ARMENIANS of COLORADO
Tax I.D. #L98-09585
P.O. Box 13854
Denver, Colorado 80201
Contact: Betty Ohannessian, President
E-mail: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
April 2, 2009
ARMENIANS OF COLORADO HOST AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA GUESTS
The Armenians of Colorado (AOC) welcomed Mr. Ronald Altoon and Mr.
Edward Avedisian to Louisville, Colorado on March 24, 2009 with a
festive reception and a full table of delicious Armenian delicacies
prepared by the AOC board members. The group gathered at the lovely
home of Betty and John Ohannessian to hear Mr. Altoon describe his
experiences in designing a state-of-the-art educational building for the
American University of Armenia (AUA).
Dr. Kenell Touryan, an AOC member and AUA’s Vice President for Research
and Development, welcomed the 35 guests, including Mr. Bruce Janigian,
AUA’s Vice President for Development and Government Relations, and Mr.
Dan Maljanian, AUA’s Director of Development. AUA’s founding Chairman
of the Board of Trustees and former University of California official
Dr. William Frazer is an Aspen, Colorado resident and had hoped to
attend, but weather prevented him from traveling.
Mr. Altoon, founding design partner of Altoon + Porter Architects in Los
Angeles, presented slides of the $16 million Paramaz Avedisian Building
project and described the numerous challenges he faced in bringing new
building techniques and environmentally sensitive solutions to the
country of Armenia. The 100,000 square foot building, which doubles the
size of the AUA campus in Yerevan, Armenia, added a new lecture hall,
classrooms, laboratories, research centers, faculty offices, conference
rooms, a café, and an art gallery. The project was established with a
lead gift from the family of Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian.
Altoon, of Los Angeles, California and Avedisian, of Lexington,
Massachusetts, were in town to make a presentation to the Society for
College and University Planning (SCUP) conference in Boulder on March
25. Quoting William Saroyan, Mr. Altoon remarked that AOC had indeed
created a "New Armenia" by joining together in the state of Colorado and
providing Armenians with the opportunity to gather and enjoy fellowship.
He also invited the Armenians of Colorado to join AUA in its efforts to
support the future of Armenia by ensuring the availability of quality
graduate education. Mrs. Mara Gevorgian, an AOC member and a graduate
of AUA’s business school, who now works for Standard & Poors, closed the
program by telling of the impact her MBA has had on her career and the
fond memories she has of her time at AUA.
Armenians of Colorado, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit cultural
organization established in June of 1980. Its purpose is to create a
cohesive Armenian community and to further the understanding of Armenian
history, culture, language, customs, and heritage. AOC actively supports
issues and concerns of the Armenian-American community in Colorado as
well as those identified within the Armenian Diaspora communities
throughout the world.
The group facilitates Armenian scholars and artists to share their work
with the Colorado community. AOC also works with the Denver Starz Encore
Film Festival, the Denver Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Colorado in
supporting Armenian talent from many parts of the world. It is through
programs such as these that AOC provides inspiring events and enhances
cultural diversity within the Colorado community.
In addition to offering stimulating cultural and educational programs,
AOC is working toward establishing an Armenian Cultural Center. AOC
recently purchased a property in the Denver area and hopes to raise
sufficient funds to build the center in the near future. For additional
information about AOC, please visit For
additional information about AUA, please visit