2004_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 2004

              December 2004
Hye Sharzhoom
5
Three Fresno State Faculty Return from Armenia With Fond Memories
Fresno State professors Sasan
Fayazmanesh, Emit Milevoj, and
Elizabeth Shields returned in November from a visit to Armenia,
where they were working with faculty from the Faculty of Business of
Yerevan State University. Following are their impressions of their
visit, in their own words.
Elizabeth Shields
Visiting Yerevan State University in mid-November I reminisced
with Armenian colleagues from the
Department of Economics about
the great changes that have taken
place there over the past five years.
When I first visited the department
in 1999 it was housed in a dilapidated building far from the main
campus. Students walked down
muddy pot-holed roads to classes.
CI asses stopped in early December
andresumedin March because there
was no heat in the building. The
computer lab consisted of half a
dozen ancient machines running
on MS-DOS. Thefactthatsomany
faculty and students workedinthese
conditions spoke volumes about
their dedication to higher education.
At that time, economics and
business courses were attracting
increased attention from the top
high school graduates who had previously been drawn to the techno
logical areas of physics, engineering, and mathematics. As job opportunities in the 'hard' sciences
dried up students sought to develop
skills than would serve them in the
new market economy. Thanks to
the farsighted leadership in the department faculty members had enrolled in microeconomics and macroeconomics courses at the American University of Armenia in 1993
and 1994 and were already restructuring the curriculum and course
work to introduce their students to
market-based economic theory and
business principles.
Simultaneously the introduction
of the Newly Independent States
(NIS) University and College Partnership Program provided an opportunity for faculty m em bers from
the Craig School of Business and
the Department of Economics at
Fresno State to collaborate with
their counterparts at Yerevan State
to further strengthen the curriculum and to provide support for
teaching and research. Money was
also available to improve computer
and other technological resources.
Since 2000 eighteen faculty
member and administrators have
visited Fresno to work on improving their curriculum and
coursework, to discuss research
activities, to observe our teaching
methods, and to become more
knowledgeable about our higher
education system. Some faculty
members whose initial visits overseas were through the NIS Partnership Program with Fresno have
gone on to seek funding for further
study abroad and worked in other
universities. Faculty members from
Fresno have visited Yerevan and
presented seminars and workshops
in economics, marketing, information systems, finance and human
resource management. Students
Entrepreneurial Spirit in Hayastan
Emil Milevoj
During the month of November
I visited Armenia for the second
time in the last two years as part of
the faculty exchange program between Yerevan State University
(YSU) and California State University, Fresno.
What fascinated me the most is
the strong spirit of endurance and
survival that I encountered on the
streets of Yerevan.
A year ago I visited some ofthe
sacred monasteries and churches
outside Yerevan. While visiting
these sites I felt a strong presence
of God. Since most of the monasteries are atop mountain peaks, one
gets the feeling that the people
wanted to be as close to God as they
could. Entering inside the caves of
Keghart Monastery I had a feeling
that I was entering heaven.
Etchmiadzin, Garni, Zvartnots, and
Khor Virap all radiate with mystical purity. To ensure that you are
not decei ved by all the hum an-m ade
monasteries, nature has made sure
you realize how sacred Armenia is
by placing the most spectacular
mountain right in front of you.
There are no words that can describe the inspiring view of Mt.
Ararat. It was something sacred
that I will treasure for the rest of my
life.
This year I gave three lectures at
Emil Milevoj
the Department of Economics at
YSU, which allowed me to interact
with numerous students. Their English was outstanding. I feel fortunate to have met these university
students whose energy and enthusiasm will have a positive impact
on the future economic growth in
Armenia.
Through my interaction with
students and faculty at the university I began to understand the Armenian people's innate ability to
survive and endure the most difficult challenges. Things have been
very difficult since Armenia won
i ts independence from S o viet Uni on
however the strong desire for people
to better their lives and move things
forward it is apparent on every corner. Justin one year the changes are
fascinating.
Yerevan radiates with culture
and entertainment. Restaurants,
L. to R. Dean Hayk Sargsyan, Dr. Grigor Gharibyan, Dr. Anna
Karapetyan, Emil Milevoj, Elizabeth Shields, Lusine Grigoryan,
Dr. Sasan Fayazmanesh, and Harutyun Marzpanyan at the
20th anniversary celebration of the Faculty of Economics at
Yerevan State University.
from both campuses have collaborated on projects. This interchange
of ideas and culture has enriched
all the participants.
