The ASUE gave no reason for her decision. Galoyan also did not say why she stepped down.
Multiple Armenian media outlets reported last year that Galoyan, 44, was detained and charged with stealing clothing from an upmarket store when she lived in California. According to them, she fled the U.S. before being convicted of the charge by a Los Angeles court. Galoyan did not publicly deny that.
Education Minister Zhanna Aleksanian said late last year that the Armenian government has asked relevant U.S. authorities to confirm or refute those reports. Under Armenian law, individuals with criminal records cannot manage state universities or other entities.
The government helped Galoyan to become ASUE rector in 2020 just as she faced accusations of plagiarism made by an agency subordinate to the Armenian Ministry of Education. The agency stripped Galoyan of her doctoral degree in economics on the same day as the ASUE’s governing board elected her university head. She denied using plagiarized material for her doctoral dissertation.