YSU Academic Council elects Chemistry Faculty dean

Extraordinary and regular sessions of the YSU Academic Council were held, during which a number of agenda items were addressed. During the extraordinary session, the issue of electing the dean of the Faculty of Chemistry was discussed, while the regular session focused on agenda items: the application for the conferral of the academic title of Associate Professor was approved; proposed changes to the procedure for electing heads of chairs within the Yerevan State University Foundation were discussed; the consolidated revenue and expenditure budget for 2026 was presented; and activity reports of the YSU Ijevan Branch and the Student Scientific Society (SSS) were reviewed.

After approving the meeting agendas, Armen Galstyan, Acting Dean of the YSU Faculty of Chemistry, presented his vision for the faculty's development over the next five years. He emphasized the priority of ensuring high-quality education, attracting applicants with high academic scores through various programs, training competitive and in-demand specialists at both local and international levels, as well as achieving international recognition and accreditation of educational programs as a guarantee of quality.

Following his address, Armen Galstyan answered questions from members of the YSU Academic Council, providing clarifications and additional comments on key areas related to the faculty's development.

Subsequently, the issue of awarding the academic title of Associate Professor to Artur Muradyan, Assistant at the Chair of General Economics of the YSU Ijevan Branch, was discussed.

To adopt decisions on the election of the Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and the awarding of an academic title, a counting committee was formed and a closed secret ballot was announced. According to the voting results, Armen Galstyan was elected Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry (74 members of the Academic Council participated: 57 in favor, 15 against, 2 invalid), and Artur Muradyan was awarded the academic title of Associate Professor (74 members participated: 70 in favor, 4 against).

Within the framework of the next agenda item, Armen Tadevosyan, Head of the YSU Legal Service, spoke about a draft proposing amendments to the procedure for electing heads of chair of the Yerevan State University Foundation. He presented its main provisions, the proposed innovations, and the recommendations submitted by the faculties. After various proposals and discussions, the draft was approved by the academic council.

During the meeting, a proposal to make changes to the composition of the Standing Ethics Committee attached to the YSU Academic Council was also approved.

Tigran Galstyan, Head of the YSU Financial Analysis Department, presented to the members of the Academic Council the consolidated revenue and expenditure budget for 2026. The draft budget of Yerevan State University for the 2026 financial year was prepared with the aim of ensuring the stability, predictability, and effective management of the university's financial and economic activities, based on internationally and nationally accepted best practices in budgeting and financial management. The budget is intended to ensure the uninterrupted implementation of the university's core educational, research, and administrative functions, while maintaining financial discipline and responsible use of resources.

He noted that, according to the expenditure budget, a salary increase of approximately 30% is envisaged for 2026 for members of the academic staff employed under long-term five-year contracts established by substitution.

Presenting the report on the activities of the YSU Ijevan Branch for the 2024–2025 academic year, Director of the Ijevan Branch Mher Otaryan stated that during the reporting period the branch was guided by the 2025–2030 Development Action Plan and, with the special support of the alma mater and through its structural units, consistently implemented processes in 2025 aimed at modernizing the University and its services, upgrading technical infrastructure, creating and ensuring an improved educational and working environment, effectively implementing educational programs, intensifying research activities, and developing the human resources system.

Speaking about infrastructure, conditions, and resources, Mher Otaryan noted that 2025 was the year of the largest-scale program implementations, infrastructure modernization, renovation, and capital repair works in the history of the YSU Ijevan Branch. He added that it is planned to fully renovate all classrooms of the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Applied Arts, establish ventilation systems, and carry out other improvements.

Within the framework of the final agenda item, Siranush Baghumyan, President of the YSU Student Scientific Society (SSS), presented the activity report of the SSS for the 2024–2025 academic year. She noted that during the reporting period, 998 events were organized, including conferences, workshops, training courses, Olympiads, and more. S. Baghumyan also spoke about the Academic Writing School, the SSS Summer School, and other implemented programs and collaborations.

It should be noted that as a result of the regular session of the Academic Council, all reports submitted by members of the YSU Academic Council were approved.

At the conclusion of the final meeting of the year, YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan expressed his gratitude to colleagues for the joint work carried out throughout the year, emphasizing that during the past year the University recorded significant achievements in both scientific and other areas. According to him, positive trends are ongoing; however, there are also a number of existing issues and challenges that still require considerable effort. Concluding his remarks, he assured that through joint and unified work, the university will continue to develop and improve.