ALEXANDRA GULASARIAN
Curriculum Vitae
E-mail: alex@rau.am

EDUCATION

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, STEINHARDT SCHOOL OF EDUCATION (New York, USA)
Master of Arts (MA) in Education Administration (September 2001)
Courses included: International Perspective on Educational Reform, Politics of Education,
Decision-making and Leadership Development, Application of Computers to Administration

YEREVAN STATE LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITY after BRUSOV (Yerevan, Armenia)
Teacher of English and Russian, Diploma with Distinction (June 1992)

KYIV T. SHEVCHENKO STATE UNIVERSITY (Kyiv, Ukraine)
A year of the English language study (September 1986-December 1987)

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

TEMPUS TACIS Individual Mobility Grant (2004)
European Commission Directorate-General: Education and Culture Program
To fund study of the Quality Assurance system at the Institute of Education, London, UK

Civic Education Project (CEP) Fellowship (2002 - present)
International Higher Education Support Program (HESP) of the Open Society Institute
To support teaching in the institutions of higher education

CEP Professional Development Travel Award (2004)
To support participation in the academic writing training for teachers of social sciences run by Director of the Center for Academic Writing of the Central European University in Georgia

CEP Outreach Project Grant (2004)
To support a series of professional development workshops for the faculty members at the Yerevan State Linguistic University after Brusov

CEP Professional Development Travel Award (2003)
To fund travel to the USA to present a paper at the Central Eurasian Studies Society Fourth Annual Conference at Harvard University

CEP Professional Development Travel Award (2002)
To fund travel to Hungary to participate in the 2nd Joint Biennial Conference of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing and European Writing Center Association

CEP Outreach Project Grant (2002)
To support organization of the1st National Professional-Student Conference on Challenges and Perspectives for Tourism Development at the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) State University

Edmund S. Muskie/Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship (2000-2001)
Program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State
To fund graduate study in the USA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN (SLAVONIC) STATE UNIVERSITY (Yerevan, Armenia)
Deputy Director, Institute of Continuing Education (September 2004 - present)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF ARMENIA (Yerevan, Armenia)
Chief Reporter, Student Participation in the Governance of Higher Education
COUNCIL OF EUROPE Project (September 2003 - August 2004)
Under the supervision of the Adviser to the Minister, gathered data, analyzed legislative base for higher education in regards to student participation, facilitated discussions with the student representatives, prepared a country analytical report and presentation for the forthcoming Council of Europe Conference on the issue.

ARMENIAN CENTER FOR POLITICAL STUDIES AND TRAINING (Yerevan, Armenia)
Educational Expert, Assessment of the Level if Integration and Harmonization of Legislation of the South Caucasus Countries with Lisbon Convention, Trilateral Project supported by the grant of Eurasia Foundation (September 2003 - August 2004)
Conducting research into legislation and other issues coinciding with the reforms of higher education planned and administrated by the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia, complementing various aspects via independent assessment; preparing reports to funders.

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN (SLAVONIC) STATE UNIVERSITY (Yerevan, Armenia)
Project Director, Curriculum Development Project (September 2002 - September 2003)
Managed the Project supported by the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation - Armenia on development of the academic course, "Education Administration: Current Approaches and Technologies." Wrote grant proposal, designed and led project agenda, wrote project reports. Developed course materials and prepared publication. Supervised 4 persons. 

Director, Student Career Center (March 2002 - July 2003)
Managed daily operations of the office. Developed and administered programs on assisting students in planning their careers, preparing resume and cover letter, developing skills in passing successful interview. Developed linkages between the university and Armenian private enterprises, NGOs and public administration institutions to support internship and job placement of students and graduates. Wrote grant proposals. Organized promotional activities for the university graduates (initiated and participated in development booklets, information brochure and other). Organized and coordinated various networking events for students with potential employers.

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF) (New York, USA)
Intern, Education Section (September 2001-November 2001)
Worked on issues of decentralization of education system in Armenia and its impact on children; prepared the report; contributed to the work of regional (Armenian) office of UNICEF.

INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATON (New York, USA)
Project assistant, Open Doors Project (August 2001-September 2001)
Under the supervision of the Project manager, edited the data for the annual edition of the report on
the International student exchange, maintained contacts with the heads of the Study Abroad
Departments of the USA universities; contributed to preparing of the Open Doors Survey.

METROCENTER FOR URBAN EDUCATION (New York, USA)
Research assistant, "Relate for Teens" Project (February 2001-May 2001)
Gathered and edited the data on students' behavior; conducted probation interviews.

STANTON STREET SETTLEMENT (New York, USA)
Volunteer, After-School Program (January 2001-August 2001)
Worked as a tutor with both junior high and elementary school students; hosted various fundraising activities. 

