Chairman Statement
As the third Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) since its founding, I am humbled and honored to follow in the footsteps of the distinguished leaders who preceded me. It is because of their vision and hard work that this remarkable university came into existence and why it has grown and flourished over the past two decades.
AUIS was founded on a simple yet powerful idea: the transformative power of education. Our university was built as a place where talented young people from across Iraq and the wider region can come together to discover their potential and develop the skills and knowledge necessary to build a better future – both for themselves and the world. That ambition extends beyond technical instruction; it also means learning critical thinking skills, cultivating intellectual curiosity and an entrepreneurial mindset, and finding inspiration to pursue lives of purpose and leadership in service of causes that are greater than self.
Twenty years on, AUIS has proven its resilience and enduring value. Having established ourselves as one of the premier centers of learning in the region, we now have an opportunity to build on our achievements and raise the university to new heights. I believe the future of AUIS is as boundless as the dreams of our students.
For me, the mission of AUIS is deeply personal, as my own life has been profoundly shaped by Iraq and its people. I first travelled to the Land of the Two Rivers in December 2003, when I met both the future founder of AUIS, Barham Salih, and its future president, Bilal Wahab. A few years later, shortly after the university opened its doors, I visited the campus and met students whose optimism, determination and talent left a lifelong impression on me.
In the autumn of 2021, AUIS once again demonstrated the values that define and distinguish it. In an extraordinary act of leadership and compassion, the university welcomed dozens of Afghan students—many of them young women—who had been forced to flee their homeland after the closure of the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. At a moment when opportunity had been suddenly taken from them, AUIS offered not only refuge, but the chance to continue their education and keep alive their hopes for the future.
These experiences are a reminder of how far Iraqis and Americans have travelled together over the past two decades—and how much more can be achieved when we work together in common purpose.
I hope you will join us in our journey as AUIS continues to educate, inspire and empower the leaders of tomorrow from Iraq and across the region. Our best days are still ahead!
Vance Serchuk
July 2026
New York, USA
