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              Staff Report The Knights and Daughters of Vartan announced that Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and news anchor Stefani Booroojian are to be honored as “Man of the Year” and “Woman of the Year” at a special Banquet to be held on Sunday, March 30, 2019. Der Mugrdechian has been teaching at Fresno State ...

  Staff Report The Armenian Studies Program held an international conference on “The Committee of Union and Progress: Founders, Ideology, and Structure” on Friday, October 12, and Saturday, October 13, 2018 on the Fresno State campus. The Conference focused on the Committee of Union and Progress, who were the political leaders of Ottoman Turkey throughout most of the period 1908-1915. ...

  Matthew Pajouh Staff Writer An Exhibit on “Early Armenians in Fresno County” has recently opened on the second floor of the Fresno County Historical Museum, located at the Fresno Fairgrounds. The Exhibit displays many interesting artifacts and focuses on the early history of Armenians in Fresno County. The Exhibit is centered on religion, agriculture, business, and important Armenian monuments ...

  David Safrazian Staff Writer “My Armenian identity is shaped by the Armenian flag and it gave me a sense of purpose. It was to be idealistic and not a realist,” said Dr. Richard Hovannisian.  Dr. Hovannisian was invited to give a lecture titled “The Republic of Armenia: A Daring Endeavor, 1918-2018,” on Thursday, November 1, in the Charles and ...

Staff Report It was more than 100 years ago that an independent Republic of Armenia was established, the first Armenian state since the fall of the Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375. The Society for Armenian Studies organized an international conference, “Innovative Approa-ches to the History of the First Republic of Armenian, 1918-1920,” to mark this anniversary and to bring together ...

Annie Rubio Editor William Saroyan is a name many consider synonymous with Fresno, California. He was a beloved writer, whose voice united Armenians across the globe and whose works have brought recognition and pride to the Armenian community.  On Friday, August 31, on what would have been Saroyan’s 110th birthday, a celebration was held to mark the opening of the ...

Claire Kasaian Staff Writer Dr. Ümit Kurt was appointed as the 15th Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies for the Fall 2018 semester at Fresno State. Dr. Kurt was previously at Fresno State in the 2015-2016 academic year as a Kazan Research Associate. As part of his duties this Fall, Dr. Kurt is teaching an Armenian Studies class, “The Armenian ...

Staff Report On Tuesday, September 4, 2018, the Armenian Students Organization (ASO) gathered for their first general meeting of the 2018-2019 school year and held elections for new executive officers. The results were as follows: President, Claire Kasaian; Vice-President, David Safrazian; Treasurer, Kara Statler; Public Relations, Violeta Agabekyan; and Secretary, Suzanna Ekmekchyan.   Claire Kasaian  President   Why did you ...

Staff Report More than sixty alumni participants of Armenian Studies Program Summer Study Trips gathered on Friday, April 27, at the Smittcamp Alumni House at Fresno State to celebrate thirty years of summer trips to Armenia.  The first Armenian Studies organized trip to Armenia took place in 1988, when Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian led a group of eight students to ...

Annie Rubio Editor   “Sovereignty cannot be conceived as the right to kill millions of people.” These words were spoken by Rafael Lemkin, an American lawyer of Polish-Jewish heritage who coined the term “genocide.” It is difficult to fathom the number of atrocities committed throughout history, but even more difficult to fathom what Winston Churchill once called, “a crime without ...