Endowed Named Professorships at the American University of Armenia reflect our commitment to excellence in research for the benefit of society. The Endowed Named Professorship Program seeks to attract world-class scholars to advance disciplinary and transdisciplinary research at the University. The ambition of the Endowed Named Professorship Program is to have one to two Endowed Named Professorships in each college.

Endowed Named Professorships may be created by the University upon receipt of an endowment from a donor or donors. The creation of an Endowed Named Professorship must be approved by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the President. The Endowed Named Professorship carries the name of the donor, an individual, or a group whom the donor wishes to memorialize. Endowed Named Professorships require a donation of not less than $1,000,000 – the income from the endowment is used to maintain the professorship in perpetuity. Donation of $900,000 may be accepted to start an Endowed Named Professorship, if a portion of the income earned continuously is added to the principal, with the aim to make the principal grow to at least $1,000,000 in a planned fashion.

The endowment may support a part of salary or activities directly related to the professorship research environment, like a graduate assistant stipend or postdoc stipend, administrative assistance, research instrumentation, travel expenses, etc. Endowed Named professors will be assigned to the college where the selected candidate has a disciplinary connection, and he/she will be encouraged to produce high-quality research at AUA.

It is the highest academic honor at AUA for a member of the faculty to be appointed to an Endowed Named Professorship. The purpose of the appointment is to give the Endowed Named Professor the opportunity to make greater contributions to their research field and academic aspirations. The appointment also gives the Endowed Named Professor the opportunity to fulfill the expressed intentions of the benefactor, all toward the continued and enhanced development of the university. 

Endowed Named Professors must be a full-time member of the University faculty, and eligible for the academic rank of professor or research professor. The selection of Endowed Named Professors will be based on the candidate’s academic distinction as a scholar in his or her field. Endowed Named Professors are appointed by the President.  Candidates for Endowed Named Professor appointments may be nominated by the Provost and college Dean acting in consultation with relevant faculty members and the Open Centers of Excellence. The term of the appointment shall be determined by the Provost upon recommendation of the Dean of the appropriate college and consistent with the conditions of the grant. Endowed Named Professors may hold terms of three to five years, with possible renewal for a second term. The Endowed Named Professor will receive an annual performance review in accordance with all policies and guidelines set forth in AUA policy.