AUBG Today, issue 49, 2013

The Magazine of the American University in Bulgaria, Issue 49, 2013

Fulfilling

PROMIsE

the

In this issue: Welcome to the ABF Student Center!

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

Scholarships Transform Lives

Alumni Committed to their Alma Mater

Editorial Board Pavlina Stoycheva Venera Nikolaeva Albena Kehayova

The Magazine of the American University in Bulgaria, Issue 49, 2013

FulFIllIng

PROMIsE

thE

In thIs IssuE: Welcome to the ABF Student Center!

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

Scholarships Transform Lives

Alumni Committed to their Alma Mater

Copyright 2013 AUBG. All rights reserved.

Writers Ann Snesareva Daniel Penev Konstantina Bandutova Nelly Ovcharova Yoana Savova

and a special thank you to

Louise Easton, English language editor Photographers Alexander Acosta Osorio Desislava Alexandrova Evgeniy Denisov Kate Snesareva Kateryna Kostiuchenko Olga Karpovich Stanislav Hristov Sylvia Zareva Yekaterina Makarova

Published by AUBG with the participation of AUBG students. For more information, please see the contact information on the back.

Contents: In Focus

02

Leaving a Mark

06

Scholarships Transform Lives

16

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

28

Making it Happen

31

Alumni Giving Back

35

News @ AUBG

43

In Focus

We Rely on Our Friends As I walk through the hallways, eat in the Canteen, attend lectures in the Delchev Auditorium, and work­ out in the University’s fitness center, I am surrounded

by AUBG students. They are everywhere in my work life and continually fill my thoughts. I seem to be either solving problems regarding their direct instruction or predicting their next needs.

Fortunately for me, I do not have to conjure up in my imagination a picture of whom or what my focus is on. I see the students. I am involved in what they are doing. I hear their stories. I see daily what a very spe­ cial place AUBG is and why it must remain so in the years ahead. A major reason for AUBG’s success has been the support of its many “friends”. We have and will always rely on our friends. Our friends are mak­ ing a difference!

In Focus

The American University in Bulgaria has been fortu­ nate to have many friends and supporters during its almost twenty–two year history. Beginning with our founding in 1991, the shared commitment of USAID, the government of Bulgaria, the Open Society Institute and the Municipality of Blagoevgrad made available the physical, human and financial resources to open

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a new University. Over the years, additional friends, foundations, alumni, corporations, faculty and staff have nurtured and sustained this unique institution.

This issue of AUBG Today focuses on giving, com­ monly referred to as philanthropy. Giving to AUBG is not only essential to our survival; it is the support that makes critical differences in the life of our institution.

Consider for a moment the following examples: the generous support of the Duke Franz Foundation for an innovative language laboratory, the Sabre Foun­ dation and the Center for Democracy added to the library collections, and the Andrew Mellon Founda­ tion made possible the revision of the General Educa­ tion requirements. Donors, both large and small, have created scholarships to support excellent students as well as students with financial need. And the remark­ able America for Bulgaria Foundation has contributed not only scholarship monies but monies for facilities which have greatly enhanced our campus, making it truly a comprehensive residential campus. Donors support student travel, out–of–class learning envi­ ronments, international conferences and expanded co–curricular activities.

but upon the revenue generated from student tuition, the earnings generated from our investments and most importantly, the monies donated by its “friends”.

AUBG continues to this day to operate with balanced budgets. However, reduced or stable income levels will at best allow the university to only continue what it has been doing, without the ability to explore and

03

In Focus

In 2005, AUBG proved it could be a sustainable insti­ tution by achieving the first “balanced” budget in its brief history. This was a remarkable achievement as the University was no longer receiving direct support from the United States government. Sustainability comes, however, with a price. AUBG’s financial suc­ cess now depends not upon governmental support,

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increase the range of its activities. Private support of AUBG is essential to our future. It must be expanded and to do so we must continue to rely on our “friends”.

Why do our friends give? Individuals and organiza­ tions give for a variety of reasons but inherent in all giving is the knowledge that the donation will make a difference in the life of the institution, that the in­ stitution is worthy of external support, and that the monies will be well managed and consistent with the donor’s intent. Alumni give back to their alma ma­ ter because the institution had an impact upon their lives. Also alumni know that someone helped them achieve an AUBG education and they want to provide that opportunity for others as well. Board members give to AUBG because they understand the needs of the institution and they too, want to make a differ­ ence. Faculty and staff contribute as well because they see every day what a special place AUBG is and how it is affecting students’ lives.

Regardless of the reason, all academic institutions welcome the generous donations of their contribu­ tors. AUBG is a great example of what can be accom­ plished with the support of established partners and devoted friends. AUBG would not have been born without the generosity of several organizations and devoted friends nor would it be the high level institu­ tion it is w wtoday without the support of those who believe in our mission and our future.

If you have supported AUBG in the past, we thank you so very much. I encourage you to read the articles in this issue and hope you will continue your support as you see the impact that giving is making. If you have not given, I hope you will be inspired by what you read and will be motivated to contribute to this very worthwhile cause – AUBG.

Message from a Returning President Once again I am sending greetings from AUBG’s Presi­ dent’s Office in Blagoevgrad, the reality of which con­ tinues to delight and amaze me.

I had served as President of AUBG from 2005–2007 and, in cooperation with the other, very capable mem­ bers of the administrative team, had stabilized the budget, solidified faculty and student recruitment, and had begun the construction of the academic buildings at Skaptopara. Those were productive years for AUBG but difficult years for our family members in the States so my wife and I returned home.

During the five years while we were gone from here, my wife Louise and I enjoyed a semi–retired life with our friends and families in our California and Mon­ tana (USA) homes, and for brief periods, I served as a consultant for the Open Society Foundations in Rus­ sia and Afghanistan and was also interim president for Centenary College in Louisiana (USA). A couple of times when we were traveling in Europe, my wife and I made a point to stop over in Bulgaria to see how the campus was progressing and to reconnect with special friends here.

I had told Louise early in 2012 that I really wanted to do one more university presidency so, to my surprise, when the Chair of AUBG’s Board of Trustees contact­ ed me later in the year about a change in leadership here, accepting the offer to return as president seemed like something that was meant to be. In other words, it was an easy decision.

It is great to be back in Bulgaria. Louise and I have been warmly received by the campus community and we are thoroughly enjoying our time in Blagoevgrad. Life on the campus is stimulating and we are both really glad that we made the decision to return.

We are making every effort to reconnect with AUBG alumni, Bulgarian business leaders, and community friends and, along with the familiar faces on the ad­ ministrative team, I am delving into the variety of is­ sues that require attention on the campus. It is very en­ couraging to once again be working in this energized environment and with the opening of the ABF Student Center, I feel like the entire university is really on the upswing. I look forward to providing updates as my work here continues.

In Focus

Michael Easton President

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In Focus

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Leaving a Mark

The campus experience is a vital part of a liberal arts education. Students live, study and play together in an environment which fosters creativity, entrepreneurship and cultural understanding. To provide such an environment, our Skaptopara campus is expanding as our student population grows and our needs change. Thanks to the assistance of several supporters, our residential liberal arts campus is gaining new facilities and supplementing our primary Main Building in Blagoevgrad’s town center.

Dimi Panitza’s Legacy: A Modern Center of Learning and Research Spending long hours researching information in the library has always been a basic part of any college edu­ cation, but how and where and even when that work is done, is, like most other areas in life, undergoing a digital change. A quick review of AUBG’s library’s history will provide a useful perspective on that.

Leaving a Mark

Professor Bobby Phillips recalls in his to–be published history of the first years of AUBG: “What would much later become the Pantiza Library was born in a space now occupied by three faculty offices in the Main Building. The initial collection started out with a small number of mostly reference books with a few additions to the collection donated by faculty, staff, and board members and did not amount to more than a couple hundred titles. Gradually the offerings grew and the books were moved from faculty offices to the basement of the Main Building.”

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That large new space allowed for a real library to grow and it was then that one of AUBG’s greatest patrons, John Dimitry “Dimi” Panitza (1930–2011) and his wife Yvonne purchased the entire collection of a university library in the States that was closing and donated it to AUBG. Students prized the greatly expanded English language materials combined with the early availabil­ ity via computers of online research, and the group study spaces.

Dimi and Yvonne followed the library’s progress close­ ly and in 2008 funded the move of the library to a new building and presented an additional collection of books and maps. AUBG was proud to bestow the Pan­ itza name on the University’s first named building in Blagoevgrad – the Panitza Library – in thanks to two of its staunchest supporters and benefactors. Today AUBG’s “digital generation” of students and faculty has

access to the library itself until late at night on campus, and round–the–clock access to it from anywhere in the world through their AUBG online internet accounts.

So those previously mentioned long hours of research probably go on even longer and later than in “the old days.”

The creation of the AUBG Library, Dimi recalled, be­ came something especially important to him back in the early 1990s. “It was my way to get even with the past – to settle scores with the 45 years of communist rule, during which time libraries in Bulgaria – be they national, city or university ones – were ruthlessly con­ trolled by the Central Committee of the communist party and were entrusted with one task: the ideological education of the public and the propagandization and promotion of the policies of the ruling party,” he said.

Today’s Panitza Library is a bright, open, and inviting monument to Dimi’s “best revenge.”

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Leaving a Mark

At the library dedication in May 2009, Nora Georgieva ’09 referred in jest to Dimi’s “strong and energetic” voice as an obstacle to his being able to enjoy the offerings of the library. “Library rules are that we all keep quiet,” Georgieva reminded Dimi, whose deep, heartfelt burst of laughter in response reverberated through the entire audience. That laugh is missed by all at AUBG but hap­ pily remembered every day at the library.

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Balkanski Academic Center – The Scholarly Heart of AUBG In 2010 the American University in Bulgaria received a generous donation from world–renowned physicist Professor Minko Balkanski, who, with encouragement from his son Alex, sponsored the construction of the academic center that now bears the family name. Phi­ lanthropists’ contributions like Professor Balkanski’s represent sustaining gifts that enable AUBG to grow and stand out as a model of academic excellence in the 21st century.

“This is the fulfillment of a very long–time dream,” says Balkanski, explaining his decision to support the Uni­ versity, “a dream to build a community of educated, ambitious, and socially engaged youth in Bulgaria.” In AUBG, Professor Balkanski found a worthy partner whose educational values reflected his personal philoso­ phy. In his words, AUBG students mix “hard work, am­ bition, responsibility, morals, and ethics… That gives me hope that we have here in Bulgaria a place where some­ thing happens, where young people learn how to be real citizens of Europe and the world.”

Leaving a Mark

Professor Balkanski’s own biography reflects a life guid­ ed by many of those same attributes he mentioned above

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and today includes many impressive accomplishments.

Born in 1927 in Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria, he emigrated to France in 1945. At 28, he became a professor of physics at the Sorbonne, the world’s youngest professor at the time. Actively involved in research and scientific ac­ tivities throughout his life, Professor Balkanski earned many notable honors, among them France’s highest dis­ tinction, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France; the prestigious Von Hippel prize for his contributions to the understanding of semiconductors; the Order of Merit Stara Planina, Bulgaria’s highest distinction; and Cheva­ lier of the National Order of Merit of France.

Although this Bulgarian scientist spent most of his life in Paris, France and considers himself to be a citizen of the world, his desire to see Bulgaria transform into a strong, modern country with well educated youth never faded. His own passion for learning and continu­ ous improvement inspired his decision to hel p gifted young Bulgarians receive quality education, and since 1993 Professor Balkanski has focused his energies on educational projects in Bulgaria with the founding of the Minko Balkanski Foundation, which is dedicated to his own father. The organization works for the betterment of Bulgarian education in general and helps cultivate a talented pool of young Bulgarians who will spearhead Bulgaria’s transformation.