"SLAVYANSKAYA" SECONDARY SCHOOL (Yerevan, Armenia)
Co-founder/Deputy Director (September 1997-August 2000)
Administered education process of the school, oversaw implementation of the education programs, designed the curriculum; conducted research on the current education issues; supervised 30 teachers.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN (SLAVONIC) STATE UNIVERSITY (Yerevan, Armenia)
Instructor:
Education Administration: New Approaches and Technologies Spring 2002-2003; 2003-2004
Taught the course. Developed syllabi, selected textbook and supplementary materials, and developed lectures and lesson plans. Responsible for all aspects of teaching, evaluation, and grading. Enrollment: 35 students.

Communications and Public Relations 2002-2003; 2003-2004; 2004-2005
Teaching the course. Developed syllabi, selected textbook and supplementary materials, and developed lectures and lesson plans. Responsible for all aspects of teaching, evaluation, and grading. Supervised students' term papers and a Diploma Work. Enrollment: 70 students.

YEREVAN STATE LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITY AFTER BRUSOV (Yerevan, Armenia)
Instructor:
Developing Critical Thinking and Writing Skills across the Social Sciences (in English) 2002-2004 Teaching the course. Developed syllabi, course pack, and lesson plans. Responsible for all aspects of teaching, evaluation and grading. Supervised students' term papers. Enrollment: 20 students.

WORKSHOPS

2004 Initiated, organized and conducted along with the Visiting Teaching Fellows a series of the workshops on research paper writing and preparing oral presentation for the Civic Education Project students-participants of the 6th Regional Student Conference.

2004 Organized and conducted a series of guest lectures and workshops on developing research skills
and research paper writing for both the faculty and the students of Gavar State University, Armenia

OUTREACH PROJECTS

2004 With a support of the Civic Education Project outreach grant, designed, planned, and organized a project on professional development for more than 10 faculty members on innovative methods of teaching academic writing. Project included a series of workshops, guest lecturing, exemplary lessons classroom observation, and one-on-one consultations. To disseminate a good practice and provide a forum for further faculty discussion, a pilot newsletter on the project was published. Yerevan State Linguistic University after Brusov, Theory of English Program, Yerevan, Armenia.

2002 With a support of the Civic Education Project Outreach grant and in cooperation with the
Faculty of the Socio-Cultural Service and Tourism, initiated, planned and organized the 1st National Professional-Student Conference on Challenges and Perspectives for Tourism Development in Armenia. Coordinated publication of the conference proceedings. Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) State University, Yerevan, Armenia.

PUBLICATIONS

Book chapters:
"Education Administration: New Approaches and Technologies." (2004). Yerevan, Armenia: Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) State University (In Russian).

National Report:
"National Report on the Current Situation with regard to Student participation in Higher Education Governance in Armenia." (2004). Strasbourg: Directorate of School, Out-Of-School and Higher Education, Council of Europe (In English and Russian).

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

"South Caucasus on its Way to Integration into European Higher Education Area." Guest speech made at the regional conference of the undergraduate exchange students, "East or West? Where to Go: Political, Economic and Cultural Self-Determination in the Caucasus." Tbilisi, Georgia, April, 2004.

"Globalization's Impact on General Education Reform: A Case Study of Armenia." Paper presented at the Central Eurasian Studies Society Fourth Annual Conference, October 2003, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

"Developing Students' Critical Thinking." Paper presented at the South Caucasus Regional Civic Education Project Conference on Modern Teaching Methods, February 2002, Gudauri, Georgia.

MEMBERSHIPS AND SERVICE

Member, Central Eurasian Studies Society
Member, European Association for Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW)
Member, American Educational Research Association (AERA)

2004 Yerevan State Linguistic University after Brusov, provide advisement to the University
Rector on the issues of innovations in higher education management, quality assurance system design, and improving student services, Yerevan, Armenia.

2004 5th Annual Brusov University Area Studies International Student Conference, Conference Committee member and facilitator of the conference, Yerevan Armenia.

2004 6th South Caucasus Regional Student Conference, Conference Committee member and
Facilitator of the conference.

2004 1st Gavar State University Student Conference in the English language, Conference facilitator,
Gavar, Armenia.

2004 South Caucasus Regional CEP Conference on Modern Teaching Methods, Conference Committee member, Gudauri, Georgia.

2002 1st National Professional-Student Conference on Challenges and Perspectives for Tourism Development, Russian-Armenian Slavonic State University, Conference organizer, Yerevan, Armenia.

2002 South Caucasus Regional CEP Conference on Modern Teaching Methods, Conference Committee member, Gudauri, Georgia.

LANGUAGES & COMPUTER SKILLS

English, Russian (fluent); Ukrainian (native); Armenian (intermediate)
IBM: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher)