Advancement
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06/spring/armenia/index.html
Spring 2006
Lessons in Modern Armenia
BU Alumnus’s Bequest Will Fund New Courses
He may have had a Ph.D. in English from Boston University, and have taught
English for some fifty years, but Charles Kenosian’s early days as a scholar
weren’t promising: he failed kindergarten. That really wasn’t his fault –
when he started school, he spoke only Armenian. After being held back, and
clearly learning a second language very quickly, he got a double promotion.
“He was a smart guy,” says his sister, Elisabeth Kenosian.
Kenosian had an abiding interest in his heritage, and it bothered him that
many Americans knew so little about Armenia’s history and heritage.
Kenosian, who died in January 2005, was upset that many of his students and
even some professors at Salem (Massachusetts) State College were so ignorant
about the country. “He heard an awful lot of students who thought Armenians
are Muslims,” Elisabeth reports, especially ironic because Armenia was the
first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, in the year 301,
and has been the bastion of Christianity in that region for over 1700 years.
Kenosian’s desire that Americans – especially young people – gain a greater
understanding of Armenia will be taking the form of new courses in modern
Armenian history and literature at the College and Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences, thanks to a generous bequest from Kenosian through the Charles
and Elisabeth Kenosian Endowment Fund. Armenia’s ancient history is the
subject of programs at other universities, but the new courses are intended
to focus on events since the 1800s, when Armenia was part of the Ottoman
empire, through to its current status as a republic.
“Among the special relationships that the deanship opened for me was to have
known Charles Kenosian, a dedicated teacher and man of dignity and
distinction,” says Jeffrey Henderson, dean of Arts and Sciences. “He was a
regular supporter of arts and sciences at BU, and his generous bequest will
make a special addition to the College and Graduate School’s course
offerings directed toward an important culture in an increasingly important
part of the world.”
Kenosian wanted his legacy to “go to an academic source,” says Elisabeth,
“and BU was where his close ties were, and where he began his teaching
career.”
—
Taylor McNeil
Editor
Bostonia
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