Bulgarian donors, AUBG’s Balkanski Academic Center and the Panitza Library are academically and architec­ turally combined into a welcoming complex where faculty, librarians and students prepare, guide, teach and devel­ op their own dreams.

09

Leaving a Mark

Minko Balkanski and Dimi Panitza were childhood friends in Sofia and who, due to political exigencies, ended up with vastly different lives and careers that bloomed and prospered outside their homeland, for the most part, for each one, in Paris, France. In a poignant tribute to two of the University’s very generous native

Issue 49

Elieff Center for Education and Culture: A Cradle of Entrepreneurship and Training in the Heart of Sofia Nestled at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in Sofia, the Elieff Center for Education and Culture offers a premier setting for classes, conferences, workshops and special events. It is a state–of–the–art facility whose existence was made possible by the generous support of an un­ forgettable, strong–minded member of the AUBG com­ munity.

Leaving a Mark

Mr. Eliot Elieff, a Bulgarian–American who died on November 23, 2012, was an ardent supporter of AUBG who shared the University’s dedication to ethics, diver­ sity, tolerance, and academic excellence. He was a deter­ mined man, born and raised in Bulgaria, who, following the communist takeover, served his required two years in the military and then enrolled at Sofia University. Si­ multaneously accepted at a university in Paris, he ob­ tained his passport to leave but was forced to wait for two years for his exit visa, which was issued at the very last moment just as he was planning to risk his life by escaping illegally across the border. After a few years in Paris, Elieff emigrated to southern California where he

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worked for a bank and ultimately prospered in his own business of importing Asian lumber to California and building homes for low–income families.

During the communist years, however, Elieff didn’t for­ get his native land and ultimately succeeded in return­ ing to Bulgaria several times to visit his family. He hap­ pened to be in Sofia during the democratic election in 1991 and was greatly moved by evidence of freedom and hope. Later, in offering to help AUBG with a share of his hard–earned funds Elieff said, “Bulgarians love educa­ tion and knowledge, and I think that the Elieff Center will be highly successful. My aim is to help–to give young people the opportunity to gain knowledge. When Bulgaria was under the communist regime, it seriously lagged behind. People had no chance to travel and see how other countries were developing. There is time to catch up, though, and the university is a huge help in that direction.”

AUBG’s Elieff Center in Sofia is now ten years old and its largest donor made many trips back to Bulgaria to check and advise on its growth. Two strong programs housed there are an Executive MBA program, especial­ ly designed for already successful managers to prepare for executive positions in their organizations, and the Center for European Programmes whose courses equip regional administrators and business people with exper­ tise relative to membership in the European Union. The international atmosphere of both of these programs en­

This very busy facility with its staff and faculty focused on academic excellence and professional training is the

direct result of Eliot Elieff’s dogged determination to create something that he could be proud of as a reflec­ tion of his deep commitment to a modern, brighter fu­ ture for Bulgaria. The University will always be grateful for his resolve and his generosity.

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Leaving a Mark

hances and broadens the participants’ mindsets, just as Elieff had long ago imagined.

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America for Bulgaria Foundation Helps AUBG Fulfill its Mission “The American University in Bulgaria gratefully recognizes the transformative support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation. ABF’s support has allowed the university to educate scores of highly talented Bulgarian students in facilities appropriate for a world– class institution.”

These words, inscribed on a plaque of thanks to the America for Bulgaria Foundation, eloquently summarize the profound impact that ABF has had on the continu­ ing success of AUBG by helping to build new, modern facilities and by supporting some of the finest students who have come to study in the American liberal arts tradition.

America for Bulgaria Foundation has an interest­ ing history. Its roots began in 1992 when the United States Congress provided $57 million from American taxpayers to start the Bulgarian–American Enterprise Fund (BAEF). Its assigned mission was to encourage the Bulgarian economy by investing in the private sec­ tor and by supporting the development of the country’s legal and financial framework. Over the years, BAEF grew appreciably, both in monetary value and in stat­ ure, and in 2008 it was converted to the America for Bulgaria Foundation to continue the transformation of Bulgaria into a prospering democracy.

Leaving a Mark

As their goals were similar, ABF and AUBG quickly became close partners, serving as role models for

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professionalism, transparency and good governance.

Today their combined efforts merge in supporting and challenging the finest students in a first–rate learning and growing environment.

Through its scholarship program, the America for Bul­ garia Foundation has enabled scores of highly–talent­ ed Bulgarian students to attend AUBG, and through further generous funding has been instrumental in financing the construction of our latest world–class facilities. Residence hall Skaptopara III and the nearby and newly–opened ABF Student Center shine as the latest testaments to this ABF/AUBG affiliation.

“AUBG depends on benefactors such as ABF to fulfill its mission of academic excellence in the American liberal arts tradition” – Marianne Keler, Chair of the AUBG Board of Trustees

America for Bulgaria Student Center

Skaptopara III

The crown jewel of the AUBG campus is the new America for Bulgaria Student Center. With the help of ABF’s $8 million grant plus an additional loan, the university was able to construct the 10,000 square meter (110,00 square feet) ABF Student Center with state–of–the–art kitchen and dining facilities, includ­ ing a café and terrace overlooking the campus; a mul­ ti–sport arena with adjustable seating and an elevated running track; a modern fitness center with locker room facilities; a 340–seat theater for arts and lectures with modern stage technology; a welcoming bookstore with brightly–lit display spaces for textbooks, school sup­ plies, and specialty clothing; and the Admissions of­ fice, the Registrar’s Office, the Career Center, Residence Life, the Advising Center, and Student Services spaces.

As a residential liberal arts institution, the campus living experience is an important part of the educational pro­ cess. AUBG students spend four years interacting with peers from around the world, participating in campus intellectual, cultural and athletic activities, and learning to become engaged members of a campus community.

To augment that, AUBG became the first institution in Bulgaria with an American–style campus housing system so that all of the students live in University resi­ dence halls. Each hall has its own community feeling and has been designed to create a supportive living and learning experience. Programs and activity areas in­ clude fitness rooms, music practice spaces, a multipur­ pose room, billiard and ping pong areas, several tel­ evision lounges, outdoor decks and terraces, and cafes.

At the dedication and opening of the building in October 2012, ABF Executive Director Desislava Taliokova recalled in amazement how only a few months before she had stood at the ground–breaking where the building rises today “with only a ceremonial shovel in my hand and a grand vision for this field in my head.”

And AUBG President Michael Easton added, “I am sure that many of us, not even in our wildest dreams, could have imagined the magnificence of this new building.”

AUBG’s two original residence halls, Skaptopara I and Skaptopara II can each accommodate about 450 students. In 2010 the University was able to complete the first wing of its newest residential hall, Skaptopara III, adding living space for 120 more students. A new generous donation of $ 3,6 million from ABF will help AUBG construct the other two wings of Skaptopara III.

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Leaving a Mark

The new ABF Student Center highlights AUBG as a beckoning academic institution, the most modern and advanced university campus in Southeastern Europe.

Thank you, in many languages, to the America for Bul­ garia Foundation.

This latest facility was built in accordance with the highest standards of modern construction and affirms AUBG’s commitment to green living. This highly sought–after living space comprises six floors with 60 double bedrooms (four of which are disability accessi­ ble), an apartment, laundry room, kitchen, and a com­ puter lab. All rooms have modern furniture and separate bathrooms. Every room is connected to a central heating and air conditioning system which ensures year–round comfort for AUBG students and summer conference and academic camp attendees, all thanks to the friend­ ship of the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

Issue 49

Faculty and Staff Campaign

By Sani Silvennoinen On every level, AUBG would not be where it is today were it not for its committed faculty and staff. Many of our good colleagues go well beyond their job descriptions in the dedicated extra effort and extra hours that they put in on the job as well as in support of the University by participating in the annual Faculty and Staff Campaign.

The Campaign was organized in 2008 and so far has raised over $135,000 for AUBG, with 100% participation from most department members.

When employees from various areas were asked to com­ ment about their participation in the campaign, their re­ sponses were uniformly heart–warming: “AUBG feels like a family.”

“I want to be part of AUBG in every way possible.”

“I’ve been part of other universities, and AUBG is a great investment.”

“AUBG is truly a special place.”

“AUBG students need my support.”

“Because I want to help.”

“Every donation makes me feel part of something big; part of AUBG’s grand idea – to educate future leaders of this part of the world,” says Gergana Murtova, Assistant Director of Development. “AUBG is a truly special place.

There is no other institution like it in the Balkans – it has unique teaching and learning style so that students are very much involved in the whole education process; it has a unique campus that grows and gets better every day; and it educates unique students that differ from those in other universities by the fact that they are highly motivated and always try to do their best. And on top of that, being an ex­ cellent educational institution means that it is life–trans­ formative for all the bright students who study here.”

Leaving a Mark

Professor Diego Lucci, a regular participant in the Cam­ paign adds: “I always participate in the Faculty and Staff giving campaigns because working at AUBG makes my life very interesting and pleasant. Since AUBG contrib­ utes to my self–fulfillment, I want to help it to fulfill its mission.” Offering an American–style liberal arts educa­ tion to students from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in an international work environ­ ment is a rewarding but demanding task, Professor Lucci noted, requiring significant funds. For this reason, the money given to AUBG helps this institution to achieve an important goal for this region and its best youth.

On average, 73 members of the faculty and staff have giv­ en or pledged a total of $25,000 annually. AUBG is well on its way in this current year to meeting and exceeding this annual average. This is a remarkable level of support, especially when you realize that “faculty and staff” means 14

Issue 49

that donations are received from guards, repairmen, sec­ retaries, administrators, cleaning ladies, computer tech­ nicians, drivers, professors, cooks, and clerks… for many of whom any donation is a significant personal sacrifice.

For all of these employee contributions, the university is deeply grateful.

By Sani Silvennoinen “We received the gift of education from people we never met – invisible belief in us – and we want to give back.” – Nellie and Bob Gipson New York residents Nellie and Bob Gipson are long­ time supporters of the American University in Bul­ garia and of education in Bulgaria and the US. In addi­ tion to their generosity to AUBG, the Gipsons support the American College in Sofia, Cyril and Methodius Foundation, Princeton University, New York Univer­ sity, Hunter College and Sweet Briar College, among others. The family foundation they use to support their favorite causes disburses philanthropic support mainly in the State of New York, the United States and Bulgaria. “A student in Bulgaria is just as deserving of

support as a student in New York or New Jersey,” Bob explained. “Students around the world continue to in­ spire us,” Nellie added.

“Everything we have received is because of education.

Now we want to give back.” – Nellie and Bob Gipson The couple shared that they were supported financially by others throughout their education whether by par­ ents, scholarships or institutional financial aid – Nel­ lie attended Hunter College and NYU, and Bob went to Princeton and MIT – and they are now pleased to provide others with similar opportunities. Supporting education in Bulgaria is natural as Nellie was born and raised in the country. In addition, they acknowledge, one can reach more people with the same amount of money in Bulgaria than in a country such as the US. They feel they can make a larger difference in Bulgaria.

The couple appreciates the high quality of education, students and teachers at AUBG as well as the interna­ tional environment on campus. “High quality cross– cultural education is essential in today’s world,” Bob pointed out. The liberal arts aspect is also very valu­ able as it allows students from varying backgrounds “to choose,” something that is not typical in academia in former Communist countries. “US–style liberal arts education allows for more freedom of choice. That value is an extension of democracy. Students can emphasize their talents in fields of their choice,” Nellie continued.

