"US AMBASSADOR IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN YSU AND ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY." J. MCANDREW

During the conference, specialists from YSU's long-time partner Arizona State University, and representatives of various universities in Armenia will present reports with the aim of discussing the features of the US-Eurasia dialogue, emphasizing the ways and approaches to the development of Armenia-US relations.

YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, Director of the Public Relations Department of the US Embassy in Armenia Jennifer McAndrew, Arizona State University "Melikyan" Center Professor Stephen Batalden and Head of the Department of American Affairs of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armen Yeganyan addressed the international conference.

The Rector of YSU, appreciating the role and significance of the international conference in the context of highlighting and discussing key topics, spoke about the effectiveness of the master's program "American studies" operating at the university and the advantages for students and faculty members.

"The international conference is of particular importance in several ways: we are proud to record the fact that the master's program "American Studies" is one of the best educational programs operating at Yerevan State University, and this cooperation with Arizona State University proves its high level of efficiency and great opportunities for expansion. During our visit to Arizona State University, we also discussed new approaches and ways of developing the program in order to make this cooperation more comprehensive and compatible," emphasized H. Hovhannisyan.

Jennifer McAndrew, director of the public relations department of the US Embassy in Armenia, thanked the researchers, scientists, and students participating in the conference for the efforts invested in the successful implementation and continuous improvement of the project, in her speech. "The US Embassy is proud to support this partnership between YSU and Arizona State University, which aims to connect the Armenian and American educational sectors, expand cooperation, develop the research capacity of program participants, update and improve curricula, and engage in collaborative in new research works".

Professor Stephen Batalden of the "Melikyan" Center of Arizona State University, who has been cooperating with Yerevan State University for almost 20 years, said in his speech, "This cooperation in the field of American studies testifies to the importance of US-Armenia relations. The two universities are making every effort to develop national mutual understanding and complementarity within the framework of the program, which will contribute to increasing the effectiveness and relevance of the program."

Alexander Margarov, head of the International Cooperation Department of YSU, head of the "American Studies" program, presenting the features of the master's program, and the scientific research works carried out within its framework, pointed out, "The conference is a part of the grant program funded by the US Embassy, which has several directions. Within the framework of the "American Studies" master's educational program created 2 years ago, the teaching staff of the program has undergone training, thanks to which we already have 20 students. The research factor in this program is particularly large, and that is the reason why we regularly announce grant programs for the center's researchers, including programs that are open to conducting scientific research activities in Armenia in general."

The head of the master's program added that the specialists awarded the grant program published about 20 articles and organized 15 seminars at the university.

Speaking about the idea of creating a center and master's program at Yerevan State University, Vahagn Aglyan, director of YSU American Studies Center, said, "We had the idea of organizing a conference a year ago, with the aim of developing and applying our scientific potential in cooperation with Arizona State University experts and representatives of other international and local universities, as well as to demonstrate the capabilities of our expert community."

The director of the center also noted that the main goal of the international conference is to organize an academic environment with a wide range of topics, where scientists, researchers, and students will exchange ideas and have effective discussions.

"After the end of the conference, we plan to publish the reports presented in the framework of it in a joint volume of YSU and Arizona State University," summed up V. Aglyan.

Armen Yeganyan, Head of the Department of American Affairs of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking about the transition of Armenian-American relations to a new strategic level, noted, "During the years, problems related to RA-US economic, security, energy, social, judicial, legal, political and educational spheres were discussed. Armenian-American relations have the nature of a friendly partnership and include various fields. The various educational projects implemented within the framework of Armenia-US defense cooperation are noteworthy, the purpose of which is to develop RA's capabilities in the field of peacekeeping, increase the level of cooperation and support the implementation of RA Armed Forces reforms.

It is noteworthy that, in addition to researchers and scientists from Yerevan and Arizona State Universities, representatives of California State, Valery Brusov State and Armenian-Russian Universities also presented reports at the two-day conference.

The details of the master's program "American Studies" operating at YSU can be found here.