Fund for Armenian Relief
Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: press@farusa.org
web:
blog: farusa.wordpress.com
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Honoring the Strength and Vision Behind One of FAR’s Most Influential
Programs On September 23 some of the most prominent members of the
Armenian-American community gathered in New York City to recognize and
celebrate the impact of the Armenian National Science and Education
Fund (ANSEF), a program that is changing the face and the future of
Armenia by giving opportunity to its most valuable resource – its
people. The evening also honored Armen Avanessians, an
Armenian-American of outstanding caliber whose vision and dedication
have helped this program to thrive.
ANSEF, which is run through the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), helps
the Armenian intellectual community to grow in the area of science and
the humanities by awarding scientists and engineers with yearlong
research grants. The grants not only allow these scientists to stay in
their own country to pursue research, but they also allow them to be
at the cutting edge of their field and inspire their countrymen.
For Mr. Avanessians, ANSEF is not only helping these individuals
achieve their career goals, it is the key to the success of a
nation. ANSEF provides a way for scientists and scholars to flourish,
and as a result their findings will guide their nation toward greater
prosperity and success.
Mr. Avanessians is a truly notable Armenian-American in his own
right. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University
educated engineer, he is now a partner at Goldman Sachs. His generous
personal donations have been the backbone of the ANSEF program. In
2008, he fully funded the ANSEF program and his most recent donation
of $100,000 enabled FAR to award 25 grants in 2009. Because of his
generosity the grants were renamed the "2009 Armen Avanessians ANSEF
Awards."
Mr. Avanessians worked as a technical staff member at Bell
Laboratories for a short time after graduating from Columbia with his
master’s degree in 1983. He then joined Goldman Sachs as a foreign
exchange strategist, later became vice president, then a partner in
1994. Now, he is director of the firm’s Fixed Income, Currency and
Commodities Strategies, Equity Strategies, Investment Banking and
Finance Group Strategies, and GSAM Strategies.
Throughout his career, he has always remained committed to
education. He is a trustee of Columbia University and he sits on the
Engineering Councils of Columbia and MIT.
When Mr. Avanessians first learned about ANSEF, he knew such an effort
would fit perfectly with his commitment to this cause.
"Education is the key to the future. It is young people, the junior
scientists who serve on these research groups funded by ANSEF, who
will make tomorrow’s vital discoveries," he said.
Mr. Avanessians has always believed strongly that with opportunity for
education, Armenians will not only be able to improve their own lives,
but also their nation.
The discoveries they make through their own opportunities also enrich
an entire community through learning and knowledge. Continuing to
strengthen those opportunities through ANSEF is something
Mr. Avanessians and others believe is the duty of Armenians around the
world.
Cornell University Astrophysicist Yervant Terzian, who spearheads the
selection of grantees, paid tribute to Mr. Avanessians during the
celebration. He also said ANSEF is a key to giving Armenia a brighter
future.
"There is nothing more important for our happy future than
education. A peaceful, prosperous, and safe future depends on an
educated public and an educated workforce, and today a very major part
of this education has to do with science and technology," he said.
Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York
and one of ANSEF founders, pointed out the importance of education in
his speech. "An investment in education is requisite to secure
Armenia’s place in the global economy," Mr.
Gregorian said.
Just over 200 grants have been awarded since ANSEF’s inception in
2001. Awardees are selected through a blind, peer-reviewed process
that bucks the former Soviet system when people were rewarded based
on their connections. Through the yearlong grants, recipients are
allowed to pursue the research project of their choice. The broad
range of research topics includes investigations of solar energy,
biochemistry, the control of tuberculosis and breast cancer, and the
historical monuments of Northern Artsakh.
For Mr. Avanessians ANSEF is an investment, one in which every gift
from donors will impact and bring about a prosperous return that
future generations of Armenians will reap the benefit of. He believes
in this program because it doesn’t offer a handout. Instead, ANSEF
gives Armenians the tools they need to tackle new problems and
challenges to push their country forward, maintain a place on the
international stage, and succeed. Support from the international
community – no matter how small – enables this to happen.
"Armenia still needs the support of the Diaspora. They need our
encouragement and to know that people out here care about their
future," Mr. Avanessians said. "They can build up their country
themselves. They have the brainpower and the knowledge.
They just need a slight boost to compete in this challenging global
economy."
# # #
About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and
development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more
than $265 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide
range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education,
medical aid, and economic development.
For more information on FAR or to send donations, contact us at 630
Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212) 889-5150; fax (212)
889-4849; e-mail press@farusa.org
[mailto:press@farusa.org].
Fund for Armenian Relief | 630 Second Avenue | New York | NY | 10016