Welcome to the new AUCA website! The launch of our new portal to the world coincides with our tenth anniversary as an independent institution of higher learning. As we celebrate a decade of academic innovation in Central Asia, with over 1,100 graduates around the world embodying the transformative power of the liberal arts approach to learning, we look confidently to a future of further innovation, collaboration, and outreach.

We have recently drafted a new set of strategic goals that charts our ambitious course for the next five years. This plan anticipates renewed focus on better utilization of technology-enhanced learning; expansion of our core curriculum to create new ways of examining the rich history, literature and arts of the region; new programs in Islamic Studies and graduate level Economics that will bolster our reputation as a vital center of scholarship on a region in transition; redoubled efforts to further internationalize our institution by attracting more highly qualified faculty and students from around the world; and expanded facilities, including a new residence hall and classroom space, to improve our attractiveness and increase our capacity to facilitate high quality learning and develop a new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

Central Asia has historically served as a vital crossroads for the exchange of technology, ideas and culture along the old Silk Road. Once again the region is rapidly emerging as a crucial link between east and west, and our website, an important outpost along the new electronic Silk Road, will provide you with a window into one of the most dynamic institutions in Central Asia. As you browse through our site you will not only learn about our demanding programs and student-centered learning approach, you will meet the students and faculty that make this place so special. We hope you will get a sense of the AUCA spirit that pervades the halls and classrooms. It’s a unique atmosphere that results when you gather the most driven and imaginative students and faculty from the region in one place and, balanced with a culture of academic honesty and high ethical standards, you give them the freedom to explore new worlds, question assumptions, develop new perspectives, and follow their passions.

If you are not fortunate enough to walk down our halls and see this for yourself, visit our website often to watch us as we continue to grow, spread our wings and soar to new heights of academic innovation.

Ellen S. Hurwitz, Ph.D.
President