WATERTOWN — The Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) announced this week the appointment of Dr. Susan Pattie as its new director, effective September 24.
Pattie comes to ALMA after a long residence in London, UK where she was cofounder and director of the Armenian Institute. She is also a senior research fellow at University College London and has taught courses in anthropology there and at other universities,
most recently Aga Khan University and Syracuse University London Program.
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Pattie left for Michigan to attend Hope College where she received her bachelor’s degree. After working as an artist/craftsperson, Pattie began a PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, doing her fieldwork with the Armenian community of Cyprus and later research in Armenia, Syria and North America. She is the author of Faith
in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community (Smithsonian Institution Press), various academic articles and contributions
to edited volumes, as well as two recent books aimed at a wider audience.
Who Are the Armenians? (with Gagik Stepan Sarkissian and Maral Kerovpyan), written for 6–12-year-olds, coincidentally bears the same title as a major exhibition designed and showcased at ALMA. Both serve to present Armenian heritage and culture to a broad public, Armenian and non-Armenian alike. Pattie’s most recent book, Treasured Objects: Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 100 Years Ago (with Vazken Davidian and Gagik Stepan Sarkissian) is also a serendipitous match with ALMA and its rich collections.
ALMA holds the most extensive collection of Armenian artifacts in the diaspora as well as a large library of many valuable books.
ALMA has numerous outreach programs, from curator-led tours of its galleries to traveling exhibitions. Pattie’s work with the
Armenian Institute has also focused on raising awareness of Armenian heritage and culture as well as encouraging the exploration
of what it means to be Armenian in the 21st century diaspora in all its diverse dimensions.
Pattie is married to Levon Chilingirian, violinist and leader of the Chilingirian Quartet, and has one son, Stepan.
