Vartan Gregorian - Remembering a Wise and Great Leader

Stephen Robert, founder of the Source of Hope Foundation for international assistance and chancellor emeritus of Brown University, was honored by the school in 2019 with its dedication of Stephen Robert Hall. The space adds 25,000 square feet to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. During his tenure as chancellor, Stephen Robert worked closely with university president Vartan Gregorian, who served from 1989 to 1997 and passed away at age 87 in April 2021.

Gregorian’s work as a scholar, humanitarian, and advocate for intellectual freedom was legendary, as was his leadership of Brown, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the New York Public Library.

In his last convocation address in 1997, Gregorian emphasized the need to champion diversity, access, and equity in American colleges and universities. “Brown must be a microcosm of America,” he said, rather than an elite institution available only to those with financial means. His own experiences growing up as a disadvantaged immigrant to the United States from Armenia influenced this commitment to democratizing education through providing a robust liberal arts curriculum to students from all backgrounds. Gregorian rose to the pinnacles of scholarly achievement in history and the humanities and spoke seven languages.

“A wise man and a great leader” is how Stephen Robert described Gregorian, who was also an eloquent advocate for international peace through his presidency of the Carnegie Corporation. Gregorian’s New York Times obituary called him “the savior of the New York Public Library,” based on his almost single-handed rebuilding of the library’s finances, prestige, and staff morale in the 1980s.