On October 2, 2012, Armenologist Dora Sakayan, Professor of German Studies at McGill University, Canada, was awarded a YSU Honorary Doctorate Degree in the Session Hall of the Academic Council of Yerevan State University (YSU). In his opening speech, YSU Rector Aram Simonyan thanked Dora Sakayan for the outstanding work she has accomplished in the Diaspora, and wished her many more years of continued creativity in the field
of Armenology.
“It is very important that contemporaries acknowledge a person’s merits, and this is essential not only for that person, but also for family, friends and colleagues. Dora Sakayan is one of the few great Armenologists in the Diaspora, if not the greatest. She has made significant contributions to the development of Armenology. YSU is proud to have such a Doctor,” said Aram Simonyan.
Dora Sakayan’s former colleagues and students, who have known her since her years (1965-1974) as the Chairperson of the Foreign Languages Department at YSU, took the floor to congratulate her. They all affirmed that, despite her physical absence since 1975, her contact with her alma mater has remained strong. Moreover, she has been visiting Armenia every year since 1996, and never empty-handed. The speakers gave high praise to Professor Sakayan’s twin textbooks on the Armenian language (Eastern and Western Armenian) for the English-speaking World, as well as her contributions to the history of the Armenian Genocide.
Dora Sakayan thanked Rector Aram Simonyan for the great honor bestowed upon her. She then spoke about the difficult path she had to take to establish herself as a respected scholar in Canada, and to switch to Armenology while holding a position as Professor in the Department of German Studies at McGill University. Sakayan went on to thank McGill University for encouraging her contributions to Armenology in Canada, acknowledging it as a “pioneer work.” In concluding her speech, Sakayan assured the audience that she will continue to work with the same dedication for as long as she lives.
See more: http://dorasakayan.org/
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