University Campus
The Skaptopara campus in Blagoevgrad is home to the university’s undergraduate programs. It includes three brand-new residence halls (the latest one – Skaptopara III – was completed in January 2010), Balkanski Academic Center, which houses classrooms, computer labs, and offices, and Panitza Library, the largest English-language library in Southeast Europe. According to results from Bulgaria’s official University Ranking system, AUBG has the best residential facilities in the country.
AUBG is the first institution in Bulgaria with an American style housing system. Each of the three residence halls has its own community feeling and has been adapted to create a living/learning experience. All undergraduate students are required to live on campus as part of the university mission. The residence halls include a smoke-free environment, are disability accessible, and were built with funding from USAID/ASHA. Activity areas include aerobic rooms, gyms, music practice rooms, multipurpose rooms, billiard and ping pong areas, several television lounges, outside decks, kitchens, and cafes.
John Dimitry Panitza, a renowned Bulgarian philanthropist and AUBG founder, is the patron of Panitza Library. Through Panitza’s efforts, the library developed into a modern center of learning and the largest English-language library in the region.
Panitza Library’s modern facilities offer a comfortable environment for individual and group studies, equipped with computers, Internet, audio-visual center, and supporting copying services. Access to electronic resources is organized through the library web portal and is available for research and study round the clock. Excellent working relations with the Library of Congress, British Library, European and regional information centers, additionally expand the access of the AUBG Community to other collections and information resources.
The Balkanski Academic Center bears the name of renowned physicist Minko Balkanski, who in 1955 at the age of 28 became the world’s youngest professor. The eponymous Center was dedicated to Professor Balkanski and his family in 2010.
Construction for the America for Bulgaria Student Center began in summer 2011 and is partially funded by a grant by the America for Bulgaria Foundation. The Student Center is set to open in spring 2013. The 10,000 square meter Student Center will also offer the full array of student services found at top U.S. institutions, such as a career center, an advising and counseling center, and medical services. The Center will also feature a performing arts center, a professional gymnasium and fitness center, and dining facilities and cafes.
Read more about this topic: American University In Bulgaria
Famous quotes containing the word university:
“The scholar is that man who must take up into himself all the ability of the time, all the contributions of the past, all the hopes of the future. He must be an university of knowledges.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)