Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, was elected a member of the Armenian Philosophical Academy to honor his work as an influential intellectual.
In nominating Gregorian for membership in the academy at its September 18th meeting, its president, Georg Brutian described Gregorian as "a man of great intellect whose interests go beyond philosophy, history and many fields of science." Brutian reminded members of Gregorian’s “brilliant speech, on the meeting of Armenia-Diaspora in Yerevan in 2002." Brutian also cited some of Gregorian’s career accomplishments while he served as provost and founding dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, president of the New York Public Library, president of Brown University and, currently, as president of Carnegie Corporation.
The Armenian Philosophical Academy, which was founded in 1987, works to “enhance the development of the philosophical mind” and to promote collaboration among scholars and educational institutions. Members of the academy include 25 scholars from Armenia and 27 from other countries. Gergorian joins three other American members of the academy: Noam Chomsky, Donald Davidson and Haig Khatchadourian.
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $1.7 billion on September 30, 2001. The Corporation awards grants totaling approximately $75 million a year in the areas of education, international peace and security, international development and strengthening U.S. democracy.