The Armenian Studies Program web page is sponsored by a grant from
The Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable
Foundation, Fresno.
The
Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno
State
President Dr. John Welty greeted the special guests at the Banquet:
former Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway, former USAID Mission
Chief in Armenia
Keith Simmons, and
Many
guests from the community joined
students, faculty, and administrators in
celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Hye Sharzhoom, the Armenian
student newspaper on campus.
Former and current editors and staff were invited
to the Banquet and many took the opportunity to attend and catch up with former
colleagues.
Prof.
Barlow
Der Mugrdechian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program, formally
welcomed all to the Banquet and invited Dr. Welty to give his opening
remarks.
“Thank you to all of you for not only being
here this evening, but thank you for the incredible support that you have
provided
for the Armenian Studies Program over the years,” said Dr. Welty, “We
are, as Barlow mentioned, in a difficult time and we have some
difficult
decisions ahead of us, but I can assure you that as a result of the sacrifices
that you have made over the years, that the
Armenian Studies Program is strong
and is a Program that has a bright future… The intellectual quality that the
Program brings to our
campus enriches our entire university environment.”
Dr.
Welty continued, “Tonight I feel an enormous sense of gratitude to all of you,
for
what you have done to build a Program that will live on forever. We are
just a little over a year from beginning our centennial celebration
at Fresno
State, in April of 2010, marking the 100th anniversary of the then Fresno
Normal School that was officially started through
legislative act… The Armenian
Studies Program will be one of those Programs that we will highlight and honor,
and indeed I look forward
to it.”
Prof.
Der Mugrdechian then introduced Dr. Vida Samiian, Dean of the
“Thank
you Barlow. Barlow is giving me credit for what he has done. He has really done
an amazing job carrying Armenian Studies
forward, seamlessly, from the
departure of Dr. Kouymjian,” said Dean Samiian. “It is so wonderful to see the
accomplishments this year,
especially because it ensures the success of the
Program into the future. I have to tell you, that this event, the Armenian
Studies
Banquet, is one of my favorite events, because of the community that
you all bring to the university. And is such a perfect example,
that at every
table, there are all of these wonderful stories that go on during dinner, and
every one of you brings your history, your
diversity, your perspective and that
is so enriching for us. And that is what makes our Program so successful.”
Dr.
Samiian continued,
“So I too, I want to thank you for the investment that you
have made in our Program and I can tell you that we have the strongest
undergraduate
Armenian Studies Program nationally, and I am so proud of
everything that our faculty has done, our students who are our hope for the
future,
and everything that each of you are doing in supporting us, and in
supporting our community, and our campus. Thank you.”
Thirty
years
ago in April 1979, a small group of students, under the direction of Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, director of the Armenian Studies Program,
started a
newspaper, that thirty years later has become an institution. Several
generations of students have contributed their efforts
in making the newspaper,
Hye Sharzhoom, into an international phenomenon, reaching a readership
of more than seven thousand throughout
the world.
Prof.
Der Mugrdechian introduced Dr. Bill Erysian, one of the founders and first
editors of Hye Sharzhoom, to speak about
how the newspaper began and
what was behind its growth. (Dr. Erysian’s full remarks are found at the end of
this article.)
Prof.
Der Mugrdechian
invited Dr. Welty to bestow certificates on those staff members
of Hye Sharzhoom in attendance. Editors, staff members, photographers,
from
all eras of the paper stepped forward to receive recognition for their accomplishments.
Prof.
Der Mugrdechian also recognized the many
student recipients of scholarships and
grants that have been established at the university through the generosity of
the Armenian community.
Ambassador
John
Ordway, Keith Simmons, and Bruce Janigian then engaged in a panel
discussion on “United States Foreign Policy in
The
21st Annual Banquet was a wonderful event that brought together the
university
with the community. It has become an annual tradition that should continue long
into the future.