On Thurs., Dec. 8, Dr. Mary A. Papazian was appointed president of Southern Connecticut State University.
Papazian is the first Armenian woman appointed as president of an American university, and only the fourth Armenian to serve in such a position; that list includes Dr. Gregory Adamian, the longtime president of Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., and Dr. Vartan Gregorian, past president of Brown University in Providence, R.I.
University faculty and students warmly welcomed their new president with a standing ovation at a press conference held on Dec. 8. “I am immensely excited to be taking part on this journey with you,” Papazian told the 300 students and faculty gathered at Southern’s Student Center. “I promise to each of you today, it will be a journey of respect. It will be a journey of commitment. It will be a journey dedicated to excellence and to human dignity.”
Papazian is currently the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Lehman College in the Bronx, a part of City University of New York. She is “a fantastic choice,” said Robert Kennedy, the interim president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education in Connecticut, and called her an “accomplished academic administrator and a prestigious scholar.” More than 70 people had applied for the position.
“I am delighted. I think you can sense the enthusiasm,” said Susan Cusato, a professor and president of the SCSU Faculty Senate. “I feel more enthusiasm than I’ve felt in years. We are all very impressed with Dr. Papazian. I think she brings a new energy, a fresh perspective.”
Richard Balducci, who led the trustees’ search, called Papazian a dynamic leader. “She’s the type of person I think who is not afraid to mix it up,” Balducci said. “She’s a listener. I think she’s willing to sit down with anybody, whether you are on the lower part of the totem pole or the higher part.”
Papazian is the wife of Dr. Dennis R. Papazian, the director of the Armenian Research and Publication Center at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. She is the daughter of Hagop and Marilyn Arshagouni of Northridge, Calif., and a graduate of the Ferrahian Armenian School. She has three degrees from UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude.
congratulations to dr. mary a. papazian! i would like to remind the author of this article that we shouldn’t forget the late president of cedar crest college, dr. dorothy blaney gulbenkian, who served as president of ccc for 18 years (1988-2006), and prior to that she was an executive vice president of pace university in new york. we are lucky to have such excellent leaders.