David H. Blake, professor emeritus and former dean of The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, was appointed Interim Dean of the College of Business and Economics (CBE). “Professor Blake is an accomplished academic who has served as the dean of four major US business schools and I am delighted to have him join our team,” said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian.

AUA hosted a lecture on January 21 by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, marking the 21st anniversary of the founding of Armenia’s Armed Forces. The talk, entitled “Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia – 21 Years Old in the 21st Century,” featured an in-depth presentation on Armenia’s Armed Forces, exploring its two-decade-long history, the current security challenges it faces, and its future agenda. President Bruce Boghosian opened the event by welcoming First Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and his Senior Administrative Staff Specialist Margarita Hakobyan.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences organized a two-day workshop on January 14-15, entitled “Fair-Play and Collaboration: Intellectual Property, Working Conditions and Collaborative Actions for Writers and Literary Translators.” The workshop, developed in collaboration with Next Page Foundation, the National Publishers Association of Armenia and the Eastern Partnership Culture Program of the European, and organized in the framework of the Book Platform Project, provided practical knowledge on the various aspects of the rights of translators and writers, ranging from legal to social rights. The workshop featured Daniel Hahn, program director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, an award-winning writer and translator; Sonya Vardanyan, Head of Copyright and Related Rights Department of the Intellectual Property Agency of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia; and Shushan Mkhitaryan, Chief Specialist of Copyright and Related Rights Department of the Intellectual Property Agency of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, as well as several other experts.

The Center for Research in Applied Linguistics launched an English language childcare program for preschoolers designed to provide children with an immersive English learning environment. This program, which piloted in the summer of 2012, now has has a home of its own on the university’s campus. The dedicated classroom is equipped and decorated to provide preschool children, with fun and meaningful play experiences.

Associate Dean of the College of Health Sciences Dr. Varduhi Petrosyan discussed public health issues in a one-on-one interview on the online news channel Civilnet.

Dr. Petrosyan spoke with Diana Muradova on the Ditaket program about the most pressing public health issues facing Armenia, highlighting in particular the high prevalence of smoking among men and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. “Armenia is similar to many high-income countries in terms of the top reasons for mortality,” according to Dr. Petrosyan, who was recently appointed to serve as an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Armenia on Health Reforms on a voluntary basis. “Over 90% of mortality in Armenia is due to non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes mellitus.”

International Scientific Symposium on Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health: Mining and Construction in Transition Economies
April 22 – 23, 2013