council representative Varduhi Khalafyan (BAEC ’28) highlighted: “We know it’s important to show up and speak on behalf of the students. We have seen many examples of student initiatives influencing campus life. Some of it happens through clubs, which create fun events or start new traditions at AUA. We can’t take credit for that — it’s the work of the club members and leaders. But we do our best to support and promote their work. As the Student Council, we also started some of our own traditions, which now shape AUA’s identity.”
As outlined in AUA’s Strategic Plan, shared governance requires that service and outreach be integral responsibilities for all employees. To support active participation and distribute duties equitably, the Plan proposes the establishment of a Committee on Committees, which would ensure that standing and ad hoc committees are properly staffed and that no individual is overburdened. Composed of faculty and staff and overseen by the Office of the President, this body would draw on tools, such as the faculty data management system, to monitor engagement and uphold a healthy internal culture of service and empowerment.
Through these initiatives, AUA continues to set the standard for higher education governance in Armenia, ensuring that decision-making remains transparent, inclusive, and aligned with the University’s mission to educate future leaders with integrity and vision.
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 and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.