“Education is a priority.” – Nellie Gipson But their reasons for supporting education are not only about nostalgia and about paying back. To the couple, education is a priority. Nellie shared how in Bulgaria parents and families value education. “It gets ingrained early in our hearts and minds.” Education is important for every other country, too, she continued. “Educa­ tion is increasingly important over time as society gets more advanced,” Bob added.

Supporting education allows Nellie and Bob to invest in the future of the world. Through their family foun­ dation, the Gipsons can share and exchange ideas with future generations of the world – future international leaders and their families. “Giving to education extends from the heart to the possibilities,” Bob shared.

“We have been lucky,” they explained. “We both start­ ed modestly and have enjoyed successful careers. We want to give back and would rather give money away while still living – we enjoy it more this way!”

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Leaving a Mark

Paying It Forward

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Scholarships Transform Lives

From the beginning, AUBG has attracted the highest quality students to its classrooms. While the University continues to enroll the finest Bulgarian and regional students, bright young people from outside the area have discovered us as well. This University that was entirely Bulgarian in 1991 now attracts top students from over 40 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa.

The financial help of donor–created scholarships continues to be essential as a “dream–saver” for many, many of them.

OSI Scholarships International businessman and philanthropist George Soros established the Open Society Foundation as the Eastern Bloc began to crumble. His intention was to facilitate the transition from communism and to help create open societies throughout Eastern Europe and countries beyond. Over the past three decades, Soros’ philanthropy has spawned a network of foundations dedicated to promoting the development of open socie­ ties in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. To date, Soros has given over $8 billion to support human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education in more than 100 countries.

Scholarships Transform Lives

From its very inception, George Soros has been an in­ tegral part of AUBG. Without his belief and support, the University would not have gotten off the ground, nor could the first students even have thought of at­ tending a high–level, American–style liberal arts uni­ versity on Bulgarian soil. Since its beginnings in 1991, AUBG has shared Soros’ and the Open Society’s be­ lief in encouraging students to think critically and learn by questioning their professors, their peers, and media publications. Seventeen graduating classes of students have now enjoyed the benefit of Soros’ out­ side–the–box thinking and his scholarship support.

As the New York Times wrote in May 2009: “Funded from the start by the Bulgarian government, the Blagoevgrad authorities, the US government and the Open Society Foundation of the Hungarian–born billionaire George Soros, [AUBG] has swollen to about 1,100 students. They live in gleaming residence halls and enjoy a 100,000–vol­ ume library, the largest such in Southeastern Europe.”

As it has since the early years of AUBG, OSI continues to support talented students studying at the University.

The scholarships today are open to nationals of several countries – Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mon­ golia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Kosovo, Tajikistan, 16

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Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan – and students meeting all of the admissions criteria may apply for the OSI Scholarship. For a limited number of top perform­ ing students, AUBG is honored to award the OSI Full Scholarship which covers full tuition at AUBG for eight semesters of study provided that a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher on a scale of 4.00 is maintained. Many other students benefit from OSI Partial Scholarships which are based on the financial need demonstrated by the applicant.

Gorica Atanasova ’04, a recipient of the Open Society Scholarship once shared that “This scholarship definite­ ly set the course my life was going to take... I am grate­ ful and feel that I have been blessed!” Upon completing her studies at AUBG and earning an MA in Poland, Gorica returned to her native Macedonia to work to­ ward integrating the country with the European Union.

Speaking of one of the many useful skills she ac­ quired at AUBG, Gorica reflected: “The first thing that comes to my mind is definitely the ability for multi­ tasking – to be able to grasp and do several things si­ multaneously and then to rise above a situation and see the “whole picture.” Today those skills undoubt­ edly come in handy as Gorica is the Chief of Cabinet of the Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. The investment from OSI in supporting Gorica at AUBG has proven to benefit not only a young person, but also a young democracy that is still transitioning from its communist heritage.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, former President of Finland and an advisor to the Open Society Institute and Soros Foundation, Martti Ahtisaari noted in his Commence­ ment address at AUBG in 2005: “Persistence in realizing one’s goal and relying on one’s moral compass and basic values are the means for changing the world – or just one’s own immediate neighborhood – for the better.”

Thanks to George Soros and the Open Society Institute, AUBG graduates like Gorica are changing their neigh­ borhoods and the world.

interdisciplinary courses provided her with an open– minded and fresh perspective on Europe in terms of history, economics and languages.

After graduating, she received her Master of Arts in Politics, Security, and Integration from University College London. Following this, she worked for “Analytica”, a think–tank in Skopje, where her responsibilities consisted of evaluating government policies and drafting policy proposals for issues in foreign and security policy and EU integration.

"OSI Scholarship is a life–changing opportunity"

By Yoana Savova Students enrolled in Prof. Cvete Koneska’s European Studies classes in 2011 enjoyed the unique opportunity of studying under an enlightened professor and a former AUBGer. Ms. Koneska graduated from AUBG in 2005 majoring in Political Science and International Relations as well as European Studies, and was one of the first Open Society Institute scholars.

She considers receiving the Open Society Scholarship to be one of her life–changing achievements. At the time of her studies, the scholarship was the primary way for non–Bulgarians to have their AUBG tuition funded and the selection process was known for its competitive nature. Having benefited from it and being aware of the opportunities it presents to talented and exceptional students, Ms. Koneska is considering donating to the university and its gifted students in return.

Reminiscing about her AUBG experience, Cvete remembers particularly the valuable Political Science and European Studies courses of Prof. Tanasoiu and Prof. Phillips, and the key role that Soros’ OSI scholarship made in enabling her to attend AUBG in the first place.

“I look forward to doing further research into the new set of challenges that our evolving societies face, and in joining the academic debate in the region, not only about the region. I think it is important to maintain links to one’s native country and one’s roots.”

During her pre–AUBG experience in her native Macedonia, she became interested in the social sciences and international issues concerning the South­eastern European status–quo. Political Science was her obvious choice for a primary major. Then, during her second year of study, the European Studies program was introduced. Ms. Koneska, being an avid follower of European political news, decided to give it a try. And although she favored the Political Science courses more, she believes that the European Studies 17

Scholarships Transform Lives

Cvete Koneska ‘05:

In 2011 she finished her PhD degree at Oxford University.

Her research was focused on divided societies and power–sharing mechanisms in the political context of post–conflict states such as the former Yugoslavian countries of Macedonia and Bosnia. Afterwards she worked for a political and security consultancy in London. Building upon her previous experience at “Analytica,” Ms. Koneska advises multinational companies and international organizations on the political and security risks in Central and Southeastern Europe. Her practical experiences aided her theoretical understanding and allowed her to teach at AUBG as a visiting Balkan scholar.

Issue 49

ABF Scholarships

"Thanks to AUBG and ABF, I will remain in my home country and hopefully I will contribute to its future bet­ terment."

Fact 1: Today approximately 30,000 Bulgarian students attend institutions of higher education outside of their country, primarily in the European Union.

Fact 2: Over half of Bulgarian high school seniors who seek higher education apply to schools abroad, and of­ ten at universities of lesser quality than can be found at home in Bulgaria.

This is an alarming rate of departures for a small country with a population of 7.4 million. For the sake of the coun­ try’s future, this significant brain–drain of talented and capable students needs to be slowed.

For that reason, the America for Bulgaria Foundation is investing in the future of Bulgaria by encouraging the brightest Bulgarian students to stay in their home country and simultaneously get the foreign academic experiences and premium quality education they seek by attending AUBG. Through full and partial scholarships, ABF sup­ ports over one hundred high–performing Bulgarian stu­ dents at AUBG.

Scholarships Transform Lives

“In the educational sector, ABF seeks to improve the dis­ semination of knowledge by supporting existing success­ ful models and by creating new ones. AUBG is a model – THE model of top–quality American liberal arts educa­ tion in Bulgaria – which develops future leaders of the country and the region. This is a solid reason for us to choose the University as one of our first partners in the country,” former ABF President, Frank Bauer, said in 2011.

ABF has supported AUBG students very generously through several significant gifts since the Foundation was established in 2008. Their first donation of $1 million was given in 2009, and in 2010 the University was awarded another $1 million in scholarship funds. Most recently, in 2011, ABF committed to a gift of $6 million to support outstanding Bulgarian students who enter the University between 2012 and 2014 so that they can acquire a high– quality American education in–country. This gift is being distributed for full and partial scholarships covering the students’ full four years of tuition at the University, provid­ ing they continue to meet the grade point requirements.

The first ABF scholarship recipients are now in their third year at AUBG and are obtaining very high cumulative grade point averages (3.62 compared to the all–student average of 3.17). Some are also Resident Assistants in the residence halls, while others are leading campus clubs and serving in Student Government.

A significant percentage of all incoming Bulgarian fresh­ men at AUBG are now supported by ABF. Georgi Manolov ’14 from Plovdiv was awarded a full scholarship in 2010.

"The ABF scholarship is crucial for my future," he said.

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Issue 49

Spartak Sofiykov ‘14: “The ABF Full scholarship made the impossible possible for me”

By Daniel Penev He comes from the capital city of Bulgaria – Sofia. He graduated from the First English Language School. Dur­ ing his five years of secondary education, he was a key member of the school’s team in mathematics, partici­ pated in diverse English language competitions, com­ peted in the school’s Debate Club, and was the captain of the school’s football team. Because of his diverse tal­ ents, inexhaustible energy, and adventuresome spirit, he also took part in two sessions of the Model European Parliament in 2008 – in Cyprus and in Bulgaria. All of these accomplishments belong to Spartak Sofiykov – an AUBG junior and a recipient of the America for Bulgaria Foundation Full Scholarship.

What role has the scholarship had in his choice of univer­ sity? “The scholarship has given me the opportunity to receive a first–class higher education just an hour–and– half drive away from home,” Spartak explains. “I’d like to emphasize that I had already been accepted at universi­ ties in Manchester and Nottingham in the United King­ dom when the AUBG offer came, but my parents and I decided that AUBG perfectly combines excellent edu­ cation with affordable costs.” The ABF Full scholarship also transforms a student’s perspective on life in general.

As Spartak says, “This scholarship has helped me under­ stand that if I work hard to hone my faculties, my efforts will sooner or later be noticed and rewarded. This is defi­ nitely a great stimulus to develop a solid understanding of various fields of study.” Spartak also sees the scholar­ ship as a great responsibility. “I need to convince ABF

and AUBG that they haven’t made the wrong choice. They have trusted me and I shouldn’t let them down. This schol­ arship, however, is by no means a heavy burden. Rather, it teaches me to respect others.”

Spartak is completing his third year at AUBG, and he is completely sure that his decision to join the university was right. “Thanks to this scholarship, I have the chance to work with highly experienced and prominent profes­ sors and attend lectures in small classes, benefiting from thought–provoking discussions,” Spartak explains. “Add­ ing the multitude of clubs and organizations functioning on the state–of–the–art campus, I won’t be wrong to say that I am receiving a comprehensive education.” The scholarship, Spartak summarizes, has made the impossible possible for him, allowing him to enjoy the positive features of an American–style liberal arts education in his home country.

What does Spartak wish to say to donors such as the America for Bulgaria Foundation? “However hard I search for the appropriate words, I fail to find the ones that can truly express my gratitude. Thank you very much and keep investing in education, making our dreams a reality!”

aminations are the basic requirements in the Admis­ sions criteria. AUBG tries to identify students who ex­ cel academically but who simultaneously participate in many extracurricular and volunteer activities, students who are never completely satisfied with their achieve­ ments or contributions, and are more willing to give rather than take. Do such exceptional students really exist? Yes, they definitely do and Violeta Petkova is an impressive case in point.

