Sofya Melikyan to perform as part of Young Armenian Talent series

September 19, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Educated at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid and the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris, Melikyan has gained international attention while performing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, and Salle Cortot in Paris.

Four scholars to speak on ‘Western Armenian in the 21st Century: Challenges and New Approaches’

September 3, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Deputy Director of the Institute of Armenian Studies at USC; Jesse Siragan Arlen, Ph.D. candidate of Armenian Studies at UCLA; Elizabeth Mkhitarian, author and poet; and Dr. Hagop Kouloujian, modern Western Armenian lecturer at UCLA.

The conference was organized based on this discussion and from the 2010 report that UNESCO had placed Western Armenian on the list of the world’s endangered languages.

Travel, scholarship, community inspire Dr. La Porta in his Interim Associate Dean role

August 19, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

In his new role as Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, La Porta, inspired by his love of travel, plans to expand study abroad opportunities for students which he considers essential to broadening their horizons. In addition, he would like to facilitate faculty-student mentorships and promote more service-learning courses.

James L. Melikian L.A. Brothers Scholarship Fund established at Fresno State

August 14, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Armenian Studies Program Director Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Fresno State alumnus James L. Melikian "The Popcorn Man"

The effort to establish the scholarship was led by Fresno State alumnus James L. Melikian, who annually hosts a gathering of friends at his home to raise funds for charitable purposes. Melikian (“The Popcorn Man”) established his company, “The Popcorn Man,” in 1977.

104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide to be remembered at Fresno State

April 23, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

The events mark the anniversary of the April 24, 1915 arrests of Armenian intellectuals and leaders by the Ottoman Empire which started a genocide in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

Cadence Ensemble to perform as part of the World Music Series

April 17, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Cadence Ensemble - Varazdat Khachumyan, Violin; Hakob Jaghatspanyan, Guitar; Meruzhan Yeganyan, Accordion; Sofi Mikayelyan, Piano; and Gurgen Amiryan, Contrabass

Cadence Ensemble has rapidly developed into one of the world’s premier ensembles performing original works and arrangements by classical and contemporary European, Russian, Armenian, and American composers including world music and pop.

Knights and Daughters of Vartan recognize Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian as ‘Man of the Year’ and Stefani Booroojian as ‘Woman of the Year’

April 4, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Stefani Booroojian

The Knights and Daughters of Vartan have named Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and news anchor Stefani Booroojian “Man of the Year” and “Woman of the Year.” The two were honored at a special Banquet held on Sunday, March 30, 2019.

Jonathan Conlin to speak on ‘Calouste Gulbenkian and the Pasdurma Problem’

April 1, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Jonathan Conlin - Mr Five Per Cent - The many lives of Calouste Gulbenkian - The World's Richest Man

Born into the Armenian merchant elite of Istanbul in 1869, the renowned oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian made his fortune as a ‘business architect,’ persuading rival oil companies to collaborate for their mutual enrichment, particularly in the Middle East.

Dr. Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh to Present ‘The Missing Pages: The Modern Life of a Medieval Manuscript, from Genocide to Justice’

April 1, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh - "The Missing Pages - The Modern Life of a Medieval Manuscript from Genocide to Justice"

In 2010, the world’s wealthiest art institution, the J. Paul Getty Museum, found itself confronted by a century-old genocide.

Dr. Ara Sanjian to speak on ‘Armenia’s Road to and Since the ‘Velvet Revolution’’

February 28, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Learn about the rise of Nikol Pashinyan from a young and controversial journalist in the mid-1990s to a politician with immense power and even a cult figure in 2018.