NAASR Announces Endowments Expanding Its Activities

Theriault reminisced about the personal side of his NAASR connection too and concluded that future generations deserve this same institution that can help Armenian identity to thrive.

Among some of the new ways to ensure this, Theriault said, was to launch an Armenian Studies summer university program for credit. This, he said, could spark new generations of Armenian Studies scholars.

The NAASR board, he added, is developing a strategic plan for the next era, including exploration of how artificial intelligence can enhance operations.

Lessersohn proceeded to introduce NAASR’s Director of Academic Affairs, Marc A. Mamigonian, as “a prolific and indefatigable author and impresario in Armenian Studies — and a master of the swift email reply.”

Mamigonian quoted from a speech by Richard Fry in 1954, calling for Armenians to recognize the value of their own history and take special responsibility to foster and encourage scholarship and research. NAASR cofounder Manoog Young helped raise money to found a chair in Armenian studies at Harvard.

Today, Mamigonian said, there are crises in American universities, including institutions where Armenian Studies is most active and visible, and this means that the Armenian Studies field is also threatened. Mamigonian said that the wisdom of NAASR’s founders, who invested in permanent chairs and programs, has been proven once again.

“Without that permanence,” Mamigonian concluded, “does anyone doubt that Armenian Studies would be on the chopping block today?”

Tribute to Excellence in Service

Mamigonian then spoke about seven remarkable individuals who were being honored that night in a “Tribute to Excellence in Service.” The first six are scholars and intellectuals, starting with Dr. Anny Bakalian, who has, for many years, served as associate director of the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is a distinguished scholar, teacher, and mentor to many younger academics and the author of the groundbreaking study Armenian Americans: From Being to Feeling Armenian.

Dr. Kevork Bardakjian is the Marie Manoogian Professor Emeritus of Armenian Language and Literature and the former director of the Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He founded, directed, and taught at the University of Michigan Summer Armenian Institute in Yerevan, and has mentored several generations of scholars. He has served multiple terms as president of the Society for Armenian Studies and for many years on NAASR’s Academic Advisory Committee. Among his published books are A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature, 1500-1920, A Textbook of Modern Western Armenian, Hitler and the Armenian Genocide, Eastern Armenian: A Textbook, and The Historical Figures and Events in Some of Hagop Baronian’s Allegorical Works (Baikar Press, in Armenian),

For more than 60 years, David Kherdian, Mamigonian said, “has engaged in a courageous and deeply personal journey of exploration through his poetry, memoirs, translations, and children’s books.” His works include Homage to Adana, The Road from Home, and Letters to My Father, as well as collaborations with his late wife, the artist and writer Nonny Hogrogian, and the anthology Forgotten Bread: First-Generation Armenian American Writers. He continues to write and, in his 90s, says he is producing some of his best work.

Dr. Robert Mirak was a scholar, businessman, community leader, and philanthropist. He wrote the definitive and groundbreaking book, Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I. Dr. Mirak’s father, John Mirak, was a NAASR founding member, and Dr. Mirak himself joined NAASR as a student in 1959.

The first three scholars mentioned could not be present that evening, and sadly, the fourth, Dr. Mirak, passed away on July 17. However, his daughter, Julia Mirak Quesada, was in the audience.

Two of the scholars who were being honored were present in person – Ruth Thomasian and Dr. Khachig Tölölyan. Thomasian is the founder of Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, established in 1975 and based in Watertown. She is a photo archivist and social historian who began what has become a collection of more than 100,000 original photographs and ephemera documenting the Armenian diaspora worldwide at a time when few saw the historical or aesthetic value in such materials. Mamigonian observed that “More than any other individual, Ruth has shown us that the visual documents of our community have dignity and value.”

Tölölyan is one of the founders of the field of diaspora studies and the founding editor in 1991 of the award-winning journal Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies. He has examined the mobility of populations and cultures, exploring how migration and dispersion create new diasporas and how these reshape the literature, culture, and politics of host societies.

