1990_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1990

              t
'the Newspaper of the California State University, Fresno
Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program
Fresno, CA 93740
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Hye Sharzhoom
December 1990
Volume 12, No. 2
Supplement to the Daily Collegian
President Haak Retires
ASP Honors Service to the Community
By Hye Sharzhoom Staff
Dr. Harold H. Haak in a statement to
the Academic Assembly in August,
announced his resignation as President
of California State University, Fresno,
effective July 15,1991, after serving for
ten and a half years. Prior to his
assuming office as the sixth President of
CSU Fresno on February 1, 1990 he had
served for seven years as chancellor and
professor of public affairs at the
University of Colorado at Denver.
After stepping down, Dr. Haak plans
to spend a period of time writing and
preparing to return to the classroom as a
Trustee Professor, a position which
enables the holder to teach at any of The
California State University's twenty
campuses.
[r. Hank has been a close friend of
the Armenian community of the San
Joaquin Valley since his arrival on the
campus. With his support the Armenian
Studies Program has prospered. The
establishment of the Haig and Isabel
Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies and
the appointment of Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian as the holder of the
Berberian Endowed Chair have solidified
the     Armenian     Studies     Program.
CSUF President Dr. Harold Haak
Working closely with Professor
Kouymjian, the Center for Armenian
Studies was established in 1988 with
new offices in the Peters Business
Building and a fifteen member Center
WARSAW VISITOR
TALES FROM THE VIENNA STREETS
The Last Two Plays
of
WILLIAM SAROYAN
edited and with an introduction by Dickran Kouymjian
By Hye Sharzhoom Staff
Warsaw Visitor and Tales from the
Vienna Streets are the last two plays of
William Saroyan, who died in the spring
of 1981. Now these two plays come to
life in one volume, edited and with an
introduction by Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of
Armenian Studies at CSU Fresno.
Professor Kouymjian has written about
and taught courses on Saroyan at
universities in France and in Armenia as
well as in the United States.
A part of the introduction to the new
volume says,
"Written in the summer of 1980, the
last summer of Saroyan's life, Warsaw
Visitor and Tales from the Vienna
Streets are Saroyan's ultimate statements for the stage. Inspired by recent
visits to Warsaw and Vienna and
shadowed by the symptoms of terminal
cancer, the themes of these last two
plays are vast, possibly the broadest in
scope of any of Saroyan's works.
Staggering achievements both of them,
and the clue to each is the character of
the city in which the play is laid.
Warsaw, pulling back from Russia
and alien to Western Europe, is a city
set apart, in isolation. Similarly
Saroyan, isolated by the immanence of
death and confronted by his private
devil, comes to grips like Warsaw with
the deepest implications of solitude and
survival.
Vienna, "settled dead center in the
heart of all the great cities of the
world," finds Saroyan there as
Everyman, a minority of one, like all of
us everywhere, sharing with our private
devil the guilt and innocence of
humankind.
In Warsaw Visitor the individual
prevails in the face of death, the Dying
See Saroyan, page 8
for Armenian Studies Advisory Board
was appointed by the President,
composed of community supporters of
the Program. The Center for Armenian
Studies includes the Sahatdjian Library
and the Avedian Archive Room and
serves as a resource for students enrolled
in Armenian Studies courses. Down the
hall from the Center for Armenian
Studies, the Bedrosian conference room
is used for seminars and conferences.
Dr. Haak has been active in the plans
to establish an exchange agreement
between CSUF and Yerevan State
University, with particular interest in the
area of agriculture, an area which needs
much work following the devastating
Armenian earthquake of December 1988.
The agreement will provide for the
exchange of students and scholars
between the two universities and will
cement the relationship between Armenia
and CSUF.
While at CSUF, Dr. Haak has
achieved satisfaction with the changes in
the liberal-arts based General Education
program on campus as well as working
with the University of California on a
joint doctorate in the area of Educational
Administration. The negotiations for the
joint doctorate are approaching the final
stages of approval. Dr. Haak has worked
closely with faculty on both of these
efforts.
Dr. Haak has been involved with the
Fresno community in general, serving
on the Board of Directors of the Fresno
Economic Development Corporation.
Enthusiasm for the Fresno State
Bulldogs was translated to open up
academic fund-raising opportunities for
the university. Private funds were used
to build the University Business Center,
the Enology Research Center, and the
John Wright Theater project.
During Dr. Haak's tenure as President,
the university has seen tremendous
growth, both in the physical sense, with
a number of new buildings being
constructed, and also in the enrollment
which has reached nearly twenty
thousand. CSUF has been recognized as
one of the finest regional universities in
the United States, with a commitment
to a top quality education.
Dr. Haak's successor to the Presidency
will be selected in the next several
months, when a search committee
headed by CSU Trustee Marian
Bagdasarian will present a short list of
candidates to the CSU Board of Trustees
for the final determination.
News on 1990 Banquet
By Jeff Ahronian
Editor
On December 9, 1990, the
Armenian Studies Program of
California State University, Fresno
will once again be having its annual
banquet. This year, the Armenian
Studies Program will be honoring Dr.
Harold H. Haak, President of
California State University, Fresno.
Dr. Haak has been a close friend
of The Armenian community
throughout his tenure at C.S.U.F. The
talk around town has been that because
Haak has worked so close with the
Armenian Studies Program in recent
years, many people have thought that
he changed his name to Haak from
Haakian.
The banquet will also be
recognizing the recipients of
Armenian Studies Program Scholarships. The A.S.P. is very helpful in
providing applicable help and
assistance to needy and deserving
students. By    participating   in
Armenian activities here on campus
(such as Hye Sharzhoom), and also by
showing a general interest in his or her
Armenian culture, a students can obtain
monetary help in the form of a
scholarshp in paying for his or her
tuition fees and school supplies. It's a
system that students are indeed very
fortunate to have.
The list of scholarship winners is
as follows: Ara Kebabjian, Pamela
Manoogian, Jonelle Garo, Phillip
Garo, Jon Philip Maroot, Roger
Worley, Roger Tarpin, Eva Sevian,
Satenig Ohannessian, David Ohanian,
Krikor Nishanian, Nicholas Picchi,
Sevak Nazarian, Peggy Momjian,
Panayiotis Makrides, Leon Kaye,
Susan Kalinian, Matthew Jendian,
Kristine Gengozian, Sonia Devejian,
Janice Caprelian, Cynthia Baxter,
Kelley Babigian, Gail Antranikian,
Jeff Ahronian, Kathryn Stockdale,
Gina Moordigian, Nora Kilaghbian,
Sylvie Kevorkian, Karen Kaloustian,
Jayne Kalfayan, Felicia Garcia, Debra
Garabedian, Donna Basmajian, Shant
Avakian, Eliz Adjinian, and Serop
Torossian.
The banquet will take place
Sunday, December 9, 1990 at the
C.S.UJ7. Residence Dining Facility.
Social hour will begin at 5:00 p.m.
and dinner will commence at 6:00 p.m.
The cost is $25.00 per person.
If you have any questions
concerning the banquet please feel free
to contact the Armenian Studies
Program office at (209) 278-2669.