The mission of GAU is to provide education based on advanced scientific research and practical teaching models, leading research and innovative activities. The university aims to offer equal opportunities, strengthen knowledge, skills, and universal values, and promote the development of society and global integration through the creation, accumulation, and sharing of knowledge.
GAU’s Vision:
In the long-term perspective, GAU envisions creating a tolerant, collaborative, and innovative environment where students and faculty can contribute to the intellectual, cultural, and socio-economic development of society. The university aims to create, store, and transfer knowledge using its main advantages in the educational space, transform acquired knowledge into practice, develop professionals with high social and moral responsibility, strengthen universal and national values through expert and research activities, and ensure principles of academic freedom and lifelong learning.
Values:
The mission and activities of GAU are guided by fundamental values recognized in the Western democratic space. The university upholds and believes in the inherent goodness of these values, incorporating them into its day-to-day operations and diligently safeguarding them.
- Fairness and Equality: GAU strives to create a non-discriminatory, equal opportunity environment for students, academics, and staff to achieve their goals and fulfill the university’s mission. Decisions made by the university are based on ensuring rights and legitimate interests of all parties involved.
- Academic Freedom: GAU considers academic freedom as a crucial value for learning, research, and erudition. The university is committed to protecting the right of its academic, scientific, and student community to independent teaching and research.
- Involvement: The university encourages maximum involvement of its community in decision-making processes, fostering a better understanding of collective well-being and success.
- Diversity and Respect: GAU values diversity and strives to create an environment that is accepting and comfortable for all individuals, irrespective of their individuality. The university promotes diverse and constructive discourse, fostering respect for and realization of different ideas and perspectives. It emphasizes collegial treatment, mutual respect, and a civilized, open, and professional attitude in its activities.
- Responsibility and Accountability: GAU emphasizes personal and professional responsibility in carrying out its operations. The university operates with fairness, mutual respect, and a high organizational culture, fostering accountability as a principle to strengthen academic integrity and good governance. Accountability ensures the smooth functioning of the institution through fair mechanisms of information, monitoring, evaluation, and an active and professional university community.
- Transformability: GAU demonstrates constant readiness to adopt transformational approaches in teaching, learning, research, and innovative activities, aligning with the realities of society and state development. The university embraces best practices and flexible approaches to fulfill its mission and objectives.
Elaboration of the University Project:
The Georgian American University (GAU) was established in 2001 as an MBA project by Elene Jamarjashvili during her study at Atlanta State University in the USA. Initially conceived as a School of Law, the university aimed to grant Juris Doctor (JD) degrees to its graduates.
Elene Jamarjashvili met Kenneth A. Cutshaw, a prominent lawyer in the United States and Europe, who expressed genuine interest in the university’s establishment. Mr. Cutshaw agreed to help establish a partnership between GAU and one of the leading American Law Schools, American University’s Washington College of Law.
In 2002, Elene Jamarjashvili returned to Tbilisi and started refining the business plan while searching for suitable investors. During this time, she met R. Michael Cowgill, a US-funded consultant to the Georgian Government, who agreed to advise her and later became the University President.
Establishment of the Georgian American University:
Despite the presence of two international business schools in Tbilisi