Mamigonian declared that the final person honored, Sandra Jurigian, “served NAASR with extraordinary distinction and devotion in multiple capacities over more than 50 years, most notably as administrative director. Sandra was not a scholar, author, or founder of a field, but she was indispensable to NAASR — and, by extension, to Armenian Studies. … Whatever task she was presented with, she executed it with skill and grace. It is no exaggeration to say that without Sandra, NAASR might not have survived certain difficult periods. Sandra’s intelligence, graciousness, tireless persistence, and selfless dedication were driven by her deep commitment to NAASR’s mission.”

NAASR’s Vartan Gregorian Building features a hand-painted manuscript titled “Illuminators of the Future of Armenian Studies.” Mamigonian announced that the names of the aforementioned six scholars will be added to that manuscript while in the near future, a room in the Vartan Gregorian Building will be dedicated to Sandra Jurigian.

Meanwhile, while the guests were eating dinner, a slideshow was screened spanning NAASR’s 70 years.

Keynote Speaker New York Public Library President Anthony Marx

Lessersohn introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. Anthony W. Marx, who is president of the New York Public Library (NYPL), the nation’s largest library system and the most used research library in the world. Marx previously served as president of Amherst College from 2003 to 2011. A noted scholar, he is the author of Lessons of Struggle: South African Internal Opposition, 1960–1990; Making Race and Nation: A Comparison of South Africa, the United States, and Brazil; and Faith in Nation: Exclusionary Origins of Nationalism.

Marx praised NAASR, declaring: “For seventy years, NAASR has been the leader in creating and nourishing Armenian Studies in the United States and beyond…your work has built an extraordinary foundation. With your important holdings, fellowships, and events, you have created not just an academic field, but a vibrant community of scholarship. Through preservation of history and sharing of memory, you have become a repository of the accumulated knowledge of Armenia and Armenians — here in the United States and across the world.”

He went on to exclaim: “You have helped shape the pride, culture, and identity of Armenians everywhere, and of all those touched by the Armenian story.”

Marx spoke about his own work, transfixed by the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and the work of the NYPL. The NYPL is not only the largest library system in the US but the most used research library in the world. Marx said, “Like NAASR, we connect the public to their history — our shared history. We preserve materials and ensure access to truth. That mission has never been more important than it is today.”

He criticized the rise of restrictions on free speech in the US, declaring: “As the son of German Jews who had to flee their homeland, it is unthinkable to me — and yet here we are — to witness again censorship, book banning, and rising intolerance in our own country.”

Consequently, he said, “In an age when truth itself is questioned, when misinformation spreads through powerful technologies, the work you do at NAASR — and the work we do in libraries — becomes ever more essential.”

Marx said that he came to the NAASR gala in part to honor the memory of Dr. Vartan Gregorian, whom he met when the latter was provost at the University of Pennsylvania, and Marx was a 21-year-old student. He said, “I swear, on a campus of 20,000 students, he knew every one of them by name. It was astonishing – and humbling. He became a lifelong friend and mentor.”

Marx said he watched in awe as Gregorian saved the NYPL during the 1980s budget cuts, and stated that his legacy endures not only in NAASR’s Vartan Gregorian building, but also in NY’s Vartan Gregorian Center, at the heart of the NYPL, where, he said, “Vartan Gregorian’s vision lives on in every reader, scholar, and student who walks through our doors.”

Marx concluded: “May we all continue to ensure that our children inherit a world shaped by learning, truth, and compassion. It is a privilege to share in this celebration.”

Honorary Gala Chairs

Thomas Dolan then introduced Nancy R. Kolligian, the second NAASR board chair (2001-2010), who has become NAASR’s longest serving board member, having joined in 1986. Kolligian recalled that NAASR cofounder Manoog Young told her three years after joining as a regular member that it was time for her to join the board, following in the footsteps of her great-uncle, J. Mark Kolligian.

