News

Staff Report The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation has made two significant donations in 2022 to benefit the Armenian Studies Program and to enhance the Kooyumjian Endowed Scholar Fund at Fresno State. The Kooyumjian Family Foundation donated $15,000 to the Armenian Studies Program to support special projects, including sponsorship of the “Komitas Trio” concert and an international conference. The Kooyumjian ...

Fresno State News “What inspires me is that we are making a difference in the lives of our students now and for generations to come,” says Deborah Adishian-Astone, the vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Fresno State. Growing up, Adishian-Astone’s family always emphasized the importance of education. She decided she wanted to get her degree from Fresno ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer On Wednesday, December 22, 2021, the Armenian Students Organization held its biggest fundraiser of the year, the ASO “Christmas Ball.” On this night, members of the Armenian community from all over the Central Valley gathered at Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church to enjoy a full dinner, catered by Ararat Market and Grill. Guests had the pleasure of ...

Christine Pambukyan Staff Writer “My objective wasn’t then just simply to provide more translations of an Armenian writer’s work. I had two ideas in mind. One was to try to reorient Armenian cultural and social concentrations, especially in Armenian-Turkish history and the other was to introduce a new and kind of coherent way of producing translations from Armenian literature,” explained ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer We often forget how important words are. Our choice of words and the way we use certain words can greatly influence the impact our story has on others. How does one begin to describe a genocide? A completely traumatic event that tears apart homes, families, and everything that is familiar… if the word “genocide” does not ...

Carina Tokatian Staff Writer Walking into “Kef Time Fresno” felt like entering any Armenian’s nirvana. There was lavish food, spirited conversations, lively laughter, warm hugs, and smiling faces everywhere. Most of all, there was the lively group of dancers and musicians—the stars of the evening—who offered any spectator a taste of sublimity. “Kef Time Fresno” was held on the evening ...

Staff Report A delegation of Yerevan State University (YSU) administrators and faculty, headed by YSU President Dr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, visited the Fresno State campus on Wednesday, February 2. Accompanying Dr. Hovhannisyan were Dr. Alexander Markarov, Head of the International Cooperation Office of YSU and Dr. Vahagn Aglyan, Director of the American Studies Center at YSU. The group was hosted at ...

Staff Report The Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State has a long and distinguished history. Armenian and Armenian Studies courses have been taught at Fresno State for more than fifty years. The Program was established in 1977 and over the years the has developed an international reputation in terms of excellence in teaching, quality of scholarship, and active student and ...

Sosse Baloian Staff Writer “We know about our identity from reading the stories of our writers,” said Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian. “Without that literature and history, it would be difficult to understand Armenian identity.” On Sunday, January 16, 2022, Prof. Der Mugrdechian gave a talk on “Armenian Literature and Identity” at St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Prof. ...

Eddy Thurber Staff Writer The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules against Azerbaijan on all counts! Armenia won a landmark victory in a hearing brought before the ICJ on the basis of urgency and the need for immediate relief. The court made three orders to secure the safety of Armenian prisoners of war, the cessation of hate speech and violence ...