Robert L. Edwards, professor of criminal investigation, has been appointed Dean of the General Studies department where he will serve as a special adviser to the AUE President. He will also teach diplomacy in the university’s graduate program.

“Professor Edwards has been an integral part of SUNY Canton establishing a dual degree program with AUE,” SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy said. “He is uniquely prepared to be our ambassador and help build a strong relationship and partnership between our institutions.”

Edwards is a graduate of Golden Gate University. He served with the International Police Task Force in 1996 and with the Independent Judicial Commission in Bosnia in 2001.

SUNY Canton plans to offer its Finance bachelor-degree program to students at AUE starting in Fall 2011 and is working to establish other programs in Sports Management, Management, and Graphic and Multimedia Design.

SUNY Canton currently has more than 400 international dual-degree students enrolled at the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lomonosov-Moscow State University, Kazan State Finance and Economics Institute in Russia, and Yalta University of Management in Ukraine. All classes are delivered either online or by videoconferencing. SUNY Canton also runs an international summer program, attracting more than 50 students from Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and China. Students spend three or more weeks at SUNY Canton and take courses in English as a Second Language, Global Finance and Economics, or courses that can be applied toward their dual-degree program.

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.

SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy and Chief of Staff Ryan P. Deuel are attending AUBiH’s commencement on Wednesday, June 9. The two are already in Bosnia to discuss the progression and growth of the dual-degree program.

Live video feed from American University in Bosnia during the 2010 Commencement ceremony.

“Our two colleges have developed a strong bond through our shared students,” SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “We were honored that they could participate in our on-campus commencement ceremony via live video feed. We are dually privileged to attend their graduation, and we’re looking forward to even more students from AUBIH enrolled at SUNY Canton in the future.”

The students are the first from their University to earn a SUNY Canton bachelor’s degree in finance and a degree from their home university. Most of the students graduating spent last summer at the SUNY Canton campus taking face-to-face classes with Associate Professor Charles R. Fenner, Ph.D., who oversees the management program.

Dubravko Martinović, one of the top students at AUBIH, addressed his classmates, local and abroad, at SUNY Canton’s Commencement. “To be the first at something gives one great satisfaction, and we are proud to be the first generation of graduates from AUBIH,” he said. “I want to thank you for four memorable years, and an unforgettable semester spent at SUNY (Canton). For us, it was never just an education, it was a life experience.”

Students at AUBiH had the chance to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, during a recent visit.

“Your task is to help your country on its journey towards the better future and economic prosperity, and you are its hope,” Steinberg said. “Your destiny is to be a part of European Union and NATO, to belong to a great community of the world, but that demands time, hard work and dedication on the part of all of you.”

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.