In October 2006 the American University in Bulgaria commemorated the bravery of visionary individuals who, fifteen years ago, advocating the country's renewal, recommended the establishment of an American, liberal arts university in Bulgaria. This proposal had grown from a deep conviction that Bulgaria needed to open itself to the West, both to gain insight into democratic processes and free market economies as well as to share Bulgaria's history, culture, and unique perspective with the U.S. and Western Europe.

All of the founders were enthused when Blagoevgrad, a small city in the southwest corner of the country wedged between Serbia, Macedonia and Greece, offered to turn over the former communist party's regional headquarters to the American venture. This is where the American University in Bulgaria took root and where it flourishes today.

Founded in 1991, after the fall of the totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe, the American University in Bulgaria is the region's first and premier American-style, residential Baccalaureate institution today offering educational opportunities in the liberal arts to about a thousand gifted and dedicated students from 25 countries in Southeastern Europe and Central Asia.

The faculty, a distinguished group of highly skilled, qualified, and motivated academics and professionals, are predominantly from North America, Western Europe, and Bulgaria, and English is the sole language of instruction. Facilities are modern, with state-of-the art communications technology and a library of 100,000 volumes, informational databases, and other modern research capacity.

The AUBG degree enjoys worldwide recognition through accreditation in the United States by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and in Bulgaria with the highest possible ranking by the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation.

Serving the Balkans and all of Southeastern Europe, the mission of the American University in Bulgaria has always been "to educate future leaders committed to serving the needs of the region by promoting the values of an open, democratic society." AUBG graduates are daily fulfilling the dream that the founders had in mind for the institution as they are, in ever-increasing numbers, filling leadership roles in their countries and in their professions. Through the wide-ranging efforts and accomplishments of its over 1700 graduates, AUBG is already having a significant impact on the region.

AUBG is a case study in how rewarding and how difficult it has been to create a Western-style institution in Eastern Europe, where so many dreams of post-Communist development have fizzled amid red tape, corruption, and cultural rejection. Started with sacrifice and significant roadblocks it is prospering now, forging ahead in Bulgaria: strong, confident, creating a vision of academic excellence and transforming that vision into reality.

There are many reasons for Bulgarians and Americans alike to feel immense pride in AUBG - pride in the fact that through the backing of the American people and the daring of the Bulgarian people, a diverse regional university has earned significant national and international acclaim, and still strives to accomplish so much more.

On the occasion of its 15th anniversary, AUBG celebrates its past--short but filled with accomplishments -- and at the same time looks ahead to a future which will be contoured by the construction of necessary new buildings, and enhanced by the flourishing Executive Masters of Business Administration program in the university's Sofia center, the cutting-edge training programs on European Union integration, and the development of new links with entrepreneurial Bulgarian and international businesses.

In his 2001 Commencement address, Bulgarian Vice-President Todor Kavaldjiev summed it up from his perspective: "Essentially, this university today is a large multinational family-a miniature of tomorrow's united Europe. For in addition to high academic achievement, this house of learning fosters universal values, ethnic, religious and cultural tolerance, public spirit and human solidarity."

And at the 2006 Commencement, H. Ex. Mr. John Beyrle, US Ambassador to Bulgaria noted: "AUBG is one of the most important and most prominent legacies of the partnership between Bulgaria and the United States over the past fifteen years. It is a unique and proud symbol of our support for freedom and democracy in the Balkans, and beyond."

This is AUBG at 15. Visit its website at www.aubg.bg or the University campus on your next trip to Bulgaria!

Mariana Milanova
Starshi satrudnik "Razvitie"
AUBG

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