Vartan Gregorian (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Iranian-American of Armenian descent. He was an academic, educator, and historian, and he served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021.
Gregorian moved to the United States from Iran at age 22. He graduated with a PhD from Stanford University. He subsequently taught at several universities and his work as a historian focused mainly on the Muslim world. He went on to join the University of Pennsylvania faculty, then as its provost. From 1981 to 1989 he served as president of the New York Public Library 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. Gregorian's work has been widely acknowledged. He received dozens of honorary doctorates, the National Humanities Medal (1998), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2004).
Early life and education
Vartan Gregorian was born on April 8, 1934, His mother died of pneumonia at 26, when he was six He was credited with restoring the "crumbling landmark to a vibrant cultural nexus"
In 2023, the trustees of The New York Public Library voted to rename the Center for Research in the Humanities to the Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities.
Brown University
thumb|Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle at Brown University was named after Gregorian in 1999
Brown University awarded Gregorian an honorary doctorate in 1984 for his work at the NYPL. He was officially inaugurated as president in April 1989.
At Brown, Gregorian continued teaching a freshman seminar and a senior seminar and a course on Alexis de Tocqueville with Stephen Graubard. 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 with Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan. It honors individuals for humanitarian work on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called it the "Armenian Nobel Peace Prize."
Gregorian was honored by the Armenian government, the Armenian Church, and Armenian diaspora organizations. In 1999 he received the St. Gregory the Illuminator Medal, the Armenian Church's highest secular award, from Catholicos Karekin I. and elected him as a Foreign Member in 2008. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan awarded him the Mkhitar Gosh Medal in 2013 and the Order of Honor in 2017. He met President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian 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, was officially renamed to the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building in January 2019.
Views
thumb|Gregorian with [[Hamid Karzai, Hillary Clinton, and James H. Billington ]]
Gregorian was described as a public intellectual, 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 [Kennedy's] rhetoric and his vision and youthfulness, and so forth, about an idealistic America where everybody had to chip in." In a 2003 interview, Gregorian stated that he made "nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation an official policy at both the University of Pennsylvania and at Brown." "We need Linda Greenhouses, we need individuals who would be challenging the system. We need a Bill Buckley … new Bill Buckleys. We need new I. F. Stones from the Left and the Right who could challenge, who could create a kind of dialogue, rather than monologue", he said in 2009.
In May 2009 Gregorian proposed to U.S. President Barack Obama that he send a message to the Iranian authorities, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that "mixes Obama's characteristic emphasis on respect and cultural sensitivity with any apology for Mossadegh's overthrow, thanks for Iranian condemnation of 9/11, 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 as a U.S. Senator from New York. 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 in Tabriz, Gregorian was an Armenian Catholic. They had three sons: Vahé, Raffi, and Dareh Ardashes.
Gregorian's interests included chess and Armenian music. 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. Peter Gay wrote in The New York Times in 2003: "If the word had not been so badly debased in our time, I would call him a civilian hero." Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, called him an "icon in higher education and philanthropy." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Gregorian "single-handedly saved this sacred institution," referring to the New York Public Library. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell noted that Gregorian was "instrumental in helping restore and reopen" the Keller Library after Hurricane Katrina. 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 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 wrote in 2007 that he has been "hailed as a fund-raising genius." 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.
- Elected to the American Philosophical Society, 1985
- Ellis Island Medal of Honor, 1986
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1989
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1989
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, 1989
- Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officier (France), 1995 presented by President Bill Clinton
- American Library Association Honorary Membership-2000
- Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2004, presented by President George W. Bush
- French Legion of Honor Chevalier, 2017
- Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence, 2019 (presented by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg)
- 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,
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| Brown University || 1984 || Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.)
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| SUNY Potsdam || 1985 || Doctor of Letters
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| College of Mount Saint Vincent ||1986 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Johns Hopkins University || 1987 || Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.)
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| Wheaton College (Massachusetts) || 1989 || —
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| City University of New York || 1990 || —
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| Long Island University || 1993 || —
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| Tufts University || 1994 || L.H.D.
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| Muhlenberg College || 2000 || Doctor of Humanities
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| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign || 2001 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Pennsylvania State University || 2003 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Lafayette College || 2003 || —
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| Fordham University || 2003 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| California State University<br />San Francisco State University || 2004 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| American University of Beirut || 2004 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| College of Charleston || 2004 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| University of Notre Dame || 2005 || Doctor of Laws
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| University of Southern California || 2006 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Keio University || 2008 || Doctor of Philosophy
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| University of Miami || 2009 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| University of St Andrews || 2009 || Doctor of Letters
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| University of Edinburgh || 2009-10 || —
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| Northeastern University || 2010 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Brandeis University || 2013 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| Pace University || 2013 || —
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| Adelphi University || 2015 || Doctor of Humane Letters
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| University of South Carolina || 2017 || Doctor of Letters
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Bibliography
- (ed). Simon Vratzian, Kianki Oughinerov [memoirs], 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 [memoir] (Simon & Schuster, 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 in 1969, "long before most Americans had any interest in or knowledge of that faraway country." 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. "We have to see what we have in common, as well as what divides us," he said in a later interview. 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."<!-- https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA122925537&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0021969X&p=AONE&sw=w
Alan L. Chan
Journal of Church and State
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;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. Another reviewer called it "the quintessential American Success Story."
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External links
- Vartan Gregorian bio | Carnegie Corporation of New York