Kolligian declared: “I would not be here if this were not something I believed in deeply. Many of us in this room share Armenian heritage, and it is vital that we keep it alive. We have wonderful scholars, and we’ve awarded countless grants. I especially want to speak to the young scholars who are here with us tonight — you are the future. Please remember that and do all that you can to perpetuate Armenian Studies in your institutions, colleges, and universities.”

She went on to speak about the two honorary chairs of the 70^th anniversary gala: Pamela Wood Avedisian and Yervant Chekijian. Chekijian had been a member since 1963 and served on the board for nearly a quarter of a century before becoming its chair. Even before that, he spearheaded the creation of NAASR’s Leadership Circle, which supports many of the important programs of the organization.

It was under Chekijian’s chairmanship, beginning nearly a decade ago (2016-2022), that NAASR embarked on an ambitious fundraising effort which led to the design and construction of NAASR’s new headquarters, the Vartan Gregorian Building. Kolligian said, “And when I say ‘led,’ I mean that he threw himself into it with determination, skill, and tireless energy. Through sheer perseverance and vision, he drove the project forward to completion. Yervant, thank you for all you have done for NAASR.”

Kolligian then said that it was the transformative leadership gift from Pamela and the late Edward Avedisian that made possible the fulfillment of this vision for a new, modern, and beautiful building, which remains a source of pride for NAASR, for the Armenian community, and for the broader academic world. Together, she said, Pam and Ed were a remarkable team. Out of humility, they chose not to have the building bear their names, but they instead dedicated it to Gregorian out of profound respect.

She concluded: “Pam, whose humanity, kindness, modesty, strength, and integrity are truly remarkable. She understands what it takes to make things happen — and for that, we are deeply grateful.”

Kolligian invited both honorary chairs to the lectern, where they were met with great applause.

Pamela said, “I don’t need to tell any of you what an extraordinary person Ed Avedisian was, about his remarkable vision or his extreme generosity. When it became clear that constructing a new building was the best option, Ed, once again, stepped up to the plate, in the hope that it would encourage others to do the same. I have tried to continue supporting those organizations that were important to Ed, as NAASR certainly was.”

Moreover, Pamela continued, her husband’s mother, Shooshanig, would have expected this support, and that was why the scholarship fund was named in honor of her and her husband Khoren.

She concluded: “Now, more than ever, it is important for us to share Armenia’s rich history with the world to educate others unaware of what the Armenian people have contributed throughout the centuries and to hopefully counter any false narratives being presented by others. I hope this special anniversary serves to further enrich and preserve Armenian history, culture, and identity for generations to come.”

Chekijian in turn declared: “I share these honors with all the individuals I have had the privilege of working with at NAASR — our dedicated Board members and our devoted staff. I thank them deeply for their commitment and for making our successes possible. They deserve this recognition as much as I do.” He added, “When I retired, I asked the next generation to build upon the accomplishments of those who came before us — including my own. I am very pleased to see that today’s board is composed of an exceptionally accomplished group of individuals with a tremendous wealth of knowledge, and I am confident they will do just that. Thank you very much, and I ask for your continued support of NAASR’s mission.”

All banquet guests received a 44-page booklet NAASR prepared for this occasion about its work and history, entitled, “Celebrating 70 Years: Building the Future of Armenian Studies.”

Entertainment during the evening included the John Baboian Trio during cocktail hour and the band La Vie en Rose, which played Aznavour pieces during an afterparty.

The gala banquet was preceded on October 2 and 3 by the Pamela and Edward Avedisian Graduate Symposium in Armenian Studies, held at NAASR headquarters in Belmont, MA and cosponsored by the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies at Harvard University.

To help sustain and grow Armenian Studies, visit NAASR at https://naasr.org/pages/become-a-member or contact Ara Araz at ara@edrcorp.net or Joan Kolligian, who is leading NAASR’s Planned Giving initiative, at jelake@aol.com.