The Armenian Society of Fellows currently includes 220 members (Fellows and Friends), and five partner organizations. 26 countries and 196 specializations are represented. About 85% of the membership are professors and researchers.
On June 27, Fellows and Friends of the Society convened in Venice at the St. Lazarus Armenian monastery with the participation of 93 members, both in person and remotely — thanks to the generous hospitality of the Mkhitarist Order. We had engaging conversations over two days: seven project proposals were presented and two task forces on education reform took shape. Six months have passed since the conference and we are currently engaged in negotiations at various levels with government entities, local research and academic institutions, and benefactors. We hope to launch by 2024
a Center for Ethics and Public Life at the American University of Armenia (AUA), and
a National Center for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence located at Polytechnic University as part of a Center for Advanced Sciences & Technology.
An Institute on Advanced Social Sciences is also in discussion. We expect to release two reports on education reform by June 2023. Finally, we launched two pilot programs: an ongoing Mathematics honors program, and an undergraduate remote mentoring program that is to be launched soon. To learn more about all these and other directions, including reviewing the documents prepared by ASOF Fellows, visit the following page:
The 2023 ASOF annual conference will be held on
June 26-28, 2023 in Armenia
We hope to see all of you there as we continue conversations and presentations aimed at transforming Armenia’s capacity in education and research. At this meeting, we will also be voting for several new Board positions. Agenda and details are forthcoming.
On December 9, 2022, the ASOF Board resolved to establish the National Strategic Fund for Education & Research, along with a network we call the Patrons of the Society. The Patrons of the Society is a group of individuals and foundations with the means and interest to fund project proposals that ASOF scholars develop. The full resolution can be found at
Motion for Patrons of the Society and Strategic Fund
The initiative will be lead by Al Eisaian and aims to ultimately create a network of 1000+ individuals and foundations from the Diaspora and Armenia, but also including international funding agencies. The goal is to have an annual fund of $5-$10 million to seed transformative projects in the sciences, education, and the humanities in Armenia that ASOF scholars prepare and propose.
To help prepare ASOF proposals for fundraising and to develop the National Strategic Fund, ASOF has partnered with media outreach professionals who will work on packaging material ASOF produces for a wider audience. This effort will include