PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
Ingrid Peterson, Administrator
University of Michigan
1080 S. University, Suite 3633
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Phone: 734.763.0622; Fax: 734.763.4918
email: [email protected]
Reflection and Transition at the University of Michigan’s Armenian
Studies Program
Interview with ASP Director Prof. Gerard Libaridian
ANN ARBOR, MICH., Sept. 17, 2010- Armenian Studies Program director,
Gerard Libaridian, Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History,
recently shared his reflections on the 2009-2010 program and wider
issues for the Armenian Studies Program(ASP) with Comparative
Literature PhD candidate Michael Pifer.
Michael Pifer: What were your goals as director of the Armenian
Studies Program for the 2009-2010 academic year?
Gerard Libaridian: We focused on enhancing the various fellowship
programs, the administrative structure and the program’s financial
future. Everyone involved in the program has every right to be proud:
from the student support and volunteers; to our administrator, Ingrid
Peterson; to the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee; as
well as the many levels of University administration.
We honed our post-doctoral fellowship program, which started three
years ago. We had eight scholars engage in research, prepare
manuscripts for publication and teach. We launched the new
pre-doctoral research program, which is open to students from other
universities writing ASP related theses. We began coordination of
courses between senior faculty and the post-doctoral/visiting scholars
for the benefit of students.
In terms of the administrative dimension, we needed to find ways to
work with other units as part of the International Institute, to
maximize resources and minimize vulnerabilities. Our main issue has
been that ASP has only one full-time staff person. We resolved this
issue through an agreement of close cooperation and mutual support
with the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, which already houses
three units. We will become an associated unit per a memorandum of
understanding between the Weiser Center and ASP and supported by the
director of the International Institute and the dean of the College of
Literature, Science, and Arts.
Financially, in 2007, ASP was able to expand activities exponentially
through a generous gift of over a million US dollars by the Manoogian
Simone Foundation (NY). We needed to secure funding for the
continuation of new programs. I am delighted to state that during the
past year we were able to obtain new funding for the next two
years. The Manoogian Simone Foundation and the Alex and Marie
Manoogian Foundation (Taylor, MI) have made a new contribution
totaling $400,000 that will allow us to continue our core activities
for the next two years. We are most grateful to both Mrs. Louise
Simone and Mr. Richard Manoogian for their support andencouragement.
We are also grateful to a number of others, including the
Haidostian/Wilbanks families, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Yarmain, Mr. Arsen
Sanjian, and Dean Ara Paul as well as other individuals and groups for
their new or continuing support. On this occasion I must mention the
close cooperation we have had with attorney Peter Sarkisian who
represents the Robert Ajemian Foundation; you will remember that last
year we received an endowment gift of $350,000 that allowed us to
expand the financial support we provide for research and travel by
graduate students and, for the first time, undergraduate students.
I must add that the Program’s endowment has also increased by an
additional $150,000 that were added to the various donations of the
last three years as matching funds from the University president’s
office.
MP: In light of what ASP has achieved this year, what were some
surprises?
GL: I can think of two: first, everyone involved in the fellowship
selection process was pleasantly surprised with the quality of
post-doctoral fellows we have had. One can go through applicants’
files and select the most deserving but files do not always reflect
reality. The assessment of the group has been on target. This is our
fourth year of hosting post-doctoral fellows and visiting scholars,
all of whom have been phenomenal: of the highest caliber,
hard-working, making the most of the opportunity provided them,
producing work, and interacting with the university community while
excelling at teaching.
The second surprise was that our attempt to create a sub-community in
Armenian studies was successful. It is not always that one can aim at
somewhat intangible results and then feel confident that you have
achieved them. In addition to our regular faculty, during the past
academic year we had eight graduate students in Armenian studies
(seven in PhD and one in MA programs); three post-doctoral fellows,
one visiting scholar, and two pre-doctoral students. This academic
year the number of graduate students has reached 10; we have two new
post-doctoral fellows, one visiting scholar and one junior
researcher. This means a significant number of senior or budding
scholars involved directly in Armenian studies on one campus. This
does not include the undergraduate students or colleagues in related
fields such as Professors Muge Gocek, Juan Cole, Gottfried Hagen,
Douglas Northrop and so many others with whom we work closely.
MP: How has ASP interacted with local communities, both Armenian and
academic, over the last year?
GL: We have excellent and complementary relations with both. The
2009-2010 program included fourteen events that ranged from public
lectures to the theatrical performance of “Sojourn at Ararat.” This
past year we hosted two special events: “Historic Achievement or
Historic Blunder? The Armenia-Turkey Protocols,” panel discussion and
the colloquium, “Third Party Intervention in Armenian History and
Turkish/Armenian Relations.” With regard to the academic community, I
must say that in teaching history, culture, and politics, our courses
are more inclusive, comparative, and “connected,” as some would say.
