Deans’ Council

Vache Gabrielyan, Ph.D. is the Dean of the Manoogian Simone College of Business and Economics (CBE) and the Director of the Paul Avedisian Center for Business Research and Development (CBRD). Dr. Gabrielyan received his BA in Economics from the Yerevan State University and MA and Ph.D. in Public Administration from Rutgers University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Rutgers and Yerevan State University and for more than 20 years at the American University of Armenia. During the past two decades, he served as Vice Governor of the Central Bank, Minister of Finance, Minister-Chief of the Staff of the Government and Deputy Prime Minister, and worked as a consultant for the World Bank and other international organizations. Dr. Gabrielyan has a strong record of publications, including books, edited books and journals, and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Reza Malekian , Ph.D., is a Professor, the Dean of the Zaven and Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering (CSE), and the Director of the Engineering Research Center. Before joining AUA, Dr. Malekian was a professor, vice chair of the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, responsible for research and doctoral education, and a member of the management group at the Sustainable Digitalization Research Centre. With extensive experience in both academia and industry, he has led active research programs and supervised numerous doctoral graduates and postdoctoral researchers under competitive national and international funding models. His research focuses on the Internet of Things (IoT), sensor systems, and networks. In 2023, he was awarded a place on the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences’ Top 100 List for his project, “Intelligent ECG Sensing for Cardiac Arrhythmia Detection.”  He is a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council of UK, a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and participates in Ph.D. assessment committees at several leading universities, including Aarhus University, Western Sydney University, Mid Sweden University, Mälardalen University, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town. Dr. Malekian has also served as an expert evaluator for various international funding bodies and agencies, such as the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research in Applied and Engineering Sciences, VLIR-UOS in Belgium, and the Deputy Chair of the Engineering and Technology Review Panel for the Ministry of Higher Education and Training in the Republic of South Africa.

Varduhi Petrosyan, Ph.D., is a professor and dean of the Turpanjian College of  Health Sciences (CHS), American University of Armenia (AUA). She also directs the Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR). She received her Bachelor’s degree at Yerevan State University and her Master’s degree at the University of Idaho. She earned her PhD at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. She was elected to the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society (US National Public Health Honorary Society), Alpha Chapter, in 2006. She has successfully led health services research projects in Armenia and the region focusing on public health services, public health emergencies including disease outbreaks, tobacco control, tuberculosis control, primary care, ophthalmic care, diabetes care, environmental health, and other important topics. She was a member of the Country Coordination Mechanism for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs in the Republic of Armenia (2011–16). In 2012–2014, she was the Advisor on Health Reforms to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia on a voluntary basis. Dr. Petrosyan was also a member of the Expert panel on COVID-19 next to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia (2020-23), the Primary Health Care Strengthening Task Force of the Ministry of Health (2021-22), the Management Council of the Health Inspectorate Body of the Government of Armenia (2017-22), and a member of the Public Council next to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia (2019-2024). She is currently a member of the Advisory Board next to the Executive Director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Deputy Chair of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group of the Republic of Armenia. Prior to her arrival to AUA, she held a position of Research Assistant at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she conducted research on comparative health systems (focusing on health spending and cross national comparison of quality) in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2011-2024, she was the Associate Editor of the International Journal for Equity in Health, an open access, peer-reviewed journal. Dr. Petrosyan has authored many peer-reviewed publications and extensively presented her work at international scientific meetings and conferences.

Hagop A. Yacoubian Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at the American University of Armenia, with nearly 25 years of experience in education. Central to his work is an interdisciplinary approach that integrates philosophy, history, and sociology of science to transform K-12 science education. His research explores how this approach can enhance public understanding of science, foster critical thinking, and empower learners to participate actively in democratic decision-making and social justice advocacy. Dr. Yacoubian has provided expert consultation on education reform and curriculum development across different countries. His publications include two books, book chapters, and articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. Throughout his career, he has secured significant funding to support innovative education and research initiatives. Currently, Dr. Yacoubian serves as President-Elect of the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group (IHPST). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Science & Education and the International Editorial Advisory Board of the McGill Journal of Education, and serves on the Program Advisory Board for Education and Languages at Haigazian University. Before joining AUA, he directed the Education Program at the Lebanese American University and chaired the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Haigazian University. Earlier, he worked as a high school science teacher, science department head at an international school, and teacher educator in Lebanon and Canada. He earned his Ph.D. in Secondary Education from the University of Alberta, Canada, and holds an M.A. in Education, a Teaching Diploma, and a B.S. in Health Sciences from the American University of Beirut.