July 11, 2023: It is with great sadness that Zoryan Institute shares the news of Dr. Richard Hovannisian’s passing on July 10, 2023, in Los Angeles, at the age of 90.

Dr. Hovannisian is regarded as a pioneer of Armenian Studies and dedicated his long life to academia. Among some of his notable contributions to the field of study include his extensive writing in The Republic of Armenia book series and his work with oral history collections.

Dr. Hovannisian, a longtime friend and colleague to the Zoryan Institute, has made invaluable contributions as a former Zoryan Institute Board Member and was crucial in guiding the Institute’s work broadly as well as more specifically on the Armenian Genocide. As the very first holder of the UCLA Chair in Modern Armenian History in 1987, he helped to prepare the next generation of Armenian Genocide and Armenian History scholars, a few of whom are currently serving on the Zoryan Institute’s Academic Board of Directors today. The UCLA Chair was renamed in Dr. Hovannisian’s honor upon his retirement in 2011, in recognition of his fifty years of teaching and scholarship at UCLA, to the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History.

The Zoryan Institute and the field of Genocide Studies wouldn’t be the same today without his invaluable work and dedication to preparing the next generation to follow in his footsteps. The Zoryan Institute Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers wish to express our deepest sympathies to Dr. Hovannisian’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.