BELMONT, Mass.—The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) held its 56th Annual Assembly of Members on May 15 at the NAASR Headquarters in Belmont. The assembly included reports on NAASR’s activities and business during the past year, watched a video by Marc Mamigonian entitled “Keeping Up with 21st-Century Technology: NAASR at Work,” and held elections for its Board of Directors, which meets four times per year.
Reelected Board members include Dr. Seda Keshishian of Lincoln, Shushan Teager of Belmont, and Manoog S. Young of Belmont, all for Greater Boston; Van Aroian of Worcester, for central and western Massachusetts; Bertha Mugrdichian of Providence, R.I., for southeastern New England; Gregory Aftandilian of Vienna, Va., for the Middle Atlantic states; Marta Batmasian of Boca Raton, Fla., for the Southeastern states; and Anna Marie Norehad of Glenview, Ill., for the Mid-West states. Dr. Geri Lyn Ajemian of Watertown was newly elected to the Board of Directors for Greater Boston, replacing Luder Tavit Sahagian of Needham.
Stepping down from the NAASR Board after more than half a century of exceptional service was Dr. Gregory H. Adamian of Medford. “We cannot measure the time and dedication Greg has given during his years on NAASR’s Board,” said Chairman Nancy R. Kolligian. Adamian will continue to remain involved with NAASR as chairman of the Finance Committee and as an invaluable source of advice, Kolligian emphasized. At a post-assembly meeting of the Board of Directors, Seta Kalajian of Bedford, was appointed to fill Adamian’s slot for the next year.
Chairmanship passes from Kolligian to Yeghiayan
NAASR’s Executive Committee, which meets monthly throughout the year, will also see some changes. Kolligian is stepping down after nine years in the role of chairman and will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as advisor. Long-serving first vice-chairman Raffi P. Yeghiayan of Lexington will take over chairman duties.
During her address to the Annual Assembly on May 15, Kolligian hailed the vision and the achievements of those who built NAASR and have sustained it for 56 years, including chairman emeritus Manoog S. Young, who was unable to be present. She underscored that NAASR is not only surviving as an organization but is thriving and “has been catapulted to new levels of achievement.” Kolligian noted the profusion of NAASR’s public programs in recent years, expanding to areas throughout the U.S., into Canada, and “soon, hopefully, overseas.”
She singled out southern California Board Members Dr. Rubina Peroomian and Bruce W. Roat for their exceptional efforts to expand NAASR’s activities and interaction with other organizations in the area, and took particular note of Roat’s recent work resulting in NAASR’s partnership with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art to present public programs in connection with the Arshile Gorky retrospective beginning in June.
Kolligian pointed out the high degree of cooperation and collaboration with other organizations, both Armenian and non-Armenian, and took special note of NAASR’s co-sponsorship of and participation in two major academic events in 2010: the “International Conference on the Armenian Diaspora” at Boston University, in conjunction with the Kenosian Chair in Modern Armenian History and Literature at BU and the Zoryan Institute’s International Institute for Diaspora Studies; and the “Workshop on the State of the Art of Armenian Genocide Research” at Clark University, in conjunction with the Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark and the Ohannessian Chair at the University of Minnesota.
She spoke with satisfaction at the research grants NAASR has issued during the previous year, and praised the continuing collaborative relationship between NAASR and the Knights of Vartan to administer the Knight’s Fund for Armenian Studies to support significant scholarship. “We need to perpetuate the work these scholars are doing,” Kolligian emphasized, “because if we do not, it will fall by the wayside and die.”
In acknowledging that after nine years she is “rotating off” as chairman, Kolligian, who has served on the Board since 1986, stressed that the words “retire” and “resign” are “not in my vocabulary,” and that the time had come only for her to “change roles.” “I’m excited about where
NAASR is and the possibilities it has as it moves forward,” she said. She concluded with a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
Kolligian announced that Raffi Yeghiayan would be the new chairman. Yeghiayan, a Board member since 1962, made an announcement that surprised Kolligian when he informed the Assembly that the NAASR Board had approved the creation of a Nancy R. Kolligian Fund for Armenian studies for which, in barely three weeks, $20,000 had been raised. He acknowledged Kolligian’s good grace and hard work “with a smile” through a key period of transition in the history of the organization and said he was “hopeful that I can justify your trust in me” as the third chairman in the history of NAASR.
Kolligian paid special tribute to two NAASR members in attendance at the assembly. First, she honored Maria Littleton of Belmont, a longtime friend to and volunteer at NAASR. Littleton has made a major monetary contribution establishing a fund in her name and in memory of Rev. Vartan Hartunian, his wife Grace, and the entire Hartunian family. Kolligian presented Littleton with a plaque commemorating her donation and the Hartunian family. The plaque is now hanging outside NAASR’s lecture hall. The second honoree was Board Member Bertha Mugrdichian. In addition to her long service to NAASR, Mugrdichian was recently honored by the Rhode Island State Nurses Association and inducted into their Hall of Fame for her exceptional service to the profession and to the community.
Also recognized were a pair of 25-year NAASR members: Dr. John Zakarian of Orinda, Calif., who was not able to be present, and Ruth Thomasian of Watertown, the founder and executive director of Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives. Kolligian made note of Thomasian’s extraordinary contributions through Project SAVE’s work documenting and preserving Armenian photographs.
Members of Executive Committee
Robert D. Bejoian of Cambridge, longtime treasurer, stepped down from the Executive Committee and will be replaced by Roxanne Etmekjian of Waltham, previously assistant treasurer.
The 2010-11 Executive Committee of the NAASR Board of Directors thus consists of: Raffi P. Yeghiayan, chairman; Van M. Aroian of Worcester, first vice-chairman; Jack M. Medzorian of Winchester, second vice-chairman; Stephen A. Kurkjian of Manomet, secretary; Dr. Geri Lyn Ajemian, assistant secretary; Roxanne Etmekjian, treasurer; and Nancy R. Kolligian, advisor.
For more information about NAASR and its programs call (617) 489-1610, email hq@naasr.org, or fax (617) 484-1759.
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