Hovannisian to Receive ‘Vahan Cardashian Award’ at ANCA Eastern Region Banquet

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region will be honoring UCLA Prof. Richard Hovannisian with the prestigious Vahan Cardashian Award at the 6th Annual ANCA-ER Banquet on Sat., Dec. 1, at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, N.J.

UCLA Prof. Richard Hovannisian is set to receive the Vahan Cardashian Award on Dec. 1 at the 6th Annual ANCA-ER Banquet.

The banquet will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and silent auction at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Hundreds of Armenian-Americans throughout the Eastern Region of the U.S. will once again gather to celebrate the achievements of the ANCA and to honor those who have advanced the Armenian cause.

“We are proud to honor Richard Hovannisian with the Cardashian Award for his many accomplishments, including his outstanding research and development of Armenian studies in higher education,” said ANCA-ER Executive Director Michelle Hagopian.

Hovannisian is a professor of Armenian and Near Eastern studies at UCLA. Born and raised in Tulare, Calif., Hovannisian received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California-Berkeley, and obtained his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1966. In 1987, he was appointed the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA.

Hovannisian is a Guggenheim Fellow and has received many honors for his scholarship, civic activities, and advancement of Armenian studies. He is the author of numerous books, including Armenia on the Road to Independence and The Armenian Holocaust. He has edited and contributed to at least a dozen other works, and has published more than 50 scholarly articles.

Hovanissian serves on the Board of Directors of nine scholarly and civic organizations, including Facing History and Ourselves Foundation, the International Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, International Alert, the Foundation for Research on Armenian Architecture, and the Armenian National Institute. He’s also the recipient of the UCLA Alumni Association’s 2010-11 “Most Inspiring Teacher” award.

The Vahan Cardashian Award is given annually to an ANCA supporter who demonstrates longstanding dedication and active involvement in the Armenian-American community and its issues. In the past, the ANCA Cardashian Award has been presented to notable Armenian-Americans, such as ANCA activist Stephen Dulgarian; the director of Project Save Armenian Photograph Archives, Ruth Thomasian; and New England community leader Tatul Sonentz-Papazian. The award is named for Yale-educated lawyer Vahan Cardashian, who set aside his successful New York practice to dedicate himself to the establishment of the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), the predecessor organization to the Armenian National Committee, and to advocate for the plight of the Armenian nation.

For more information about the banquet, contact Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425 or visit www.anca.org/erbanquet.

The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that supports the ANCA Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian-American communities.

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