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Vartan Gregorian; fa, وارتان گرگوریان (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. An Armenian born in Iran, Gregorian moved to the United States at 22. He graduated with a PhD from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
. He subsequently taught at several universities and his work as a historian focused mainly on the
Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...
. He went on to join the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
faculty, then as its provost. From 1981 to 1989 he served as president of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...
during which he succeeded in financially stabilizing the institution and revitalizing its cultural importance. From 1989 to 1997 he served as the first foreign-born president of
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. Gregorian's work has been widely acknowledged. He received dozens of honorary doctorates, the
National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the huma ...
(1998), and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
(2004).


Early life and education

Vartan Gregorian was born on April 8, 1934, in the city of
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
in northern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
to Christian Armenian parents Samuel B. Gregorian and Shushanik (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Mirzaian). Both his parents had a high school education. His father worked for the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...
in
Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounde ...
and was mostly absent. His mother died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
at 26, when he was six and his father later remarried. Vartan and his younger sister, Ojik, were raised by his maternal grandmother, Voski Mirzaian. She came from a family of
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
s, but was an illiterate peasant and Gregorian described her as wise. His grandfather owned an inn for camel caravans. Regarding his family origins, he said that he could not determine if they were indigenous to the area, or settled there in the 15th, 16th, or 19th century, because "they were mostly from peasant villages that migrated to Tabriz." He first went to an Armenian elementary school in Tabriz, then a Russian one when northern Iran was under Soviet occupation. When Iran regained control of the area, he learned Farsi. He was told by Edgar Maloyan, the French vice-council in Tabriz of Armenian origin, that he had to go to
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, Lebanon because he was "too smart to stay in Tabriz". He followed his advice and continued his studies at the Collège Armenien (''Jemaran'') in Beirut, graduating in 1955. Before moving to Beirut, he spoke
Eastern Armenian Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as ...
, some Russian,
Farsi Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
, and Turkish. He learned French within a year. Among his teachers there was Simon Vratsian, the last prime minister of the
First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...
(1918–20). He was one of Vratsian's unofficial secretaries. Gregorian described him as both his mentor and his benevolent benefactor. He also briefly worked as a reporter in Beirut before emigrating to the United States in 1956. Gregorian came to the United States with the initial intention to return to Beirut to teach Armenian history in a high school. In another interview, Gregorian said he studied Portuguese so he could become the principal/director of an Armenian high school in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
, Brazil. In 1956, he enrolled at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and completed his BA in history and humanities in two years, graduating with honors in 1958.


Teaching career

Gregorian earned a dual PhD in history and humanities (art history, philosophy,
Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
, religion, classics) from Stanford University in 1964. His dissertation was titled "Traditionalism and Modernism in Islam". He began his teaching career at
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
where he was briefly instructor in Armenian history and culture in 1960. He taught European and Middle Eastern history at San Francisco State College between 1962 and 1968. He was initially instructor, then in 1964 he was named assistant professor and, in 1966,
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...
of history. In 1965–66 he had a one-year fellowship in Soviet Armenia. He was a visiting associate professor of history at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...
in 1968, before moving to
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
as associate professor in 1968–1970 and professor of history in 1970–1972. Gregorian joined the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
faculty in 1972 as Tarzian Professor of Armenian and Caucasian History and Professor of South Asian history. In 1974 he became the founding dean of Penn's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and served on that role until 1978. He subsequently served as the 23rd provost of Penn from January 1979 to October 1980. In 1980 Gregorian was widely considered to be the most probable candidate for president of the University of Pennsylvania as he had the "resounding support of most of the deans, the Faculty Senate, and the Undergraduate Assembly." Gregorian was seen as a charismatic leader and one with "flamboyant style and ever-present brilliance". However, the university trustees chose
Sheldon Hackney Francis Sheldon Hackney (December 5, 1933 – September 12, 2013) was a prominent American educator. He was the Boies Professor of United States History at the University of Pennsylvania. Early life Hackney was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 193 ...
instead. From 1984 to 1989 Gregorian was professor of history and Near Eastern studies at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
and at The New School for Social Research.


