Every day, students walk into classrooms at AUA named after certain individuals or see rows upon rows of named plaques decorating the campus.
The AUA Office of Development serves as a bridge between AUA and the diaspora, sharing opportunities to name AUA facilities and inspiring AUA supporters to leave their mark in the heart of Armenia. But the Development Office’s purpose and contributions to the university stretch far beyond this when it comes to supporting students.
Marina Babayan, a communications specialist in the Development team, has a unique role: She has been supporting her colleagues at the U.S. Office of Development in Glendale, California, promoting various university campaigns and fundraising programs since 2018 through content development.
Babayan explained that the Development Office’s mission is “to create various opportunities for AUA’s community of supporters to invest in education and ensure that the next generation of AUA scholars’ success translates to helping build a better and brighter future in Armenia.”
AUA students need to know that there is a tremendous effort made to support their education and that they should always think of giving back to their alma mater when they build successful careers in the future to support the next generation of AUA students to succeed, just like they did.
To achieve these goals, Babayan described previous and upcoming campaigns AUA donors supported. She mentioned the 100 Pillars of AUA campaign that helped build the foundation to raise unrestricted funds for the university to address its most pressing needs. The names of these 100 benefactors are currently placed in the lobby of the Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB).
Another recent campaign, AUA’s 200 ChangeMakers, supports the Open Centers of Excellence activities at AUA. “The purpose of these centers is to help initiate collaboration between AUA students, professors and leaders of industry from various backgrounds and disciplines to solve common problems in Armenia and provide sustainable solutions,” said Babayan.
For AUA’s 30th anniversary in 2021, AUA launched a capital campaign to support the construction of the new Science and Engineering Building. Babayan explained that the Build a Better Future With AUA capital campaign aims to advance the university’s science and engineering education. The new building will significantly enhance student enrollment in education that embraces rigorous curricula, instruction and assessment embedded in scientific inquiry and design thinking.
Additionally, AUA has two campaigns called Yes, Armenian Women Can!, aiming to support female students in the fields of science, engineering and entrepreneurship, and Honoring Those Who Served: Investing In Our Veterans’ Education, an important campaign supporting veteran students who risk their lives to defend Armenia.
When it comes to general scholarship support, Babayan noted that donors have the option to support students studying in specific fields, depending on their preference. Most of the donors are from the U.S.. Still, when they happen to visit the campus, scholarship recipients have the opportunity to meet the donors who made their AUA education possible.
“There are many students who are not aware that there is a dedicated team at the Development Office in the U.S. working tirelessly to ensure every deserving student at AUA has access to a Western-style education,” Babayan explained.
Involving more AUA students in the content Babayan makes will help the Development Office better communicate donors’ impact. It is crucial to raise awareness of the different campaigns providing a path forward for the university’s programs and its ambitious scholars.
Developing AUA is a collaborative effort and recognizing everyone who contributes to it will help build a more unified community.