Violeta comes from Varna, Bulgaria. Currently, she is an AUBG sophomore and plans to take Business Ad­ ministration and Mathematics as majors. A year and a half ago, Violeta gained a German diploma from the First Language School in her hometown. She is a gifted mathematician and has won numerous regional and national Math competitions. Violeta even participated in two international competitions: in India in 2004 and in Hong Kong in 2006. In addition, she has regularly participated in Chemistry and German competitions and always performed superbly. Violeta has a great pas­ sion for acting as well and that’s why she was among the most active members of Varna Children’s Opera for over 14 years, playing main roles in famous musicals.

Violeta Petkova ‘15: “The ABF Full Scholarship is a great stimulus for me to work hard on a daily basis”

By Daniel Penev Thanks to America for Bulgaria Foundation and other generous donors, AUBG has the capacity to at­ tract students from diverse backgrounds with genu­ ine talents in different fields. What does the perfect AUBG applicant look like? An excellent high school diploma and high scores on the TOEFL and SAT ex­

How has the scholarship helped her so far? “Since my sister was already attending AUBG, my coming here without a scholarship would have been an extreme fi­ nancial burden for my parents,” Violeta says. The schol­ arship has been a huge stimulus for her not only to maintain high grades but also to acquire diverse skills and take advantage of all of the once–in–a lifetime opportunities AUBG has to offer. Violeta shares that “the ABF Full Scholarship has allowed me to continue to pursue my hobbies, acting and singing in particu­ lar.” Last academic year Violeta played a main role in AUBG’s musical Grease and is also a member of AUBG’s Female Folklore Ensemble “Svetlina”. Despite her extremely busy class schedule and extra–curricu­ lar activities, Violeta also finds the time to be a course assistant in Elementary Linear Algebra and Statistics.

“I am immensely thankful to the America for Bulgaria Foundation for giving me the opportunity to obtain a solid, high–quality American–style liberal arts educa­ tion that will serve me well in whatever I choose to do.

I came here because of the quality education and I love it here because of the people, the diversity and the at­ mosphere in general,” Violeta concluded.

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Scholarships Transform Lives

Having made up her mind to apply to AUBG, Violeta set her heart on scoring as high as possible on the SAT Reasoning Test and TOEFL… which she did, with a fantastic score of 1,400 points on the SAT and 98 points on the TOEFL. Thus, Violeta received an acceptance letter from AUBG and a full, four–year scholarship of­ fer from the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

Issue 49

With Protogerov’s help, in the fall of 2009 a new schol­ arship was launched with certain young people in mind: current AUBG students of modest backgrounds who require assistance with tuition and living expens­ es; or high school students studying in our English Language Institute so that they can meet AUBG’s Eng­ lish language standards; or aspiring Bulgarian students who have no parents or whose families are financially unable to pay AUBG costs; and lastly, students who ex­ cel in national and international science competitions.

Protogerov chose to support such young people’s edu­ cation, knowing that for them, his family scholarships would make all the difference in achieving seemingly impossible dreams and at the same time that those students’ efforts will contribute to Bulgaria’s progress.

“I don’t think there is a better way to help my country,” he says.

Philanthropist Georgi Protogerov: “Education is the key to success”

Scholarships Transform Lives

“One has to support young people who are talented but who cannot see a light at the end of their tunnel because they are in dire circumstances,” says Bulgar­ ian philanthropist Georgi Protogerov. This belief un­ derlies his charitable activity at the American Uni­ versity in Bulgaria where his generosity is assisting such young people to reach their potential.

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Issue 49

The scholarship that Georgi Protogerov set up is dedi­ cated to his son Jan Protogerov, who died in a car ac­ cident at the age of 37. “My life after Jan’s death went in a different direction,” Protogerov said. “Through the scholarship program I want to help young talented Bulgarians reach their goals and at the same time to have my son’s name live on,” he continues. “I see this as a legacy to my son’s memory and as a way for peo­ ple to remember that the Protogerovs cared about their country and its future.”

study conditions and the library, and believes that students should take full advantage of everything that “this special place” has to offer. For her, AUBG is like a small “piece from abroad” within Bulgaria, which creates a unique multicultural setting for the people who want to explore new horizons.

Tsveti has several people to whom she feels grateful for believing in her and her d reams and for being emotionally supportive during her most challenging times, but two stand out in particular: Sabina Wien, an AUBG faculty member, introduced Tsvetelina to the opportunities that AUBG offers and was her steadfast friend, teacher and advisor. “Sabina was the person that kept motivating me and inspiring me to go further and further and to keep believing.”

The story of how to become a beautiful flower

By Nelly Ovcharova Tsvetelina Miteva is a very bright, motivated, high– achieving student with a distinguished personality and great charisma. She sets an excellent example for all students determined to pursue higher education by showing them that anything is possible “if there is someone to believe in the beauty of your dreams.” Granted the first–of–its–kind Protogerov scholarship to attend AUBG’s English Language Institute (ELI), Tsveti progressed rapidly through modules 2 and 3 of the ELI program, ultimately passing the SAT and TOEFL exams with scores that qualified her to be admitted to AUBG . She credits the ELI teachers with having combined instruction and discipline in such a way that her English language learning was enriched concurrently with her study skills. Feeling well prepared to succeed at AUBG, she enrolled in Fall semester 2012 and is now pursuing a major in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Tsveti’s path to success did not start with AUBG – from an early age she has been winning medals and prizes for table tennis and literature and has participated in TV programs for gifted children and recitals devoted to the Day of the Earth and other altruistic causes. Nevertheless, she values her AUBG experience as the high point of her academic career so far and is now ready to conquer new heights and to dream even bigger. She likes the AUBG environment, the student and faculty diversity, the

To the question of why people should donate money for education, Tsveti shared a perceptive thought.

“Every student that receives both financial and emotional support can be perceived as a small seed that the sponsors nurture for the 4 years of education. During that time, the donors can watch how the seed grows, changes and becomes a beautiful colorful flower thanks to their care and attention. The commencement ceremony is when the recipients and the sponsors can really acknowledge how important their nurturing has been. In order for more seeds to grow into beautiful flowers, more sponsors are needed who are willing to donate money for education and to genuinely understand the meaningfulness of their altruistic deeds. It is like a chain reaction. I am getting the chance to follow my dreams and if I succeed, I will provide opportunities for the people after me to do the same because I am so fully aware of the value of every kind of support.”

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Scholarships Transform Lives

Tsvetelina Miteva ’16

And Georgi Protogerov provided the essential scholarship. “Mr. Protogerov is an extraordinary man and I wish that there were more people like him.” He not only gave money for scholarships, but at the beginning of this academic year, he organized a meeting with all of his scholarship recipients in order to get to know them better and to see their progress. “His support and interest in our development are as valuable to us as the scholarship itself. It is not enough to only donate money for education for the sake of avoiding taxes or maintaining your reputation. You need to care about where your money will go and how it will be used.”

By being conscientious about his investment, Mr. Protogerov also creates an incentive for the students to strive for higher goals and to achieve more. Tsveti admits that her biggest fear is not the fear of failure, but the fear of letting down the people who helped her achieve her dreams. And this desire to meet their expectations actually helps her to never give up and to keep giving her best in all she does.

Issue 49

Michael Iovenko Endowed Scholarship

By Sani Silvennoinen “Now it gives me such pleasure to think of students Anton, Iveta, Rostislav, Nataliya and Stefani, learning and achieving as students at AUBG, getting my small assist with their important educations in the spirit of my husband Michael.” – Nancy Newhouse “Your scholarship is so important to me, because it is not only a financial contribution, but moral support that inspires me to follow the road I am on. What is more important, it is amazing how good it feels when one is appreciated by someone who is not part of his family or friends.” – Nataliya Micheva AUBG ‘14 “In honor of an outstanding Bulgarian–American, two scholarships of $1,500 each for the first year of study are awarded to Bulgarian students based upon academic promise, character, leadership skills, and service to others.”

Since 2009, the Michael Iovenko Endowed Scholarship has been helping students finance their AUBG education.

Of Bulgarian heritage, Michael Iovenko (1930–2001) was a New York City lawyer, New York State banking official and president of the Legal Aid Society in New York. His wife, Nancy Newhouse Iovenko, former New York Times Travel Editor, felt that his life should be honored, and when she learned more about the American University in Bulgaria from her friends Dimi and Yvonne Panitza, she knew how her wishes could come true. “I was drawn to honoring my husband’s memory in Bulgaria,” Newhouse reveals.

Scholarships Transform Lives

“My reasons for creating a scholarship at AUBG in Michael’s name were both personal and broader, in

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Issue 49

the global sense,” says Newhouse. Although Michael’s mother, Ludmila Tenchov Iovenko, who came to New York to attend Barnard College – an unusual move at the time – married and remained in the US, she kept strong ties to her family in Bulgaria. Michael was christened at age 9 in the cathedral in Sofia on a family visit, and in the 1990’s, he and Newhouse twice visited Bulgaria and his cousins there. He spoke some Bulgarian, if perhaps in a slightly rusty way, and he treasured this part of his heritage.

In the larger sense, Newhouse points out, AUBG is an admirable institution of higher learning that has grown and expanded remarkably in its twenty–plus years of existence. It combines an American college system and a residential campus with the richness of an Eastern European base and an international group of students and professors. Providing as it does a liberal arts education and a truly contemporary focus on entrepreneurship, business and the skills needed in today’s world – these were big parts of AUBG’s appeal to her as a donor.

“Bulgaria, itself an evolving nation, is a place of stability next door to a part of the world undergoing phenomenal and startling change. The school is special in so many ways,” Newhouse notes, “as AUBG’s students are fortified with grounding in western values as well as knowledge of this ever–changing part of the world.”

Many years ago, Newhouse herself received a scholarship to Vassar College, in New York, where she arrived, thrilled but tentative, from a small town in the forests of northern California. “It was a marvelous experience and a fine education for which I have always been grateful,” she remembers.

Newhouse feels good about paying her own long–ago scholarship opportunity forward to some equally aspiring but perhaps timid freshmen students and at the same time honoring her late husband and his Bulgarian ancestry.

Colliers International Scholarship

By Sani Silvennoinen Two $2,500 scholarships from Colliers International are annually available to entering students, regardless of nationality, who demonstrate financial need.

AUBG interacts regularly with our friends in the corporate world, many of whom recruit from the University because AUBG graduates are consistently considered to be the most employable by Bulgarian businesses, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Education rankings. These same corporations and their AUBG alumni employees provide the University with guidance to ensure that the education we provide to their future employees and leaders is relevant. Equally important, several corporations provide financial support to AUBG helping high–performing students.

One of our partners in the endeavor to educate the finest students in the American liberal arts style is Colliers International, a global real estate firm.

which helps them succeed in whatever professional career they pursue. This is a key distinction, which I believe is fostered by the University and its insistence on active learning and participation in the classrooms,” Garov concluded.

Colliers International offers comprehensive real estate services to investors, property owners, tenants and developers world–wide, and Garov has been its Managing Director in Bulgaria for nearly a decade. Under his management the company has grown significantly, even during down economic times. “Can–do” is a shared positive outlook that makes Colliers and AUBG excellent partners.

“I have been following AUBG’s development over the years,” Garov continued. “It has turned into the leading school for Bachelor’s degrees in Bulgaria, attracting talent from various places around the globe. AUBG’s educational approach engages the students’ intellect, and curiosity, and thereby develops their interests and potential.” A product of an American liberal arts education himself (Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA), Garov feels that this is the right approach to developing strong individuals who are not afraid to pursue their dreams, while being attentive and accepting of the diverse environment to which they belong.