New York Public Library

From 1981 to 1989 Gregorian served as president of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...
(NYPL), a network that then contained four research libraries and 83 circulating libraries. He was highly successful in the position, particularly as a fundraiser. Gregorian nearly doubled the library's budget and by the end of his tenure, he had secured $327 to $400 million for the NYPL from individuals, foundations, and corporations. He was credited with restoring the "crumbling landmark to a vibrant cultural nexus" and rescuing one of America's "known public institutions from financial and cultural crisis and thereby restor ngthe stature of public libraries nationwide." According to Michael Gorman, Gregorian was one of the few "shining exceptions" of academics running libraries well. He noted that as the head of the NYPL Gregorian "can fairly be said to have rescued that venerable and valuable institution from pauperism." During Gregorian tenure, the library's Main Branch in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
was restored with $42 million. He also succeeded in getting approval from city planning authorities to restore the nearby
Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Th ...
. Upon his departure, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that as president of the NYPL, Gregorian "revived an empire of learning that is more than ever a national treasure." Barlow Der Mugrdechian noted that Gregorian "transformed what was then a decaying and underfinanced institution into a center of New York cultural life." His tenure at the NYPL made Gregorian a reputable institutional leader. In May 1999 a hall of the library's Main Branch was named after Gregorian. Upon his death, NYPL recognized that "his leadership and tenacity revitalized and reaffirmed the Library as the preeminent civic and educational institution that New Yorkers know and love today. Through his efforts and leadership, the Library was able to weather, recover, and rebound from a decade of fiscal crisis, restoring hours of service in the branches, renovating many historic locations, growing and strengthening circulating collections with a focus on multilingual and multicultural materials, increasing education and literacy programs, and investing in curators and expert staff in the research libraries, among other things."


Brown University

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
awarded Gregorian an honorary doctorate in 1984 for his work at the NYPL. Four years later, in August 1988 Gregorian was chosen to become Brown's 16th and first foreign-born
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. He was officially inaugurated as president in April 1989. When he took over, Brown had the lowest endowment ($370 million) in the
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
. He served in that position for eight years, until June 1997. In his eight-year tenure, Gregorian raised around $535 million, raising the total to $850 million. He is also credited with having strengthened Brown's reputation and "enhancing its traditional emphasis on undergraduate education." During his presidency, the university "hired 270 new faculty members, expanded the library, and established eleven new departments." The university also underwent increasing internationalization. At Brown, Gregorian continued teaching a freshman seminar and a senior seminar and a course on
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wo ...
with Stephen Graubard. He was described as being a "wildly popular figure on campus."


Carnegie Corporation

In January 1997 Gregorian was chosen as the president of the
Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
, at the time the 16th largest foundation in the U.S., known for its advocacy of education and peace. He assumed the position in June 1997 and became the 12th president and the first outsider—not from within the foundation—to head it. At Carnegie Corporation, Gregorian switched from his previous fundraiser role to one of a fund granter. He commented on it: "People think that giving away money is an easy job. Actually, it's harder than raising money, as you well know, because you have so many excellent projects that compete for funding. The issue is, I tell our staff: Are we going to be an incubator or an oxygen tank?" He advocated "initiatives in teacher education, international peace, and cooperative efforts with other foundations." Commenting on his work at Carnegie Corporation, he said that his main aim was "teaching ideas and values. But most importantly, also, preparation of new citizens. One of our great programs, which I'm very proud of at Carnegie is strengthening US democracy."


