WATERTOWN, MA – The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region will be honoring Professor Richard Hovannisian with the prestigious Vahan Cardashian Award at the 6th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Banquet on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, New Jersey.

The banquet will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and silent auction at 6:30 pm, followed by dinner and awards ceremony at 8:00 pm.

“We are proud to honor Richard Hovannisian with the Cardashian Award for his many accomplishments, including his outstanding research and development of Armenian Studies in higher education,” said ANCA Eastern Region Executive Director Michelle Hagopian.

Hundreds of Armenian Americans throughout the Eastern Region of the U.S. will once again gather to celebrate the achievements of the ANCA Eastern Region and to honor those who have advanced the Armenian cause. This year, the ANCA Eastern Region will present the Cardashian Award to Richard Hovannisian for his dedicated academic career to Armenian Studies.

Dr. Hovannisian is a professor of Armenian and Near Eastern Studies at UCLA. Born and raised in Tulare, California, Hovannisian received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California-Berkeley, and he obtained his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1966. In 1987, Hovannisian was appointed the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA.

He is a Guggenheim Fellow who has received many honors for his scholarship, civic activities, and advancement of Armenian Studies. Hovannisian is the author of numerous books, including Armenia on the Road to Independence and The Armenian Holocaust. He has edited and contributed to at least a dozen other works, and has published more than 50 scholarly articles.

Hovanissian serves on the board of directors of nine scholarly and civic organizations, including the Facing History and Ourselves Foundation, the International Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, International Alert, the Foundation for Research on Armenian Architecture, and the Armenian National Institute. He also received the UCLA Alumni Association’s 2010-2011 “Most Inspiring Teacher” award.

In the past, the ANCA Cardashian Award has been presented to notable Armenian-Americans, such as ANCA activist Stephen Dulgarian, Director of the Project Save Armenian Photograph Archives Ruth Thomasian, and New England community leader Tatul Sonentz-Papazian.

The Vahan Cardashian Award is given annually to an ANCA supporter who demonstrates longstanding dedication and active involvement in the Armenian-American community and its issues. The award is named for Yale-educated lawyer Vahan Cardashian who set aside his successful New York practice to dedicate himself to the establishment of the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), predecessor organization to the Armenian National Committee, and to advocate for the plight of the Armenian nation.

For more information about the banquet, please contact Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425 or visit the website www.anca.org/erbanquet.

The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that supports the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian American communities.