Harvard Dean and Editor Express Appreciation of Mashtots Chair and New Holder Dr. Maranci

When asked how important popularity and enrollment numbers in Armenian Studies courses were for the university’s planning, the dean replied, “On the one hand, Harvard is not a bean counting institution, and that is one of the things I cherish about this place. We do not close down fields or departments simply because in a given moment there are not that many students who are taking the classes. We don’t allocate resources in some way that uses a formula based on number of students.”

“On the other hand,” he continued, “if one believes in the value of a certain field of study, and its richness and its possibility, as we certainly do in the field of Armenian Studies, we want to share that field with as many students as possible. One of the things that makes me excited about Christina Maranci coming into the Mashtots Chair is that she has a terrific record of teaching. She was a very popular instructor at Tufts before coming to Harvard, and I have no doubt that over time, she will be teaching a considerable number of undergraduates. We will try to bring as many graduate students her way as we can too.”

Maranci and NAASR

On the current relationship between Harvard and NAASR, which obviously is an organization outside of Harvard’s institutional structure, Kelsey explained first that it was vital for Harvard to vigilantly maintain its academic autonomy. He said, “We always make it clear to our supporters and alumni that when it comes to making academic decisions, they need to be made by our faculty and our administrators.”

However, he continued, “we welcome and deeply appreciate the engagement of those parties who support what we do, and who are interested in what we do, and NAASR is no exception. Ever since I have become Dean of Arts and Sciences, I have been in conversation with representatives of NAASR, and I have found those interactions to be wholly positive, constructive and indeed inspiring. This is one of only a few chairs at Harvard that have been funded by such a broad community. We have a new chair in Tamil that was also funded by many, many generally small donations. I find myself deeply moved and inspired by the chairs that have been funded in this manner and it is a privilege to fulfill the responsibility of making the most of those endowed chairs at Harvard.”

He suggested it could be possible to expand Armenian Studies at Harvard, stating, “I am always open to expanding fields. Some of it depends on philanthropic support.” However, when it comes to Armenian language classes, he added that when Harvard has a senior faculty member who does research in a particular language, it works pretty hard to have that language represented in the curriculum, and this is true of Armenian in particular.

Dr. Kelsey had only good things to say about Maranci. He said that the first year or two of a new faculty member at Harvard are generally devoted to becoming acquainted with a very large and complicated institution, and in Maranci’s case, by virtue of being affiliated with two different departments, that process is especially complex. It also takes time for students to become aware of a professor’s presence.

Despite this early period in her Harvard activity, she is already building many bridges and making connections he said. Kelsey concluded, “I could not be happier with the early days of Christina Maranci in the Mashtots Chair. For those who know her, it will come as no surprise to hear that in my experience she is an ebullient and brilliant presence on campus. She exudes leadership of the most inspiring variety. I have no doubt that her enthusiasm for Armenian Studies will prove infectious both among our undergraduate and our graduate students.”