Armenian causes

Gregorian was involved in projects in the Armenian American community and
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
. Barlow Der Mugrdechian described him as a "highly visible model for Armenians." He was a "much-sought-after"
keynote speaker A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework f ...
at Armenian events, for which he did not take money: "I've never accepted one penny from any Armenian source for the past 30 years." Gregorian was outspoken about the importance of education in Armenia. He stated in a 2009 interview: "The first thing that Armenia has to invest in, like the Scandinavian countries, is education. Even in the Armenian army, they should teach computer science, mathematics, other sciences." He also called on the Armenian church to invest in education. He was on the Board of Governors of
UWC Dilijan UWC Dilijan College is the 14th member of the United World Colleges movement, one of eighteen colleges around the world, and the first international boarding school in Armenia. The college matriculated its first 96 IB1 students (11th graders) i ...
, the first international boarding school in Armenia founded in 2014. He donated 1,500 books to the school and a learning center is named after him. Gregorian donated hundreds of books to the American University of Armenia in 2010–14. In 2016 Gregorian co-founded the
Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is an annual international humanitarian award recognizing individuals for humanitarian work. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide. The Aurora Prize ceremonies have taken place a ...
with Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan. It honors individuals for
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
work on behalf of the survivors of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called it the "Armenian
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...
." Gregorian was honored by the Armenian government, the Armenian Church, and Armenian diaspora organizations. In 1999 he received the
St. Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...
Medal, the Armenian Church's highest secular award, from
Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...
Karekin I Karekin I (Armenian: ) (August 27, 1932 – June 29, 1999) served as the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1994 and 1999. Previously, he served as the Catholicos of Cilicia from 1983 to 1994 as Karekin II (Armenian: ). Be ...
. The National Academy of Sciences of Armenia named him an Honorary Doctor in 2001 and elected him as a Foreign Member in 2008. President of Armenia
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
awarded him the Mkhitar Gosh Medal in 2013 and the Order of Honor in 2017. He met President of Armenia
Armen Sarkissian Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...
on several occasions. In October 2016 Gregorian joined other prominent Armenians in calling the government of Armenia to adopt "new development strategies based on inclusiveness and collective action" and to create "an opportunity for the Armenian world to pivot toward a future of prosperity, to transform the post-Soviet Armenian Republic into a vibrant, modern, secure, peaceful and progressive homeland for a global nation." The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) headquarters in
Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,29 ...
, was officially renamed to the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building in January 2019.


Views

Gregorian was described as a public intellectual, who often commented on educational and political matters, and a life-long advocate for education. It was said during his lifetime that "He has become increasingly worried about America's deemphasizing studies in the humanities, which has been replaced by the desire to learn marketable skills, and he is concerned by the failure of high schools to prepare students for college so that they often spend the first two years at universities trying to catch up to where they should be." Gregorian had a reputation as a "visionary educator". In 1988 Bill Moyers described him as "an evangelist for education". He advised Walter Annenberg and the
Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations in the United States and around the world. Some of the Foundation's core initiatives are the Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadca ...
on
school reform Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. The meaning and education methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, th ...
. Gregorian believed that the sole function of education is to provide an "introduction to learning." He believed that "we can produce an educated, cultured person" in four years who would include "all the possible elements of professionalism, and know-how, and a career, and also a vocation." Commenting on the rise of college tuition, he said a special tax was needed: "Five percent of the tax Californians pay should go to universities." Gregorian called teachers, journalists, and librarians the most important jobs for the United States, and that without "educated journalists and free press ..you're going to have an Orwellian society which we always dreaded." He said in 1988 that because there was an explosion of information, which was not equal the explosion of knowledge, there were "great possibilities of manipulating our society by inundating us with undigested information." He elaborated: "So instead of '' 1984'', Orwell saying deny information, now one other way of paralyzing people is by inundating with trivia, as well as a major way of paralyzing our choices, by giving so much that we cannot possible digest it."