When recruiting from AUBG and interacting with graduates, Garov and his colleagues at Colliers have found that “AUBG students have a real “can–do” attitude, 23

Scholarships Transform Lives

Atanas Garov, the managing director of Colliers International in Bulgaria, offers his perspective on AUBG and the value of high–quality education in general: “My colleagues at Colliers Bulgaria and I firmly believe in investing in education, both during academic years, and during the professional years,” Garov explained. “I believe good education is the basis for everyone to discover and develop and evaluate his/ her interests, strengths, and weaknesses, and to leverage them throughout his/her life.” In supporting students at AUBG through scholarships, Garov hopes to be able to give them an opportunity to acquire a solid base early in life.

Issue 49

Metcalf/Ramsden Endowed Scholarship

By Sani Silvennoinen In the United States, folk tales often begin with the words “Once upon a time…,” followed by the unfolding of a story that teaches a lesson with a happy outcome.

And that is an appropriate format in which to present the story of the Metcalf/Ramsden Endowed Scholarship.

This is a story of how one good deed can lead to many others. Once upon a time, in 1991, a small university was started in Bulgaria. It was called AUBG and one of its founders and the first Chairman of its Board of Trustees was a man named Bob Woodbury. Woodbury was the head of the state of Maine’s public university system in the US, and because of his experience and expertise, he provided strong American–style academic guidance as AUBG was being formed and he continued as a wise advisor for many years.

Woodbury knew and admired the work of Dick Ramsden, a man who had been very involved with the finances of some noteworthy American universities and whom Woodbury could see would provide much– needed financial advice to AUBG. In 2004 Dick Ramsden joined the University’s Board of Trustees and, working with AUBG administrators, took a leading role in getting the budget under control, a status which has been maintained ever since.

Scholarships Transform Lives

Ramsden continued to volunteer his services to the University in many other ways, not only as a member of the Board, but also as an advisor and a generous donor himself. He connected the University to its current Chair of the Board, Marianne Keler, and recruited several of his acquaintances to create scholarships and to make significant major gifts to AUBG.

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The Metcalf/Ramsden Scholarship is a noteworthy example: For over a decade, Dick Ramsden had served as trustee for an American family, the Metcalfs, and in appreciation for all he had done for them, Mrs. Metcalf agreed to create the Metcalf/Ramsden Endowed Scholarship at AUBG. Each year, a $2,250 scholarship for the first year of study is available for new students who have demonstrated financial need and, in addition, who show notable promise in terms of academic excellence, leadership abilities, and especially, personal character and integrity.

The donors have been pleased and touched by the recipients’ comments in appreciation of their Metcalf/ Ramsden Scholarships: “My dream is to work for the benefit of society, and to make my country and my parents proud of me… Now I know that good people are willing to lend me a hand, that is, they believe in me.” – Dinara Urazova ’13, Metcalf/ Ramsden Scholarship recipient And the donors are convinced from having gotten to know the first recipients, that their scholarships will support and enhance many similar, yet to be selected, young people in the future.

“Education isn’t just a diploma – it is a chance for students to develop socially and individually, to find their true self and meet others with whom they can share their world.” – Kristian Shishmanov ’13, Metcalf/Ramsden Scholarship recipient So herein lies a true AUBG story in which it is easy to see how one good deed led to another and another and another. The lesson is that sincere efforts, both great and small, can lead to a chain of events with valued results that keep on giving.

Student Scholarship Fund “Anna Tchaprachikoff”

Anna Tchaprachikoff was a Bulgarian–American whose family emigrated to the US many years ago, leaving large property holdings behind in Bulgaria.

Late in her life, and based on those properties, Anna established a multi–million dollar post–graduate scholarship fund with her own very strict provisions.

She specified that the fund can only be used to pro­ vide partial financial support for tuition and fees for Bulgarian graduates of AUBG who have been admit­ ted to graduate school at any one of Anna’s specific list of top–quality American universities.

Few scholarships are set up with such specificity, but Anna was determined that her named scholarship should empower her wish to do something to benefit her homeland. Believing that AUBG graduates are particularly well prepared to participate in Bulgaria’s economic development, she created her own unique scholarship for which some of our graduates have al­ ready benefitted.

Donors get pleasure from making a difference in de­ serving people’s lives, and in giving to AUBG they also enjoy the freedom of choosing how the money they give will be used. Some donors, like Anna, make very specific bequests, while others give the University to­ tal freedom to use their contributions for whatever is most needed, and still others identify projects to which they wish to contribute. Donations and donors run the gamut of small to large, general to specific purposes, and repeated gifts to one–time–only offer­ ings. In every case, University–wide, the generosity of our friends is deeply appreciated and plays a part in the progress of the AUBG and its students.

Top Universities in the United States to which Qualified AUBG Graduates can get Tchaprachikoff Scholarships* Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Princeton University Stanford University Yale University Duke University Columbia University University of Pennsylvania University of Chicago California Institute of Technology Dartmouth College John Hopkins University Northwestern University Washington University in St. Louis Brown University Cornell University Rice University University of Notre Dame Vanderbilt University Emory University * according

to the 2013 US National University Rankings

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Scholarships Transform Lives

During the Bulgarian Revival Period (15th–19th cen­ turies), it was the tradition of wealthy Bulgarian fami­ lies to support young and talented people who were striving to improve their skills and, consequently, their lives. Convinced that in today’s world a supe­ rior education is the way to improve one’s life situa­ tion, and at the same time the best way that she could contribute to Bulgaria’s development, Anna Tchapra­ chikoff continued that old tradition when she estab­ lished a unique scholarship fund in her family name.

Issue 49

How true that is: it was Delyan’s AUBG bachelor’s degree that made him eligible for the Tchaprachikoff scholarship that financed his MIT graduate degree that lead to major career doors opening for him… the domino effect at its finest! Others will share Delyan’s path thanks to the conviction and follow–up action of one, solitary individual, Anna Tchaprachikoff, whose scholarships will continue to open up incredible opportunities to other young people for years to come.

Delyan Ganev ‘07: “The AUBG experience can significantly change your life in a very positive direction”

Scholarships Transform Lives

By Nelly Ovcharova Delyan Ganev graduated from AUBG in 2007 with majors in Mathematics and Economics and, for the next three years, worked as head of Cash Management for BNP Paribas (Sofia). In 2010, he was granted one of AUBG’s Tchaprachikoff scholarships which enabled him to pursue a Master’s degree in Finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After finishing his post– graduate studies at MIT, Delyan began working at Baron Capital, a New York based mutual fund company that currently manages about $17 billion.

He is presently a Senior Associate in the Portfolio and Risk Analytics department, a giant leap from his Blagoevgrad days.

When asked what AUBG means to him, Delyan shares that “it was a very enlightening and rewarding experience” which enabled him to “see and reach further” than he had imagined. In addition, it provided him not only with skills and knowledge, but also with the mindset to develop a successful career. His time at AUBG and all the friendships he made added much to his interests and his aspirations. To the question of why young people should study at AUBG, Delyan shares: “What do you mean "Why"? It's AUBG, the best school in the region. Period. Great faculty, amazing students, unique opportunities. The AUBG experience can significantly change your life in a very positive direction.”

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Issue 49

Delyan’s future looks bright and promising and like every highflier, he has many fascinating goals to pursue in the future, such as playing professional soccer for at least one year of his life, learning to play his favorite music on the piano, travelling the globe and seeing the Earth from space. He believes that young people are the future, thus more attention should be paid to donating money that will allow them to “dream big.”

This will not only be beneficial for the individuals, but also for the prosperity of society in general.

During his time at AUBG, Delyan was not only a brilliant student, but also an outgoing and communicative person and a sports fan. He was a member of the Ghastly Bunch and he played intramural soccer with club “Pirin” twice becoming a champion. In his free time, he liked to “loosen up” by exploring the night life of the vibrating, lively town of Blagoevgrad. His advice to the current AUBG students is to pursue a major in Mathematics, or at least to develop an interest in it, because it can reveal a completely different, unconventional side of reality and can change lives in a wondrous way. Also, Delyan believes that motivation, hard work and patience are the milestones to success.

Master’s Degree in International and Development Economics, she applied to Yale University in the United States, and thanks to what she calls her “extremely high quality AUBG education,” she was accepted into Yale’s graduate program and subsequently became eligible to receive AUBG’s Anna Tchaprachikoff scholarships for our qualifying alumni.

“Stay alert, look for opportunities, and make the most of them”

By Nelly Ovcharova Teodora Tsankova graduated from AUBG in 2011 and right after that joined the ever–growing ranks of our alumni who immediately go on to get their Master’s degrees at foreign universities.

At AUBG, Teodora majored in Economics and Business Administration and did very well. For her

Teodora defines her AUBG experience as a cornerstone in her path to success. Because of the flexibility of the curriculum and the opportunities for exploring different fields of study before choosing a major, the excellent courses, and the scholarships, she has been able to discover an area of knowledge that she loves and in which she has been able to grow and excel.

In retrospect, she acknowledges: “Had the donors or my family not seen the potential benefits from education, I would be on a completely different life path at the moment. I appreciate what everyone has done for me.”

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Scholarships Transform Lives

Teodora Tsankova ‘11:

It is almost completely unheard of in the world of higher education for a Bachelor’s level university (such as AUBG) to offer scholarships to its own alumni which they can use for graduate school at some other university, particularly at premier universities in other countries. But that is exactly what the Tchaprachikoff scholarships offer to our alumni and what Teodora, like a few other AUBG graduates, has been able to take advantage of. With funds from the Tchaprachikoff scholarship, she completed her Master’s studies at Yale and now works as an Economic Analyst in the Office of the Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Issue 49

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

To be a world–class university, AUBG needs to ensure not only that students have the best possible learning environment but also that faculty have the resources they need for both teaching and scholarship. That combination is a constant challenge in today’s world of continual knowledge and technological advances. For long–term robustness, AUBG must continue to recruit and retain the finest scholars and to support their intellectual pursuits.

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

By Sani Silvennoinen Critical to AUBG’s future success is its ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty. An endowed faculty position can play an important role in this regard.

Endowed faculty positions exist at many prestigious universities and offer many advantages to the institution, scholars, and most of all, to students. In an Endowed Chair or Professorship, a University receives guaranteed income to support research and teaching activities in a particular field, activity that may not be possible under the normal tuition–funded budgets.

The esteemed professor who holds the position receives recognition for achievements in his or her field and the satisfaction that the university supports work in his or her discipline. In addition, the recipients receive prestige, as being named to an Endowed Chair is often one of the greatest honors a professor can receive, an internationally recognized mark of distinction. Most importantly, students are challenged and guided by exposure to the highest quality academic leadership.

AUBG is honored to announce that a close friend and one of our most generous supporters, Marianne Keler, has committed to creating the University’s first Endowed Chair in the field of Economics.

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

“Endowed professorships provide a means for the University to attract and retain the very best faculty.” – Marianne Keler, Chair of AUBG’s Board of Trustees Keler has been involved with the University for more than a decade and has seen it grow and evolve into what it is today. Throughout her time on the Board and the University Council, Keler has supported AUBG with significant unrestricted support, helping the University to adapt to tough economic times and fluctuations in enrollment and fundraising. She realized in 2011 that the time was ripe to address the University’s welfare in the long–term and began a conversation which came to fruition in 2012 when she signed a letter of intent to create the Chair in Economics.

According to Keler, one of her reasons for choosing to 28

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invest in Economics at AUBG is the connection to one of our founding fathers and a fellow Hungarian, George Soros, who is an economist by training. In addition, Keler has seen first–hand the impressive work of AUBG undergraduates who have been conducting top–notch research with the guidance of our outstanding faculty.

“AUBG has an incredibly vibrant community of scholars and faculty.” – Marianne Keler

Inspired by Keler’s generous commitment and to honor the long–lasting legacy of recently–deceased AUBG board member Dimi Panitza, the Board of Trustees have also approved the establishment of the Dimi Panitza Memorial Professorship.

