Mary Arshagouni Papazian (born Mary Ellen Arshagouni; February 25, 1959) is the former president of

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. She has had over 25 years of prior experience in academia, having been the past president of

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

. She resigned from her post in 2021.

Early life and education

Papazian was born Mary Ellen Arshagouni to a family of Armenian descent in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

on February 25, 1959. Raised in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, she attended Ferrahian High School, an Armenian private school in Encino. Papazian has a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

(1981),

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(1983), and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1988) in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA).

Career

Papazian started out as an assistant, associate and tenured professor of English at

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

. After her teaching career, she continued her work in education. From 1999 to 2004, she was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at

in Michigan and was also executive director of the department of music, theater, and dance at Oakland from 2003 to 2004. She then served as dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

in New Jersey from 2004 to 2007. Papazian was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

from 2007 to 2011. From February 1, 2012, to June 30, 2016, Papazian was president of

. On January 27, 2016, the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

Board of Trustees named Papazian the 30th president of

, beginning July 1. On October 7, 2021, Papazian announced that she would resign as the president of San José State University at the end of the 2021 fall semester. The resignation came after the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

investigated San Jose State for a sex abuse scandal where the school failed for more than a decade to adequately respond to reports of sexual abuse by its former director of sports medicine.

Research and academic interests

Papazian's dissertation at UCLA was titled ''John Donne's "

Devotions upon Emergent Occasions ''Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, and severall steps in my Sicknes'' is a prose work by the English metaphysical poet and cleric in the Church of England, John Donne, published in 1624. It covers death, rebirth and the early modern conc ...

": A Puritan Reading''. She has edited two books, ''John Donne and the Protestant Reformation'' and ''Sacred and Profane in English Renaissance Literature'' as well as numerous articles on Donne.

Works

* ''John Donne and the Protestant Reformation'' (Wayne State UP, 2003), editor * ''Sacred and Profane in English Renaissance Literature'' (U of Delaware P, 2008), editor

Personal life

She married Dennis Papazian in 1991; they have two daughters. Dennis Papazian died on March 16, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papazian, Mary 1959 births Living people Southern Connecticut State University faculty Lehman College faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni Oakland University faculty Montclair State University faculty American people of Armenian descent People from Santa Monica, California Presidents of San Jose State University