Politics

Gregorian was politically liberal. In the 1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries he collected signatures for Adlai Stevenson II and then for John F. Kennedy. He stated that he was "just enchanted and transformed by ennedy'srhetoric and his vision and youthfulness, and so forth, about an idealistic America where everybody had to chip in." In 1966 he served as faculty adviser to the
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
Progressive Labor Party at the
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
. In a 2003 interview, Gregorian stated that he made "
nondiscrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...
on the basis of sexual orientation an official policy at both the University of Pennsylvania and at Brown." He argued for affirmative action in higher education, "at least at this stage in our history." However, he noted that what is needed is reform in the public education to "eliminate the social disparities. How long will we need affirmative action? As long as K through 12 education is unequal and weak." Gregorian was "known for his commitment to
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
and interest in foreign affairs, especially
conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abo ...
and intellectual freedom." In his 1989 speech as president of Brown University, he called for a "value-oriented, moral sense of politics", as Patrick Garry describes it. Gregorian stated that a democratic society needs freedom and choice, but also a moral center and not a moral enclosure. Garry wrote that Gregorian strove to "inject moral passion into an increasingly listless liberalism. He advocates a moral sense, but not as defined by conservative beliefs." Instead, the "moral center should come from a public moral discourse and from the choices of individuals regarding moral values and social ideas." "We need
Linda Greenhouse Linda Joyce Greenhouse (born January 9, 1947) is an American legal journalist who is the Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence and Joseph M. Goldstein Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covered ...
s, we need individuals who would be challenging the system. We need a Bill Buckley … new Bill Buckleys. We need new
I. F. Stone Isidor Feinstein "I. F." Stone (December 24, 1907 – June 18, 1989) was an American investigative journalist, writer, and author. Known for his politically progressive views, Stone is best remembered for ''I. F. Stone's Weekly'' (1953–1971), ...
s from the Left and the Right who could challenge, who could create a kind of dialogue, rather than monologue", he said in 2009. Gregorian said that it is more important to integrate immigrants into American society than assimilate them. "America is about citizenship, about rights, about privileges, about responsibilities, knowledge of America's past, engagement in its future and so a part of being both individualist, as well as part of the organic community, which is the United States", he said. In April 2009 Gregorian joined
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...
, Prince Hassan bin Talal,
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...
, and Yōhei Sasakawa in calling on The People's Republic of China to rescind the decision to execute
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...
activists involved in the 2008 Tibetan unrest and "provide them with an opportunity to be re-tried in a judicial process that is more in keeping with the international standards that China says that it adheres to." In May 2009 Gregorian proposed to U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
that he send a message to the Iranian authorities, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
, that "mixes Obama's characteristic emphasis on respect and cultural sensitivity with any apology for
Mossadegh Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
's overthrow, thanks for Iranian condemnation of
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
, and a conciliatory tone in asking for the abandonment of nuclear enrichment." In June 2009 Obama appointed Gregorian as a White House Fellow. In 2009 Richard Heffner suggested that Gregorian would be great as a successor to
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
as a U.S. Senator from New York.


Personal life

Gregorian spoke Armenian, French, and English. He understood Persian and Arabic. He did not speak English when he arrived in the US in 1956, and later spoke with a "soft Middle Eastern accent." Gregorian faced housing discrimination because of his Armenian origins when he moved to New York City in 1981. Although he served as an altar boy in the
Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...
in Tabriz, Gregorian was an Armenian Catholic. Gregorian married Clare (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Russell) on March 25, 1960. They met at Stanford. She died on April 28, 2018, at the age of 80. She was a "community and volunteer leader in several states and cities." She was an advocate of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...
, literacy and the arts and was described as a "driving force behind the establishment" of
Rhode Island Public Radio Rhode Island Public Radio, doing business as The Public's Radio, is the NPR member radio network for the state of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Its studios are in the historic Union Station in downtown Providence. The network ...
.
Janet L. Robinson Janet L. Robinson (born June 11, 1950) is an American executive who was the president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company on December 27, 2004, until she retired on December 31, 2011. ''The New York Times'' She joined the Tim ...
stated that her "unwavering support of organizations such as Rhode Island Public Radio, Providence Public Library and
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
proved to be a critical factor in the success of these organizations." They had three sons: Vahé, Raffi, and Dareh Ardashes. As of 2003, Vahe was chief sportswriter at the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', Raffi was working at the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...
, and Dareh was covering the civil courts for the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
''. Dareh is married to Maggie Haberman. Gregorian's interests included
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
and
Armenian music The music of Armenia ( hy, հայկական երաժշտություն ''haykakan yerazhshtut’yun'') has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompass ...
. Gregorian had a surgery for kidney removal in October 1999. Vartan Gregorian died on April 15, 2021, after being hospitalized due to stomach pain. He was 87.


