David Huwiler
President of AUB
Dr. David Huwiler is currently the President of the American University in Bulgaria. Prior to his appointment at AUBG, Dr. Huwiler served for three years as the founding President of the American University in Nigeria. At AUN Dr. Huwiler developed the 1,200-acre campus, recruited faculty and staff, led the effort to develop curricula and policies, secured significant new funding for the project, and successfully launched the new University. The inaugural class entered the University in the fall of 2005.
Prior to establishing the new University in Nigeria, Dr. Huwiler served as the first board-appointed President of the American University in Central Asia, a selective, American-style liberal arts university located in Bishkek, the capital city of the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan. During his tenure at AUCA, Dr. Huwiler has led an effort to convert fully to an academic credit-hour system, built an endowment of more than $15 million, introduced American methods of pedagogy and academic management, and more than doubled enrollment.
While at AUCA, Dr. Huwiler worked with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education and with the Kyrgyz Higher Education Council on a program of national education reform. Dr. Huwiler assisted the administration of Kyrgyzstan’s President Akaev with the preparation of a new higher education law that would provide for independent boards of trustees at universities throughout the country, an independent national testing service, a Western-style, voluntary accreditation system, and other far-reaching reforms.
Dr. Huwiler has had a longstanding interest in higher education and in economic development in the former Soviet Union. Currently he serves as the Chairman of the International Board of Trustees of Samara State University in Samara, Russia. He has participated in development projects at Yaroslavl State University in Yaroslavl, Russia, at Moscow State University, at Yaroslavl Technical University, and in Ukraine. Dr. Huwiler also worked with the Geonomics Institute at Middlebury College on numerous projects promoting economic development in the FSU and chaired the Burlington/Yaroslavl Sister City Committee.
Prior to assuming his position at the American University in Central Asia, Dr. Huwiler served as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, for fifteen years. While at Champlain, Dr. Huwiler was instrumental in internationalizing the campus and establishing overseas campus sites in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and India. Before coming to Champlain College, Dr. Huwiler was Professor of Literature and Chair of the Humanities Division at Pikeville College in Pikeville, KY.
Dr. Huwiler completed his undergraduate education in liberal arts at Northwestern College, his MA in English and American Literature at California State University in Los Angeles, and his Ph.D. at the University of California at Davis.
Dr. Huwiler has served on many boards, including the board of the Foundation for Higher Education in Central Asia, of EveryChild Kyrgyzstan, of the Center for East-West Research and Inter-Cultural Dialogue, of the Coordinating Council for International Universities in Washington, and of the international board of Samara State University in Russia. He is a frequent speaker and presenter on topics relating to higher education governance, on higher education in the FSU, on accreditation processes, and on international higher education.
