Peter Guekguezian: Armenian Jeopardy! Champion and Champion of Languages

 Shamiram Barooshian

“On June 17, 1929, this airline’s first passenger flight left Dallas, making stops at Shreveport, Monroe, and Jackson. Thirty seconds, good luck,” says Jeopardy! host, Alex Trebek. Then the music starts: that ubiquitous tune signaling impatience, waiting and mounting pressure.

Peter Guekguezian is one of the contestants on the June 19^th broadcast of the popular game show. Guekguezian is a linguist from Fresno, Calif., and a defending Jeopardy! champion, having won $18,401 on the previous show. This time, he is up against a history instructor from Tucson, Ariz. and a writer from Brooklyn, N.Y., whose score going into Final Jeopardy! is almost double.

Guekguezian feels the pressure and writes, “Southwest.”

William Saroyan Street Named in Bitlis

The Bitlis town council has approved the renaming of five streets in this historic town in south-eastern Turkey. Among the names is “William Saroyan Street,” after the great American-Armenian writer whose ancestors came from Bitlis before 1915. Saroyan was born in Fresno but felt strong ties to his ancestral home. He visited Bitlis in 1964 and 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of that visit.

A Brief History of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State 1960-2012

Barlow Der Mugrdechian

 

Armenian Studies courses have been taught at Fresno State for more than fifty years. Dr. Richard Hovannisian taught Armenian Studies courses through the extension program, 1960-1962. Dr. Louise Nalbandian of the History Department began teaching Armenian history at Fresno State in 1967, soon developing a broader program, including language and culture classes. Serpouhie Messerlian taught Armenian language courses beginning in 1970 and Dr. Arra Avakian taught a variety of Armenian culture and history courses from 1970-1973.