Recognition

Gregorian was one of America's "most respected and frequently honored educators and intellectuals." Barlow Der Mugrdechian described him as "one of the most noted educators and leaders in higher education" in the U.S.
Hendrik Hertzberg Hendrik Hertzberg (born July 23, 1943) is an American journalist, best known as the principal political commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. He has also been a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and editor of ''The New Republic'', and ...
wrote in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in 2008: "The impossibly distinguished Vartan Gregorian is a one-man academy of arts, letters, and the humanities."
Peter Gay Peter Joachim Gay (né Fröhlich; June 20, 1923 – May 12, 2015) was a German-American historian, educator, and author. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and former director of the New York Public Library's Center for Sc ...
wrote in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 2003: "If the word had not been so badly debased in our time, I would call him a civilian hero." French Ambassador to the United States
Gérard Araud Gérard Araud (born 20 February 1953) is a retired French diplomat who served as Ambassador of France to the United States from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as Director General for Political and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreig ...
described Gregorian as a "visionary and a living example of the modern man of letters, for whom education and knowledge is the key to opportunity and peace." Upon his death, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described Gregorian as "one of the greatest Armenian Americans."
Darren Walker Darren Walker (born August 28, 1959) currently serves as 10th president of the Ford Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to human welfare. In June 2020, Walker led the Ford Foundation to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabi ...
, President of the Ford Foundation, called him an "icon in higher education and philanthropy." New York Mayor
Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Y ...
said Gregorian "single-handedly saved this sacred institution," referring to the New York Public Library. New Orleans Mayor
LaToya Cantrell LaToya Cantrell (''née'' Wilder; born April 3, 1972) is an American politician serving as the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana since May 7, 2018. A Democrat, Cantrell is the first woman to hold the office. Before becoming mayor, Cantrell repres ...
noted that Gregorian was "instrumental in helping restore and reopen" the Keller Library after
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg wrote that Gregorian was a "towering intellect whose passion for public service was matched only by his kindness and compassion for others, and his loving devotion to his family." Samantha Power and Fadlo R. Khuri called Gregorian their hero. The
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
described him as an "extraordinary leader and a champion of international peace and security." Gregorian had a reputation for his fundraising skills. The ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' wrote in 2007 that he has been "hailed as a fund-raising genius." Gregorian commented, "I don't mind raising money—for a cause, not for me. At the same time, never appealing to the vanity of people, but appealing to their civic duty." He also argued that he is "not an ideologue — I don't ask people to give to ideological causes." An
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
in Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island, is named after Gregorian. In 2009 he said that he took great pride in that fact. "It has become a great school. I've helped them personally", he added.


Awards and honors

The ''Financial Times'' wrote in 2007 that Gregorian had received "39 awards, six international decorations, 14 civic honours and 16 prestigious medals." These include: *
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...
in Russian History, 1971 *Elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, 1985 *
Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...
, 1986 *Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1989 *Elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 1989 * American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, 1989 *
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
Officier (France), 1995 *
Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...
Grand Officer (Portugal), 1995 *
National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the huma ...
, 1998, presented by President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
*
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
, 2004, presented by President George W. Bush *
French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
Chevalier, 2017 *
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
Medal of Excellence, 2019 (presented by New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
) * Institute of International Education, Stephen P. Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding, 2019


Honorary degrees

As of 2001, Gregorian had received around 50 honorary degrees, 60 by 2007, and "nearly seventy" by 2015. These include from:


Bibliography

* (ed). Simon Vratzian, ''Hin Tghter Nor Patmutian Hamar'' 'Old Papers for the New History''(Beirut, 1962) * (ed). Simon Vratzian, ''Kianki Oughinerov'' emoirs Volume 5, (Beirut, 1966) * * ''The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946'' (Stanford University Press, 1969) * * * (ed). ''Censorship: Five Hundred Years of Conflict'' (Oxford University Press, 1997) * ''The Road to Home: My Life and Times'' emoir(
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...
, 2003) * * * *


Critical studies and reviews of Gregorian's work

;''The emergence of modern Afghanistan'' Gregorian's first book, ''The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946'', was published by
Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...
in 1969, "long before most Americans had any interest in or knowledge of that faraway country." It covered the
history of Afghanistan The history of Afghanistan as a state began in 1823 as the Emirate of Afghanistan after the exile of the Sadozai monarchy to Herat. The Sadozai monarchy ruled the Afghan Durrani Empire, considered the founding state of modern Afghanistan. T ...
from the 19th century until the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It was based on his PhD thesis and research of eight years. The book was widely praised by reviewers. Louis Dupree described it as "the best of its kind on Afghanistan hichwill be a basic source for years to come" and added, "In the past, all books written about Afghanistan had to be measured alongside Elphinstone's 1815 classic. We now have another yardstick: Gregorian, 1969." M. E. Yapp called it a "comprehensive and informative study" and the best general presentation for the period covered. Leon B. Poullada noted that "Until Gregorian came, Afghanistan has in some ways been a country in search of a scholar." Ludwig W. Adamec opined that Gregorian has written a "valuable book; but much remains to be done by him and others before the definitive story of Afghanistan's modernization can be told." Firuz Kazemzadeh noted that Gregorian "filled an enormous gap in our knowledge of the Middle East and has done it with exemplary diligence, intelligence, and verve. His book is far superior to any work on modern Afghanistan known to this reviewer." M. Jamil Hanifi wrote that it is a "major scholarly work, which should be considered as a most imperative reference work by students of Afghanistan in particular, and those interested in the history of Asia in general." ;''Islam : a mosaic, not a monolith'' Gregorian's 2003 book ''Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith'' was written, according to himself, in order to promote for better understanding of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
. "We have to see what we have in common, as well as what divides us," he said in a later interview.
Ebrahim Moosa Ebrahim Moosa is the Mirza Family Professor of Islamic Thought & Muslim Societies at the University of Notre Dame with appointments in the Department of History and in the Kroc Institute for International Studies in the Keough School of Global Af ...
noted that "it is an effort by a prominent American to coax decision-makers to take the complexity of religion seriously and a plea to avoid making flawed geopolitical analyses about Islam." The book received mixed reviews. Michael B. Schub wrote in the '' Middle East Quarterly'' that it is "well intentioned and disheartening" and that Gregorian "is by training an Afghan specialist-not a specialist on Islam. Unfortunately, it shows." ;''The road to home'' Gregorian published his memoirs, entitled ''The Road to Home: My Life and Times'', in 2003. In an interview, he noted that the book is a tribute to his grandmother and other people who played a crucial role in his life. He narrates his life, which has been described as a "
rags-to-riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popul ...
" story. He got the idea of the book when he was in hospital in 1999 and initially wanted to write about the "concept of an educated person, how it has changed from Renaissance to now." Gordon S. Wood wrote in ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'' that Gregorian is "the traditional American success story, modeled on that of Benjamin Franklin-the bright young boy who read book after book and rose out of nowhere to become one of America's preeminent citizens." Another reviewer called it "the quintessential American Success Story."


References

;Notes ;Citations


External links


Vartan Gregorian bio
, Carnegie Corporation of New York * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorian, Vartan American educational theorists American nonprofit executives Presidents of the New York Public Library Presidents of Brown University Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study New York University faculty San Francisco State University faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty Educators from New York City American orientalists 20th-century American historians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American memoirists American writers of Armenian descent National Humanities Medal recipients Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Qatar Foundation people Stanford University alumni Armenian Apostolic Christians Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian people of Armenian descent People from Tabriz 1934 births 2021 deaths Members of the American Philosophical Society