Once the funding is secured, the Panitza Professorship will develop and stimulate interdisciplinary research

and student interest in the social, cultural, political, and economic effects of communist rule in recent Eastern European history and their relevance to democracies in transition. The goal is to examine how the governments and societies of former communist countries are influenced by the legacy of communism, an area of study currently under– represented in academia in Eastern Europe. Of special interest would be the collection and processing of oral interviews with people who lived under communism. The holder of the Panitza Professorship would teach courses in the area of communist studies and assist in the development of lectures, seminars, and research projects in this field of study.

The Panitza Endowed Professorship is intended to be a full–time position which, when implemented, can provide a platform for the pursuit of the work, providing a well– documented body of knowledge for researchers, historians and governments of the Eastern European region.

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Endowing Excellence at AUBG

Through her gift, Keler hopes that the Endowed Chair will help raise the national and international prestige of AUBG, help attract and retain top faculty to the institution, and play a vital role in encouraging pioneering, innovative and inspired leadership in Economics, the top Economics program in Bulgaria.

“I’m sure that by providing more opportunities for faculty, our Economics majors will also benefit,” she explained. Keler also hopes that her example will lead to other similar philanthropic gifts to ensure for centuries that the best and the finest academics can be recruited to and retained at AUBG.

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Educational Enhancement and Community Grant For seven years, Michael McGoldrick was a part–time professor at AUBG, who taught various courses in Eco­ nomics. While here, he developed a sincere affection for the University and its students, and became aware of how limited the resources were to pay for outside the classroom learning activities which enrich the aca­ demic experience. Filling that need, in 2007 McGoldrick set up a dedicated fund, the Educational Enhancement and Community Grant, which has been used by many faculty members to take their students on regional field trips and excursions and to pay for guest musi­ cians to perform at Blagoevgrad community concerts.

Endowing Excellence at AUBG

The variety of programs and destinations that the grant has funded are impressive: Art classes have gone on Sofia art gallery tours and to the Boyana Church, while the French classes have spent time at the Francophone Institute. Photojournal­ ism students have travelled to Kovatchevitza to pho­ tograph every angle of the traditional houses there, and business classes have visited the offices of cor­ porate headquarters. Multimedia classes have par­ ticipated in documentary festivals in Macedonia and Greece. And the Blagoevgrad community has enjoyed much–loved classical music concerts from which the

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honoraria were paid for out of McGoldrick’s grant.

AUBG welcomes the input of others like McGoldrick who see a University need that particularly moves them and who take steps to make it happen. A gift can be established in any area of interest and be of any size. The first step can be taken by contacting www.aubg.bg/donate.

Making It Happen

The spirit of discovery and adventure extends beyond AUBG’s classrooms, as students take advantage of the opportunities to participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities. From dozens of student clubs to the Choir, from field trips to Plovdiv to the Model United Nations, students engage in a multitude of out–of–classroom activities that pique their interests and enhance their knowledge. Finding ways to pay for these activities is a student and institutional challenge and the participants are grateful to those who contribute to this co–curricular learning.

More–Honors

Mostuna deeply values his initiative and, in fact, per­ sistently makes sure the club sustains the traditions that have always marked it. Therefore, in 2008, the More–Honors Alumni created a special scholarship for the 10th anniversary of the Academy in order to encourage young filmmakers to put their multifaceted ideas into action. “It [the scholarship] aims to stimulate creativity and freedom among AUBG students, and at the same time to expose the candidates to the inventive and production task challenges that More–Honors cer­ emony organizers face each year,” said Mostuna. The most interesting fact about it, though, is that it is 100% financed by former More–Honors Academy members, AUBG students or friends of the organization, who participate in an online auction that sells “emotionally or historically precious items” from AUBG’s history.

Monetary prizes have varied throughout the years, but

overall the donors have managed to give away more than 10,000 BGN to students who demonstrate particular cre­ ativity.

Each year, the announcement of the scholarship is posted around March 1st. After that, the submitted student– prepared videos are judged based on criteria that are ex­ plained in the official notification: “Creativity and clear understanding of More–Honors and its values. Original ideas only!” Originality is at the core of all of More–Honors projects. Each year the audience watches new vignettes which present a detachment from reality or the innova­ tive interpretation by a More–Honors member. Despite the vivid absurdities in some of the videos, the sponsors are wholeheartedly devoted to continuing to promote and reward outstanding student video production, and they take great delight in the gusto that this continuing AUBG event generates on the campus. More–Honors enthusi­ asts are urged to participate in the fund–raising that sup­ ports this enduring tradition.

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Making It Happen

By Konstantina Bandutova The More–Honors Academy is not a typical student club. The group was founded in the middle of the 90s, back when the American University in Bulgaria was taking its first steps to becoming a leading academic institution in Eastern Europe. Its creator, Anguel An­ guelov – Mostuna, as he is known, came up with the idea for a club that would unite students interested in unconventional humor and skilled with the camera.

The club helps its members convert their ideas into successful video projects.

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Musicals

By Yoana Savova Flashy, dashing, sparkly – one would need a Web­ ster’s Extended Dictionary to list the various adjec­ tives that describe the AUBG student musical pres­ entations. One of the four big clubs on campus, the Broadway Performance Club’s annual student per­ formances tell a different story each year through a mix of songs, dialog, and dance. Created in 2007, the club annually selects, casts, rehearses, and pre­ sents live on stage a best–loved Broadway production.

The first enthusiastic and energetic performers pre­ sented the musical Chicago in 2008 followed by Westside Story in 2009. While these events were treats lim­ ited to Blagoevgrad audiences, in 2010 Hairspray was performed in Blagoevgrad, Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. In the following two years, joined by the youth orchestra “Levon Manykyan Collegium Musicum”, the widely popular Moulin Rouge and then Grease appeared in two more cities – Bourgas and Stara Zagora. Overall, AUBG musicals have entertained more than 20,000 people in Bulgaria over the course of the club’s six–year history.

Making It Happen

The musicals are probably the best–known AUBG pro­ jects that have moved beyond our campus location. As the productions have expanded across the country, the producers have had to find financial backers which have included TPP Maritsa Iztok 1, Advance International Transport (Balkan) EAD, and telerik, as well as product providers including Avon and Schwarzkopf Professional.

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The 2013 production is a relatively new show called “Memphis,” which first appeared on Broadway in 2009.

While student actors, singers, and dancers rehearsed, the organizational team worked to make the budget expenses and the income match. New donors including Mania, Mat Star, Deloitte, and Fairplay International have joined as sponsors who have invested in the club as a way of both advertising their businesses and support­ ing the development of the passionate young perform­ ers, another example of how companies, large and small, can provide support to AUBG projects. “Hats off!” to our Bulgarian Broadway angels.

Innovation and practical thinking have become trade­ marks of students in the Business Department of AUBG. Driven by a desire to extract the maximum from the learning experience, they engage in different extracur­ ricular activities, ranging from organizing conferences, bringing top experts in the field to campus and partici­ pating in projects with real–life dimensions. One such undertaking is the business case competition, organ­ ized within the entrepreneurship program of AUBG. It is based on the methodology of the Junior Achievement Startup program and is generously supported by Citi­ Bank Bulgaria.

Recognizing its unique opportunity to facilitate positive changes in the world, CitiBank Foundation has put con­ siderable resources into supporting entrepreneurial pro­ jects, where young and progressively thinking students can apply theory to practice and test their skills. The entrepreneurship program at AUBG offers a hands–on business opportunity to its participants and the chance to experience how their ideas can be taken from the drawing–board and given real–world expression.

The program had its inception in 2011 and attracted more than 80 students, from which 22 were selected to participate in an entrepreneurship course. Working in teams, each student group spent the entire semester cre­ ating an idea for a small business, developing a business plan, and giving a presentation of the plan to potential

investors. They were supported during the semester by a series of lectures by both academics and practitioners, and by individual and team consultations with business leaders. The projects were presented in front of a special jury, with the winning team receiving a monetary award and the chance to compete at the national level.

Veneta Andonova, professor in the Business department and a coordinator of the project, shared that this is an important and unique chance for the students who can “draw inspiration and experience something that will change their mindsets. They are definitely thinking how to turn their ideas into successful real businesses.” The members of the jury were very impressed by the enthu­ siasm and professionalism of the participants and the quality of their presentations.

Last year’s proposals were varied, including a service to parents in Albania that gives guidance on foreign edu­ cation for high school graduates; a finance portal that explains the basics of finance in easy–to–understand terms; a meeting place for gamers in Sofia; and a food delivery service catering to non–Bulgarian speakers in the AUBG community. This year even more ideas are being presented, with the additional enticement that one will likely be supported by a venture fund.

The generous financial backing of CitiBank Foundation in sponsoring this entrepreneurship project allows for a win–win partnership in which both the University and the Foundation draw on their own specialties to nurture student knowledge and creativity.

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Making It Happen

Think big and dare to achieve with CitiBank

Issue 49

AUBG Olympics: Strong Partnership of University and Sponsors

By Ann Snesareva AUBG Olympics is a major campus–wide sports compe­ tition which includes students and faculty as participants, as well as sponsors that donate money to help cover the ex­ penses. Although the event lasts only one day, it requires an enormous amount of planning during the whole year.

Therefore, the AUBG Olympics Crew meets on a regu­ lar basis during the academic year and divides its work and responsibilities so that every aspect is taken care of.

Finding sponsors is a very large part of the organ­ izing effort because each year, it costs at least 10,000 leva to put them on, of which only 4,400 leva is cov­ ered by the Student Government budget. Clearly, then, the event relies heavily on sponsors’ donations.

“We understand that we are very much dependent on the University and outside funding we receive, and this is the only way we can sustain and improve the quality we take pride in offering to the students,” said Venel­ ina Miteva, the vice–president of AUBG Olympics.

One of the long–time sponsors of AUBG Olym­ pics is telerik, an AUBG alumni company with ser­ vices world–wide that provides the printing on the hoodies and t–shirts. With the telerik logo on the shirts of the Olympics crew, everyone knows of the company’s participation as part of the team.

Making It Happen

Today there are new names on the list of those that support the event with money and their products.

Oriflame and Mtel give their products as awards to

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the winning participants. Last year, Mtel donated an iPhone 4S as a super door–prize for one lucky winner from among everyone who participated or just came to enjoy the event. Nestle and Coca Cola also sup­ port AUBG Olympics by providing their products.

“While working with each sponsor, we try to focus on their expectations so that we negotiate the most favora­ ble agreement for them and for us as we build strong partnerships based on trust, professionalism and re­ sponsibility,” Miteva said. Being a part of AUBG’s an­ nual Olympics competition has become a way for com­ panies to make themselves known to the University’s students who may be their next employees or their next customers.

Alumni Giving Back

It is common knowledge that life involves a lot of give and take. Nothing could exemplify this truism better than AUBG alumni who have first “taken” from AUBG in the form of scholarships and knowledge and later have chosen to “give back” either in the form of donations or professional expertise to their University. Read on to see their perspectives.

A message to alumni from Vladimir Borachev VP, Institutional Advancement Class of 1995 Dear fellow alumni, AUBG has made a true and lasting effect on my life.

What about yours?

For me AUBG stands for freedom, open doors, lifetime friends, removal of barriers, acceptance of differenc­ es, togetherness and new horizons. What does AUBG stand for in your mind?

AUBG has given me intellectual challenges and has helped me to combat a fear of public speaking and pre­ senting. AUBG has helped me to discover my strengths Quick facts:

and learn from mistakes. It has given me a solid ground for what awaited me beyond the classroom. What has AUBG given to you?

Education is a gift. Quality education at AUBG is a chance of a lifetime. We have all had that chance and we are now at a different place in life – in the corporate, NGO or entrepreneurial sectors. We have all succeed­ ed in different ways and yet we are all AUBG alumni.

