ACLS Remembers Vartan Gregorian

To Our Members, Fellows, and Friends,

It is with deep sorrow that we note the passing of Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He was a longtime supporter of ACLS and a tireless advocate for peace and understanding around the world.

Gregorian’s service as president of the Carnegie Corporation since 1997 was the culmination of an impressive career as a celebrated scholar of Middle and Near Eastern histories and cultures, as well as a teacher and a renowned higher education administrator. After earning a dual PhD in history and humanities from Stanford in 1964, he taught at a variety of universities and went on to serve as provost at the University of Pennsylvania and president of Brown University. He also served as president of the New York Public Library. In every role, he sought to improve access to education for students at all levels in the United States and abroad.

His vision as president of the Carnegie Corporation reflected a lifetime drive to support the humanities,  notably by funding individual research and writing. Soon after taking the helm, he initiated a series of multimillion-dollar partnerships with ACLS to support humanities scholars in the former Soviet Union and in Africa. More than one thousand grant recipients have received research funding through Carnegie/ACLS initiatives. The communities of scholars catalyzed by these fellowships, augmented by the expert peer reviewers who evaluated applications, continue Gregorian’s legacy today.

All of us at ACLS, along with the thousands empowered by his vision of supporting the humanities, join together to mark his passing in sorrow, in gratitude, and with renewed energy.

Our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues all over the world.

Joy Connolly
President