M. Victoria Karagozian Kazan
November 28, 1910 - October 25, 1997
M. Victoria Karagozian Kazan died October 25, 1997, at St. Francis Hospital
in Roslyn, New York. She was 86. With her husband, Henry S.
Kazan, Mrs. Kazan established major funding for the study of Armenian history
and culture at California State University, Fresno. Mrs. Kazan was
born November 28, 1910, in New York City and moved to Portland, Oregon,
with her family in 1911. She returned to New York City in 1928 and attended
Hunter college in New York and was an honor student. She met Henry S. Kazan
in September 1930, at an AGBU &Junior League meeting. They were
married December 24, 1935. From 1929 to 1945, Mrs. Kazan was employed
at the United Hospital fund where she was an accountant and later the assistant
controller.
At the time of her death, Mrs. Kazan resided in Juno Beach Florida with
a summer home in East Quoque, New York . She is survived by her husband,
Henry S. Kazan. Mrs. Kazan will be cremated and interred in New York.
A Memorial Service will be held in the spring.
In April 1996, the Kazans established the Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Professorship
in Modern Armenian and Immigration History at Fresno Sate. The professorship
is designed to provide support for teaching in Modern Armenian History,
including the New Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, immigration
history and genocide history. The professorship was established with
a gift from the Kazans of more than $300,000.
In July 1997 the Kazans made a gift of their East Quoque, New York, home
to Fresno State. Proceeds from the sale of the home will be used
to establish the M. Victoria Karagozian Kazan Fund in Armenian Studies.
The fund will, in part, provide scholarships for students who take select
Armenian studies and history courses taught by Henry Kazan Professors.
The fund will also provide general operating support for the Armenian Studies
Program and funding for the M. Victoria Karagozian Monograph and Lecture
Series at the university.