How have you used your AUBG opportunity?

Giving back to AUBG offers students like we once were the same chance of a lifetime. It provides young women and men from Bulgaria, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and faraway places with an opportunity to have a bet­ ter life and to live their dreams. Giving back makes a difference. Do you want to make a difference?

There are many ways to give back to AUBG – we can use your experience, goodwill, ideas and positive en­ ergy. Think about it. How can you support AUBG? Thank you!

Vladimir

• 17 years of professional experience in sales, marketing, general management, executive coaching and manage­ ment training; • 10 management positions, from which six international, with Xerox Corporation and Avon Cosmetics; • Former Director for Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Macedo­ nia, Albania and Montenegro with Avon Cosmetics; • BA in Business Administration from AUBG and MBA from IESE Business School, Spain; • Visiting instructor at AUBG with “Management of ser­ vice organizations” undergraduate course, Fall 2000; • AUBG EMBA faculty member with “Business commu­ nications” graduate course; • Certified Coach and member of the International (ICF) and Bulgarian (ICF Bulgaria Chapter) coaching federa­ tions; • AUBG Board of Trustees member (2008–2010) and Uni­ versity Council member (2010–2013); • Communicates in Bulgarian, English, Spanish, Russian and Czech; • Continually supports AUBG in multiple ways from 1999; • VP, Institutional Advancement from March 1, 2013.

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ALUMNI GIVING BACK

Do you want to make a difference in a person’s life?

Issue 49

and intellectually and at the same time to stay in touch with their environment. I believe that the new AUBG generations will bring a positive change in their home countries and the world as a whole. That is why supporting bright young people to attend the University and receive a high–quality American education is the best way to make society better.

Elvin Guri ‘96: “Change is inevitable, progress is not”

Alumni Giving Back

Elvin remembers the exact day he came to Bulgaria for the first time – 26 August 1992. He spent four years at AUBG and in 1996 completed his two majors in Economics and History. Economics – because his father thought it would be a smart choice – and History – because that was what he wanted (he even thought of getting a PhD in History). In his junior year Elvin started to work at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Sofia where he stayed till September 1996. After graduating from AUBG he went to London to work as a financial analyst at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In January 1998 he moved to the Bulgarian office of EBRD. In November 2001, together with Ivan Hristanov, Elvin founded JetFinance. For seven years their business grew to become one of the largest non–banking consumer credit companies in the region. In 2008 JetFinance was sold to Cetelem, part of BNP Paribas group. Since then Elvin has been working independently, particularly in providing financial services outside Bulgaria. Elvin is the founding president of the AUBG Alumni Association and since May 2007 he has also served on the University’s Board of Trustees, becoming Chair of the Finance and Property Committee in 2008.

“I see education as the only tool that can help improve society for the foreseeable future. Why did I decide to give back to my Alma Mater? As a graduate of the University I can firmly say that AUBG gives young people something they won’t get anywhere else – the chance to grow professionally 36

Issue 49

AUBG offers an extremely stimulating intellectual environment. It challenges you at different levels – to open your mind and become a better person.

Whether it is through the simple fact that you are in a different environment and have to take care of yourself or have to communicate with strangers, foreigners, and be in a foreign environment. Or whether you are at a class and you have to get used to a different method of teaching, studying and learning, to develop critical thinking and analytical abilities. I know it may sound like a cliché, but the environment really does challenge you to start thinking.

Through supporting AUBG I want to give a chance to deserving students to get exposed to this exciting environment. The fund of $1,000,000 that I have established actually consists of two types of scholarships with different purposes and requirements.

The first one is need–based and it aims to provide the means to all eligible first–year Albanian students to enroll at AUBG. Since Fall 2008, 116 young people have received such support. The other scholarship, named after my parents Vehip and Natasha Guri, is merit–based and encourages Bulgarian and Albanian students to maintain high academic results so that they can apply to receive it. Since 2009, 206 scholarships have been distributed to outstanding students for their high achievements. I decided to support need–based students because I was a need–based student myself.

I come from a middle–class family – my father was an engineer and my mother a teacher, but we had very difficult times. And if we had difficult times, I can only imagine what the rest of the society was going through. Certainly, without an Open Society Scholarship, I would not have been able to attend the university. Through my scholarships I want to make my contribution to the creation of a better and well prepared society by tending to certain individuals. The idea of such support is to help people who deserve, but are not otherwise able to attend the University. Giving them a chance to improve their lives is beneficial for the society as well. In addition to my first two scholarship programs, there are Albanian and Bulgarian hardship funds for students who face unexpected financial difficulties during their study at AUBG and up to this day the funds have supported 15 young individuals.

Change is inevitable but progress is not. If we want to develop further as a society we need well educated

young people who know where they come from and where they want to go. The success of their journey wouldn’t be possible without exposing them to our recent past. Examining it is of high importance to me, because I believe that we cannot progress if we don’t know ourselves. This belief is the centerpiece of my vision of philanthropy and stands behind my desire to fund some research projects related to our recent past. Speaking of that, my idea, my understanding of philanthropy when I started supporting AUBG was basically that it was a tool to improve the environment where I live. I subscribe to the idea that man cannot live well unless the society is also doing well. I believe that the only way to make the society better is to invest in education.”

Stratsi Kulinski ’95 Establishes First Alumni Endowment Scholarship to be awarded to undergraduates of high potential to improve student life Stratsi Kulinski ’95 is the Head of International Corporate Development at TiVo, the Silicon Valley television technology pioneer.

Stratsi Kulinski was one of a handful of students who came to AUBG seeking adventure and opportunity back in 1991. During his years in Blagoevgrad he was actively involved in student life, and was one of the founding members of the AUBG Student Government, Radio AURA, and the AUBG Choir, and served as a student representative to the AUBG Board of Trustees. Stratsi graduated in the class of 1995 with a BA degree and a major in Business Administration.

One thing which Stratsi kept constant through the years was his commitment to AUBG. He has stayed in touch with classmates, faculty, and staff often during his travels, and cherishes those encounters.

His commitment to AUBG has taken various other forms as well; in 1996 Stratsi jointly established, with his classmate Christo Grozev, the first alumni– 37

Alumni Giving Back

For the years that followed, Stratsi managed radio stations in several countries in Eastern Europe while at Metromedia International, got an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, managed media and entertainment products and new business development for Intelsat (the world’s largest satellite telecom company out of Washington DC) and did corporate development all over the globe for TiVo (the Silicon Valley television technology pioneer.)

Issue 49

sponsored scholarship at AUBG. Smaller individual contributions over the years eventually culminated in the first AUBG Alumni gift in the form of an Endowed Scholarship today.

“I am deeply grateful to AUBG for the role the school and its people have played in my life, and for the academic enlightenment, lifelong friendships, and unsurpassed opportunities they have generously given me”, says Stratsi. “I have always supported AUBG with smaller financial contributions on an annual basis, but today, through a new form of donation available to all my fellow alumni, it is a rare honor for me to be able to give back to AUBG in a more lasting fashion. An Endowed Scholarship is an effective way to express gratitude not just this year, but through the years to come. The nature of an Endowed Scholarship allows AUBG to invest the principal of my gift made today, so that each year the interest from the investment can be made available to pay for a student’s tuition. Each year the principal generates additional income, and so the Endowed Scholarship could last in perpetuity, which is a great way to leave a lasting legacy of gratitude to our beloved alma mater.

Alumni Giving Back

AUBG was a transformative experience in my early adulthood, and has bestowed upon me for life the gifts of critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, commitment to integrity, and tolerance and respect for the values of others; it has truly opened a vast and thriving universe of opportunity for me, and what a ride it has been so

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far! Some of you may well remember the state of the post–communist world in Eastern Europe back in the early ‘90s, when not many of these values had a home in our reality. AUBG nurtured new perspectives and brought positive changes in the lives of many alumni who otherwise had little opportunity. Even to this day, AUBG remains true to its spirit and its mission to prepare students for ethical and democratic leadership.

These values remain absolutely relevant today, and will always continue to be so, in a global society which can certainly use all the ethics and integrity it can get from our current and future students and alumni.

I establish the Stratsi Kulinski Endowed Scholarship with a clear mission to nurture this AUBG spirit. Academic excellence is pivotal to any educational institution, but I strongly prefer that AUBG awards this scholarship not for academic success, but for contributions to student life. I believe that the keeper of the true AUBG spirit is its community. Students, teachers, staff, board and council, and all of our stakeholders must continue to thrive and work together, so that the mission and legacy of AUBG can continue to endure. I hope my Endowed Scholarship will help and encourage those who make meaningful contributions to student life, whether it is in the areas of extracurricular activities, art, campus events, student representation, interest groups, or any other effort to preserve and build upon the strength of the AUBG spirit.

I know the AUBG legacy remains strong in many alumni.

If you still carry the spirit of adventure, learning, and opportunity, think about how you can help the next generation of AUBG students follow in your footsteps.

No gift is too small, and whether you are helping plant a tree on campus, volunteer your time in service of fundraising or admissions, or make a scholarship donation, you are helping carry the AUBG spirit. There is no better way to say thank you.”

Through the years, I remained connected to American ideas and was elected Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Com­ merce for three terms and I am a member of the Man­ agement Board of Ladies Forum at present.

In reminding myself of those early years of my life and career, I decided to contribute what I could to AUBG. I strongly believe that we should stay connected with our University and the people that made our time there fun and worthwhile. Contributing even small amounts of money helps and allows young Bulgarians to get ac­ cess to American style education and encourages them to stay home.

Tanya Kosseva–Boshova ’96: “AUBG gave me the best of two worlds” Tanya has been the Executive Director of Landmark Bulgaria until 2009 and at present holds the position of CEO of the European Trade Center.

I am a graduate of the second class of AUBG, from those pioneering years of the university, when spir­ its were high and we felt that we had the knowledge, power and the skills to bring about positive change in the political and economic processes in Bulgaria – and that was one of the reasons we decided to stay in our home country. AUBG has a special place in my life for another reason as well – it gave me the best of two worlds – the American style liberal arts education and the network of people who stayed in Bulgaria and grew up professionally hand in hand with the young Bulgarian economy at the time.

I believe AUBG helped me grow both professionally and as a person, empowering me to be ambitious, dar­ ing and quite successful early on in my career when I was promoted to a managing partner position of the largest property consulting company in Bulgaria, Colliers International, before I was 30 years of age.

Since that time, I have been managing large commer­ cial property companies – Landmark Properties for a few years and the European Trade Center at present.

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Alumni Giving Back

I come from a typical middle class family of the 90s – my parents managed to pay my tuition with the money they had been saving for long years to purchase their first car. Were it not for their sacrifice, the generous scholarship sponsors of the University, and a student loan, I would not have been able to afford to study at AUBG.

Issue 49

where our extended AUBG family can help. It does not take a lot: I have discussed many times with my friends that if a lot of alumni give 20–30 euro per year this would not be something which would hurt our budgets, but that could really make a difference to students.

I hope other people will also think about how great a difference this support can make and help out. There are already companies founded by AUBG alumni who hire a lot of AUBG graduates, I’ve also had interns working on my team who were recent AUBG graduates and usually these are some of the brightest and most hard– working people on the team. So by helping out now, we are helping our own future as well as the future of our companies and our countries.”

Maria Alexandrova ‘03 Maria is Brand Manager at Kamenitza Brewery AD, Sofia, Bulgaria “There are so many things for which I am thankful to AUBG and the way it has influenced my life: from the great friendships I have with my classmates – we are 14 to 20 people from my class that are so close that I consider them like a family, to the fact that I owe the start of my marketing career to the great AUBG network – learning about an open position in Kraft Foods marketing department 8 years ago through two of my AUBG friends. The extraordinary experiences I got in student media working in Vox, The AUBG Magazine and The Aspecter, the classes in Editing and Design and the renowned Mother of All Comprehensive Exams in Accounting – all of which have been very beneficial in my marketing career.

