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SHARZHOOM
Armenian Action
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24th
Year
March 2003
Vol. 24, No. 3 (81)
Supplement to The Collegian
Ambassador Kirakossian Guest Speaker at ASP 17th Annual Banquet
Zhanna Bagdasajrov
and Alex Bunch
staff writers
On the evening of Sunday,
February 9, 2003, Armenian Studies Program faculty, as well as student schol arship recipi ents and supporters of the program came together at the Residence Dining Facility to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Fresno.
Among the distinguished
guests were: Arman Kirakossian,
the Ambassador of Armenia to the
United States, Valery Mkrtoumian,
Counsel General of the Republic of
Armenia to the United States (Los
Angeles), Dr. John Welty, President of Fresno State, Dr. Luis Costa,
Dean of the College of Arts and
Humanities, and California State
Senator Chuck Poochigian: all were
Amb. Arman Kirakossian
2002-03 Armenian Studies Program scholarship recipients pictured with distinguished guests CSUF
President Dr. John Welty, Ambassador Arman Kirakossian, and Counsel General Valery Mkrtoumian.
Two YSU Professors Visit Fresno
L to R: YSU professor Karine Asryan, Barlow Der Mugrdechian of
the Armenian Studies Program, and professor Arman Gabrielyan.
Chris Tozlian
given for a three-year period, and
Fresno State is currently in its third
year of this program; Fresno State
has received a $300,000 grant to
make this exchange program possible. Barlow Der Mugrdechian of
the Armenian Studies Program
authore d the grant and i s the proj ect
director. This exchange program is
funded by the United States State
Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Professors Gabrielyan and
Asryan spent most of their time
within the classrooms of Fresno
State, as they observed different
teaching styles. Most of the classes
they attended were business-oriented, but the two professors did
manage to fit into their schedules a
visittothe Armenianlanguage class
being taught on campus; they also
had the opportunity to address the
STAFF WRITER
During the last two weeks of
January and the first week of February 2003, Arman Gabrielyan and
Karine Asryan were not within their
regular confines on the campus of
Yerevan State University (YSU),
where they both are associate professors in the university's Faculty
of Economics (Business School).
Instead, they were attending classes
daily at CSU Fresno.
For the last three years, Fresno
State and YSU have been participating in an international exchange
program called the Newly Independent States College & University Partnership Program
(NISCUPP). This exchange program provides funding for univer-
sitiesto send their faculty members
to another university for a short
period of time.    The grants are
see YSU Visit page 5
present to honor the success of the
Armenian Studies Program.
The banquet began with a reception, which included appetizers
and refreshments and provided an
opportunity for people to socialize
with one another. Following the
reception was dinner, during which
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian introduced
the guests of the evening. To honor
the presence of the ambassador,
Kouy mj i an pre sente d a photograph
of John Kirakossian, a former Foreign Minister of Armenia and father of the Dr. Kirakossian, who
was invited to speak at Fresno State
see Banquet page 8
M. Victoria Kazan Endowment Funded with $358,000 Gift
Chris Tozlian
staff writer
With the current talk of budget
cuts throughout the whole of the
California State University system,
it is quite reassuring for the Armenian Studies Program at CSU
Fresno to have gracious benefactors. These budget cuts weigh on
the minds of professors and administration alike, but from within the
Armenian Studies program, things
are "looking up."
In 1998, it was announced that
Mr. Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan
and his wife Victoria wouldbe making their second si zable donation to
the Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno State. This endowment came
in a different form than most: a
house in East Quoque, Long Island, New York, which was given
to the Armenian Studies Program
with the understanding the Kazans
would be able to continue to live in
it until their deaths.
However, Mr. Kazan, who
lives alone in June Beach, Florida
and Long Island, decided to buy the
house back from the university and
gi ve it to m ember s of hi s family. I n
September, the house was purchased by Mr. Kazan in an all cash
deal at the current selling price.
The proceeds, $358,245 net after
fees and commissions as well as
five years of maintenance paid by
the university, has been deposited
in the M. Victoria Karagozian
Kazan Endowment for Armenian
Studies.
This represents by far the largest single gift ever to the Armenian
Studies Program, even larger than
Mr. Kazan's $320,000 funding of
the Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan
endowed Visiting Professorship in
Armenian Studies. The new endowment is to be used, according
to the agreement of 1998, in three
ways: to provide scholarship funds,
to finance the M. Victoria
Karagozian Monograph and Lecture Series, and to help underwrite
the administrative and operating
expenses of the Armenian Studies
Program.
The endowment is named in
the memory of Henry Kazan's wife,
Victoria, who passed away in Oc-
What's Inside ...
tober 1997. Mr. and Mrs. Kazan,
who have been long-time supporters of the Armenian Studies Program at CSU Fresno, have made
the two largest contributions to the
Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno State. Thoughlife-longresidents of New York and Florida, the
Kazans chose Fresno State over
east coast universities because of
its dynamic Armenian Studies Program.
Mr. Kazan's endowments to
the Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno State stem from his desire
to encourage the scholarship of
college students. Mr. Kazan, after
coming to America, received his
bachelor's degree in History from
New York University, and he then
received his law degree from St.
John's University. He has said
that, if he had the choice, Mr. Kazan
see Kazan page 6
YSU Student On His Way To An MBA, page 3
ASP Website Soars Past 450,000 Hits, page 4
ASO Winter Dance, page 4
Armenian Architecture Class, page 7