After having served as the President of the American University of Armenia (AUA) for five years, Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian has retired from his position. As Dr. Der Kiureghian moves on to his next chapter, the Zoryan Institute would like to express our sincere gratitude to him for playing such a major role in the establishment of the Zoryan Institute and AUA affiliation.

The ZI-AUA affiliation was formed to study the many forces and factors that shape Armenia’s current reality. With the affiliation, the Institute hosted an international symposium on Transitional Justice, established the ZI-AUA Center for Oral History and is currently working towards an international conference analyzing the Velvet Revolution and its impact one year later.

The affiliation of ZI-AUA was founded on shared values, responsibilities and benefits for both institutions and their constituencies, and we have no doubt that Dr. Der Kiureghian will continue to help us in our future endeavours in Armenia.

On behalf of the Institute’s Board of Directors, executives and staff, we would like to wish Dr. Kiureghian the very best.