MP: Describe the impact, short and long term, this year’s
post-doctoral and visiting fellows have had on ASP.
GL: This is an intriguing question, since we usually tend to think
about the impact programs have on scholars. These scholars have been
inspiring to us all and convinced me, at least, that when planned
well, these programs have benefits beyond assisting young
scholars. These programs have made possible collegiality, mutually
supportive scholarship, and fundamental respect that might have been
otherwise difficult to sustain. So the long term impact is that the
senior scholars will work harder to secure the future of this program.
MP: Has this Program has grown to become the largest in Armenian
studies outside of Armenia?
GL: That is the assessment by some. We probably have the most
comprehensive program: undergraduate and graduate students,
pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and visiting scholars; graduate and
undergraduate research and travel grants; lectures; workshops;
conferences; and special projects. Whether that makes us the largest
program outside of Armenia is probably a matter of judgment. But that
we have become an important center, there is no doubt. We still have a
lot of work to do, but I appreciate the vibrancy that has developed
here, which was built on hard work by professors Suny and Bardakjian
and continues with their cooperation as well as with the invaluable
contribution of Prof. Kathryn Babayan.
MP: You have just been reappointed director of ASP for another two
years. What would you like to achieve during the next two years?
GL: I would like to make sure that the program has a sound and
permanent financial basis. We have two endowed chairs, yes; but what
makes the program at the University of Michigan special is the
organized and diverse nature of extra-curricular activities, many of
which I mentioned above. These activities are crucial for the full
intellectual and professional development of the budding scholars we
are working with and their exposure to issues, colleagues, and events
that make up the Armenian world and the world in which Armenians
live. Above all, I would like to work on development of the programs
that deal with young scholars so they can compete not only in the
marketplace of positions but also in the field of ideas that matter
for the future.
MP: The 2010 ASP Newsletter carries an announcement for a search for
the position of the Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian
History. That is the Chair you currently hold. Does this mean you are
leaving the University of Michigan?
GL: Yes, I will be leaving the University of Michigan and formal
association with any institution. I will be “retiring.” When I first
started working at this institution, I had already decided that I
would stop working here in May 2012.
This University has been the most pleasant work environment for me, in
some ways the easiest. I have received full support from everyone in
the history department, the International Institute, and others
throughout the college. If I was to continue working within an
academic institution, there is no other place that I would want to
work.
Nonetheless, I have realized that each decade of my adult life has
been focused on a project. I had spent the 1960s working at odd jobs:
in a restaurant, then in a factory, to put myself through college; the
’70s I had spent in graduate school. The founding and directing of the
Zoryan Institute occupied most of the 1980s. The 1990s were filled
with my work in the government of Armenia. The first decade of this
century, teaching in this university, especially the Armenian Studies
Program, has been the center of my life.
I decided that I would like the rest for myself: to write, to read and
to listen to music.
But I also want to spend some time in Armenia. I would like to spend
time there, on a regular basis, to work with the youth. We have a
brilliant new generation. They soon will be responsible for the future
of that country. My generation did what it could, good or bad,
politically. Some are still there on the barricades, and they should
be there.
What I would like to do is share my knowledge with the young
generation in Armenia, and challenge it at the same time. I thought,
what is the best that I can give that also gives me the deepest
satisfaction? And that is what I came up with. I have been a teacher
since I was 18 and Armenia has been part of me from a much younger
age; I must have been 10 when my oldest brother Libo, in his infinite
wisdom, took me by my hand and we walked to the “Zhoghovrtayin dun,”
or People’s House, in Beirut and registered me as a member of the
Papgen Suni Union for the Juniors of the Dashnaktsutiune or ARF, in
1955. Much happened since then, all around; the focus never seems to
have changed though.
Reflecting on some of these issues, I have also come to the conclusion
that I have tended to leave an institution or project once I felt that
I have given it my best and that I could not give more. That is where
I feel my association with this great university and program has
reached: it has matured.
Regarding the position of the Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian
History and the directorship of the Armenian Studies Program, the Dean
of the College and Chair of the Department of History have appointed a
search committee, which I have been asked to chair. We have started
our search and I am confident the University community will find the
best candidate to continue and build on the tradition of excellence
that was established a few decades ago.
Armenian Studies Program
The University of Michigan’s Armenian Studies Program promotes the
study of Armenian history, culture, and society. A member of the
University of Michigan International Institute, the program organizes
educational opportunities for students, faculty and the community.
For more information, contact the Armenian Studies Program at (734)
763-0622 or visit
University of Michigan International Institute
The University of Michigan International Institute houses 18 centers
and programs focused on world regions and global themes. The institute
develops and supports international teaching, research, and public
affairs programs to promote global understanding across the campus and
to build connections with intellectuals and institutions
worldwide. For more information, visit
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From: A. Papazian
http://ii.umich.edu/asp
www.umich.edu/~iinet/asp/.
www.ii.umich.edu.