The most significant curricular
change has been the introduction of
an entirely new Management Information System program at
Yerevan under the guidance of Dr.
Sasan Rahmatian of the ISDS Department at Fresno State. This new
program is already very popular
with students who recognize the
software development and computer systems management is one
way in which Armenia which has
few natural resources and is entirely land-locked can compete in a
global economy. Other changes
within existing programs include
the introduction of marketing and
distribution courses, human resource management courses, and
modern financial management
courses.
Shortly after my initial visit the
Department of Economics moved
to renovated quarters on Abovian
Street in the center of Yerevan close
to the main campus. Now students
gather in bright airy classrooms.
They can surf the Internet on any of
100 state-of-the-art computers provided by funds from the NIS Partnership Project between Fresno
State and Yerevan State, and the
Caucasus Region Resource Center
funded by the Eurasia Foundation.
In addition to the new computer
resources great strides have been
made in curriculum and course
work development. Teaching no
longer means dictating pages of
notes to students who have no access to textbooks. Faculty members have adopted the latest teaching techniques and support for new
course presentations, student workbooks, teaching manuals and other
teaching tools has been provided
by the Partnership Project with
Fresno State. Interactive exercises,
case studies, debates and student
presentations now comprise many
of the classroom activities.
Now attention has turned to the
task of keeping these intelligent,
well educated young people in Armenia after graduation. Jobs are
still scarce and information about
job openings is difficult to find.
With this in mind a proposal is now
being developed to set up a Career
Center at Yerevan State University
that would serve the needs of all
students including those in the Department of Economics. Such a
center would help students understand the needs of employers. It
would bridge the gap between employers and graduates by providing
information on job opportunities
and acting as a resume repository
for graduates at both the Master's
and Bachelor's levels.
It has been exciting to watch the
progress that had been made in the
Department of Economics since
1999, to see the growth in faculty
expertise and self-confidence, to
sit in the computer lab and have
instant access to information from
around the world, and to observe
students developing decision-making skills where once they would
have been reluctant to make decisions.
Armenians have endured hard
economic times since independence
but their resilience has carried them
through once again. I sensed an air
of optimism on the campus and in
the streets. Many service businesses
are starting up, construction is
booming, real estate prices are rising, and new cars are creating traffic jams on the main boulevards -
sounds like the recipe for a growing economy that will provide jobs
for the graduates of the Department of Economics.
shops, cafes are on every corner in
this rapidly growing city. I had the
pleasure of enjoying the concert at
the National Symphony, which
made me appreciate the Armenian
survival spirit even more.
Strolling through the streets of
Yerevan is very pleasant even
though sometimes it can be a challenge to cross the street. Since the
work day does not start until 9:00
am you can see people onthe streets
and in cafes until late at night socializing with their families and
friends. The lifestyle seems very
relaxed although majority of people
I have encountered have multiple
jobs or run their own business in
order to earn a living.
Technology has also transformed the way people live their
lives. Internet cafes are filled with
young Armenians surfing the web
and chatting with people around
the world. Almost everyone carries a cell phone however the usage
is low due to the high calling rates.
As you are walking through
Yerevan you see numerous billboards advertising Armenian as
well as western products and services. Modern stores selling appliances, clothing, electronics, furniture, computers, food, and other
goods have significantly increased
in number and variety since my last
visit.
Through my conversations with
Emil Milevoj, left, and Lusine Grigoryan at the main administration building of Yerevan State Univerity.
our hosts I have learned that the
number of foreign visitors and investors in Armenia has doubled in
the last year.
The Republic Square is very impressive especially at night. All the
buildings are lit and the center of
the square contains a spectacular
water fountain. The most intriguing part is that where ones stood a
statue of Lenin now there is a video
wall playing MT Wand BMW commercials.
I am thankful to have had the
opportunity to visit Armenia during this period and witness the transform ation that this amazing country and its people are going through
yet again ensuring that the Armenian spirit will continue onfor many
years to come.
see Armenia page 6