Besides the great experiences in the classes and in extra curricular activities, there is one more special thing for which I will be always grateful: My friends always tell me that I’m a great optimist and a true believer that we can change things for the better; this attitude about life is also something which I gained at AUBG. The school, the professors, the clubs, the exciting ideas that we shared during those 4 years – everything there forged our belief in the future and this is what makes all of us so successful.

Alumni Giving Back

I consider myself lucky that I had the opportunity to study at AUBG and to meet such interesting people and I would like others to be able to experience this great journey as well. I am always grateful to my parents who helped me pay my tuition, but I also had the opportunity to win scholarships and help out with the expenses. I know there are bright young people that are not so lucky to get this support and this is 40

Issue 49

Ana Milicevic ‘01 Ana is Digital Media and Advertising Technology Consultant at SAS Lead Industry, New York, US “I invested in AUBG because I want to give back to the institution that has given me so much knowl­ edge, experience, and many treasured friendships.

I attended AUBG as a recipient of an Open Soci­ ety academic scholarship and I want to extend the same level of support forward to new generations of students. It is the role of alumni worldwide to champion their almae matres and I hope that my modest investments over time can contribute to the growth and legacy of this great institution. AUBG is truly unique and special thanks to its diverse stu­ dent body, inspiring faculty, world–class education, and academic philosophy that serves as a bridge be­ tween cultures; I feel privileged to have been and continue to be a part of its journey.”

time in my life the concept of volunteering and the huge impact that donating even once made for our organization – it allowed us to serve our constitu­ ents better and played a major part in reaching out and assisting people in need.

Both in public service and in private business I have been able to contribute to improving people’s lives.

I owe it all to my education, and more importantly, to the financial support that made that education possible.”

Velichka Hristova ‘97 Velichka Hristova is currently working at Bank Gutmann in Vienna, Austria with responsibilities for business development for the Balkans, Russia and CIS region

For example, I will never forget that I had the high­ est mark in a history exam in high school – Name All the Reasons why the First World War hap­ pened. If one listed all of them, one got the high­ est grade, which I did. My university education taught me that there are no such finite, clear–cut, black and white answers possible when discuss­ ing the various events in life. At first, I was terri­ fied, but also hooked – how can you make sense of this world if there are no clear–cut answers?

This hardly seemed possible… Yet, two majors and four years later such open–minded thinking made perfect sense to me. I would not trade learn­ ing of that kind for anything in the world.

I have pursued two graduate degrees since AUBG, and have come to experience firsthand the ben­ efits of scholarship support to students who are otherwise unable to afford the education they need. Giving is important – in terms of money, but also in devoting time and sharing your expe­ rience to help others attain their goals. Prior to starting my banking career, I was part of a non­ profit organization where I had the chance to work with volunteers, and experience for the first

Elena and Rossen Ivanovi ‘00 Elena is the Director of External Partnerships at “Teach for Bulgaria”, an educational NGO that seeks to provide equal access to quality education for all children in Bulgaria, while her husband, Rossen, is the founder and Managing Partner of Entrea Capital, an independent investment banking firm in Bulgaria Elena and Rossen Ivanovi met at AUBG and, now husband and wife, both support the University through donations and by being involved in univer­ sity programs and initiatives.

“It is important for alumni to devote financial re­ sources and time to AUBG, a place which has given us all the base on which we have established our pro­ fessional careers and has taught us a lot of the values that we uphold today. In our busy professional lives, it is easy to forget to reflect back on what has helped us get here and what is important for society as a whole.

For us, donating to AUBG is a way to help the next generation of talented young people fulfill their full potential and, as a result, help our society progress.

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Alumni Giving Back

“AUBG helped me learn the value of diversity and gave me hope that in working together we can make a difference. It also gave me critical think­ ing skills and a respect for applying them in all areas of life.

Issue 49

It is only through each and every graduate’s involve­ ment and giving back to our University that education and economic progress can continue to advance.”

Elena is currently Director of External Partnerships at “Teach for Bulgaria,” an educational NGO that seeks to provide equal access to quality education for all children in Bulgaria. Elena focuses on establishing and develop­ ing strategic partnerships with key Bulgarian companies and individuals with the aim of involving them in helping solve the problem of educational inequality in Bulgaria.

Elena has previously worked at the Open Society Insti­ tute in New York, the United Nations Development Pro­ gramme in Moscow, and at Boston University. She stud­ ied Business Administration at AUBG and holds a Master of Science degree in Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Rossen is founder and Managing Partner of Entrea Capi­ tal, an independent investment banking firm in Bulgaria.

Prior to establishing Entrea Capital, Rossen worked at McKinsey & Co in New York, the European Bank for Re­ construction and Development in London, and Procter & Gamble in Bucharest. He holds a BA in Economics from AUBG and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Rossen was recently on campus to speak to Prof. Goksoy’s class on mergers and acquisitions to provide the students with a practical perspective on the mergers and acquisi­ tions process in Bulgaria.

Alumni Giving Back

In donating both their financial and professional re­ sources back to AUBG, this pair exemplifies all the best in AUBG graduates.

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Bogdan Cosmaciuc ‘99 Bogdan Cosmaciuc is Partner and Director of research at Senator Investment Group, a privately owned hedge fund sponsor “I deal with the stock market for a living, so for better or worse I approach philanthropy with the same mindset: I like to get high returns on invest­ ment. Nobody would dispute that investing in education in general is a good thing, but I know from experience that investing in AUBG can be more than that–it can be great. What is special about AUBG is its ability to focus its resources on a group of highly intelligent, highly motivated in­ dividuals at precisely the time in their lives when their minds are ready to be molded and their fu­ ture path is wide open. I did not know where my career would take me when I left AUBG, but I knew one thing, that I had been given the best call option on my future I could have possibly gotten.

By giving back to AUBG today in the form of a new scholarship, I know I am helping to provide some­ body else with a call option on their own future.”

News @ AUBG The Investment Sector Through the Eyes of a American Studies Major and Minors – A Dual Professional Perspective September 11, 2012

September 26, 2012

The AUBG Freakonomics club held its first presenta­ tion for the new academic year when AUBG alumnus Nikolay Nedelchev spoke to a group of BUS and ECO students about the state of the global financial system today. He touched upon the reasons for the continu­ ing economic crisis, the implications of the severe blows that hit the American financial system a few years ago as well as the challenging financial environ­ ment in Europe.

AUBG students learned more about the new interdis­ ciplinary program, American Studies, from a presenta­ tion by the History and Civilizations department. In addition, minors in the fields of literature, philosophy and religion, anthropology and Southeastern European Studies were presented. At the end, there was a recep­ tion during which students could talk to professors in person and ask questions about the programs.

Houlihan Lokey Reps Visit AUBG to Discuss Career Opportunities September 27, 2012 Representatives from the largest privately owned in­ vestment bank in the world, Houlihan Lokey, visited AUBG to familiarize the students with their plans of opening an office in Sofia, Bulgaria and the different career opportunities this would bring. The firm, active in corporate finance, financial advisory services and financial restructuring, has 14 offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, it has consistently been named the #1 investment bank in its class.

Turkish Ambassador Tackles 21st Century Intercultural Relations October 10, 2012

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News @ AUBG

The Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria, Mr. Ismail Ar­ amaz, focused the student audience on the impor­ tance of maintaining an open mind both in classes and regarding the events happening in today’s world as he referenced Balkan history, his own education and the foreign service as a career path.

Issue 49

Greek and Bulgarian Officials Discuss Balkan Cooperation October 18, 2012 His Excellency Mr. Thrasyvoulos Stamatopoulos, Ambassador of Greece to Bulgaria, and Mrs. Ulyana Bogdanska, Chair of the Political Affairs Directorate to the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tackled the sensitive issue of “Successes and Challenges to Balkan Cooperation” in an extremely engaging pres­ entation and panel discussion.

Noted British Professor Talks about Documentary Filmmaking October 22, 2012 Prominent British director John Burgan spoke on “Why I make documentaries (and you can too)” which was organized by the AUBG Documentary Club Se­ ries and Distinguished Lectures Series.

Thanksgiving Day at AUBG November 22, 2012 Pumpkin soup, roast turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pie – this very traditional menu was prepared by the Canteen crew and served to students, faculty and staff in the Main Building Canteen to celebrate the favorite American tradition, Thanksgiving dinner.

Business Week Brings Prominent Companies to AUBG November 12 – 16, 2012 Thanks to the joint efforts of the Business Club and Women in Business Club, representatives from Soci­ ete Genereale Expressbank, Nestle, Addeco, and DSK shed light on the unique features of doing business in the post–financial crisis world.

Marketing Guru Discusses Lifestyle Branding at AUBG

News @ AUBG

November 21, 2012 EMBA students and alumni working in senior manage­ ment positions as well as current students interested in the field of marketing had the opportunity to attend an interactive seminar on lifestyle branding at the Uni­ versity’s Elieff Center in Sofia. The guest lecturer was Bulgarian–born Dr. Alexander Chernev, a renowned professor in Kellogg School of Management, consid­ ered by many to be the Mecca of marketing research.

Dr. Chernev discussed recent developments in the po­ sitioning of brands on the market and the special place of the communication environment in the relationship between the brand and customers.

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Issue 49

AUBG Community Celebrates Cultural Diversity November 19 – 22, 2012 Organized for the sixth time this year, Language and Culture Week is one of the richest events at AUBG, a result of the collaboration between language–loving students and professors. The theme of this year’s event was “The Music of Languages and The Language of Music” with music–centered activities focused on the foreign languages taught on campus, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, and German.

Alumni Share Entrepreneurial Tips with AUBG Students November 27, 2012 AUBG students with a keen interest in entrepreneur­ ship activities met with Krum Hadjigeorgiev and Pe­ ter Svarc, senior representatives of Melon Technolo­ gies Inc, a software company that was created and is

run by AUBG graduates. The presentation was a part of the lecture series in the AUBG/Citi/Junior Achieve­ ment Startup collaboration.

Advanced Business Projects Receive Professional Advice November 28, 2012 Marketing specialist Rene Tomova and Jordan Zhechev, creative director of the local office of the global advertising company DDB, met with students of the Brand Management course and critiqued their projects, a culminating event for the semester.

Christmas Cheer and Kindness at AUBG December 4, 2012 Cooking Club Bon Appetit, the Documentary Club, Miss AUBG, and the Better Community Club joined forces to bring hope and joy into the lives of some local people in need with some specially–prepared Christmas activities and gifts.

American University in Bulgaria Blagoevgrad

Main Building 1 Georgi Izmirliev Sq. Blagoevgrad 2700, Bulgaria President’s Office: (+359 73) 888 307 Development: (+359 73) 888 366 Fax: (+359 73) 888 344 Published by:

University Relations Office Phone: (+359 73) 888 215 Fax: (+359 73) 888 399 AUBGToday@aubg.bg

America for Bulgaria Student Center 54 Alexander Stamboliyski St. Skaptopara Campus Blagoevgrad 2700, Bulgaria Admissions: (+359 73) 888 111 admissions@aubg.bg American University in Bulgaria Sofia

Elieff Center for Education and Culture 1 Universitetski Park St., Studentski Grad Sofia 1700, Bulgaria Switchboard: (+359 2) 960 7910 Fax: (+359 2) 961 6010 emba@aubg.bg U.S. Mailing Address: American University in Bulgaria 910 17th St., N.W. Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20006

www.aubg.bg