Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Staff Report
Mr. Thomas McClanahan, Associate Vice-President for Grants and Research, announced that Fresno State was awarded a grant of $104,440 for the purpose of conducting a Faculty Development Program in Business and Economics with Yerevan State University under the Newly Independent States (NIS) College and University Partnership Program.
Fresno State professors will collaborate with Yerevan State University Professors to develop curricula in the area of business and economics.
Project director for Fresno State is Barlow Der Mugrdechian of the Armenian Studies Program, who applied for the grant, and Associate Project Director is Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program. Project co-directors from Yerevan State University (YSU) are Rafael Matevossian, Pro-Rector (Vice President) for International Relations, and Grigor Gharibian, Dean of the School of Business. Der Mugrdechian had traveled to Armenia recently to strengthen the YSU-Fresno State sister-university ties and the idea of the grant application arose out of discussions with YSU faculty.
The goal of the project is to contribute to economic and political stability in Armenia by fostering educational reform in the area of business/economics at Yerevan State University. The program will enhance the expertise of educators and business practitioners in the basic business and economic principles that underlie all modern market economies. The program has been designed to facilitate Armenia’s development as a technologically advanced, democratic, and free-enterprise society.
Modern business practices will be applied to real world problems by inviting local business practitioners to the Yerevan State University campus for seminars, workshops, and demonstration projects. By first observing and later participating in these seminars for local businesses, the YSU faculty will gain insight into the nature of business consulting.
As part of the Program, selected faculty from YSU will travel to Fresno State to engage in a series of workshops and seminars on business practices used in modern consulting. The advantages of establishing a business center at YSU modeled on the University Business Center at Fresno State will be discussed.
Fresno State faculty, from the Sid Craig School of Business, will travel to Yerevan to provide a series of short, intensive courses in core areas of instruction at Yerevan State University.
The uses of internet and distance learning techniques will be encouraged with students at both campuses becoming actively involved in distance learning courses. The duration of the grant is from August 15, 1999 to August 15, 2000.
The project was assisted financially by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Information Agency under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended.