Topic: Vartan Gregorian, longtime president of Carnegie Corp., dies
Vartan Gregorian, the noted scholar and philanthropic leader who led the Carnegie Corporation of New York since 1997, died Thursday after being hospitalized for stomach pain. He was 87.
“The Corporation has lost a devoted and tireless leader - an extraordinary champion of education, immigration, and international peace สล็อตxo and security, and steward of Andrew Carnegie's legacy,” the philanthropic group wrote in a statement on its website Friday. “We, his colleagues, have lost a mentor, an inspiration, and, for so many, a very dear friend.”
Born to Armenian parents in Tabriz, Iran, Gregorian arrived in the United States in 1956 to study history and the humanities at Stanford University, even though he had only a limited grasp of English.
His quest to understand the relationship between the individual and society at large began there, a pursuit that continued as he led The New York Public Library, Brown University and the Carnegie Corporation. In 2004, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award.
“I know it's a cliché to say 'only in America,' but in my case, that is the truth,” Gregorian said in his commencement address at Stanford in 2006. “I'm still convinced that while America is not perfect, it. is still perfectible. "
Author of “The Road to Home: My Life and Times; Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith ”and“ The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan, 1880-1946, ”Gregorian was hailed around the world as a historian and a philanthropist. He received awards from the French, Italian, Austrian, and Portuguese governments, as well as numerous honorary degrees, including from Brown, Dartmouth, the Juilliard School, the University of Aberdeen and the University of St.Andrews.