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ANI AND MARK GABRELLIAN ENDOW PROFESSORSHIP AND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANT
University of Rochester Newsroom
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=4028
March 20 2012
Ani and Mark Gabrellian have established a multidisciplinary
professorship to better understand the most vital political and
economic issues of our era. The Gabrellians also have permanently
endowed an innovation grant for outstanding incoming undergraduates.
The Gabrellians have pledged $1.5 million for the professorship and
an additional $60,000 to endow the annual Mesrob Mashtots Innovation
Grant, which was created by the Gabrellians in 2010.
"I am deeply grateful to Ani and Mark Gabrellian for their commitment
to our faculty and students," says University President Joel Seligman.
"The breadth of their experience in both the private and public
sectors has given them an acute appreciation for scholarship. Their
commitment to the next generation is exemplary."
The Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professorship may combine the fields of
business, political science, international relations, history, or
other University disciplines, and will be focused on the political,
economic, global and historic problems of our time.
"We believe the challenges facing society now and in the future will
increasingly require analytical and problem solving approaches that
transcend individual disciplines," says Ani Gabrellian. "Moreover,
we recognize that there is increasing interest among academics and
prospective students in multidisciplinary scholarship and teaching."
Even as University of Rochester undergraduates, the Gabrellians
were drawn to multiple disciplines. Mark Gabrellian majored in both
political science and history, graduating in 1979. Five years later,
Ani Gabrellian, then Ani Nazerian, received her bachelor's degree,
also as a double major, in political science and economics.
After completing professional degrees, his in law from the University
of California at Davis and hers in business administration from George
Washington University in Washington, D.C., the two worked, and met,
in the nation's capital. Mark was first in private practice and
then represented the federal government as a litigator and work-out
specialist in connection with the savings and loan crisis, while Ani
became a commercial and investment banker and a financial analyst
with the Office of Thrift Supervision. Today, they work together in
their New Jersey based real estate development and management company,
Gabrellian Associates.
Through these experiences, says Ani Gabrellian, they frequently
witnessed a disconnect between government officials and the private
sector arising from each side's misunderstanding or lack of knowledge
of how the other must function. "We saw how important it is for people
in government and business to come up with a more efficient way to
work together," she says. The Gabrellian Professorship, they hope,
will help to bridge this divide.
"We believe in the concept of endowment," adds Mark Gabrellian. "The
beauty of an endowment is that it lasts in perpetuity and will grow
over time. This is a gift based on a belief in the future."
By endowing the Mesrob Mashtots Innovation Grant, the Gabrellians
also are ensuring that this award will remain a permanent part of the
portable research grants program administered by the University's
Admissions Office. The grant is named after the Armenian scholar,
Mesrob Mashtots, who invented the Armenian alphabet and authored
numerous Armenian hymns and prayers. The award has been given each
year to three promising high-school seniors planning to enroll at
Rochester. It can be used to fund a summer internship, research job,
service-learning project, or other educational experience during the
recipient's undergraduate years.
Both pledges support The Meliora Challenge: The Campaign for the
University of Rochester, a University-wide fundraising campaign
that was launched in October 2011 and runs through June 30, 2016
(campaign.rochester.edu).
Contact: Susan Hagen [email protected] 585.276.4061 (office);
585.576.5945 (cell)
University of Rochester Newsroom
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=4028
March 20 2012
Ani and Mark Gabrellian have established a multidisciplinary
professorship to better understand the most vital political and
economic issues of our era. The Gabrellians also have permanently
endowed an innovation grant for outstanding incoming undergraduates.
The Gabrellians have pledged $1.5 million for the professorship and
an additional $60,000 to endow the annual Mesrob Mashtots Innovation
Grant, which was created by the Gabrellians in 2010.
"I am deeply grateful to Ani and Mark Gabrellian for their commitment
to our faculty and students," says University President Joel Seligman.
"The breadth of their experience in both the private and public
sectors has given them an acute appreciation for scholarship. Their
commitment to the next generation is exemplary."
The Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professorship may combine the fields of
business, political science, international relations, history, or
other University disciplines, and will be focused on the political,
economic, global and historic problems of our time.
"We believe the challenges facing society now and in the future will
increasingly require analytical and problem solving approaches that
transcend individual disciplines," says Ani Gabrellian. "Moreover,
we recognize that there is increasing interest among academics and
prospective students in multidisciplinary scholarship and teaching."
Even as University of Rochester undergraduates, the Gabrellians
were drawn to multiple disciplines. Mark Gabrellian majored in both
political science and history, graduating in 1979. Five years later,
Ani Gabrellian, then Ani Nazerian, received her bachelor's degree,
also as a double major, in political science and economics.
After completing professional degrees, his in law from the University
of California at Davis and hers in business administration from George
Washington University in Washington, D.C., the two worked, and met,
in the nation's capital. Mark was first in private practice and
then represented the federal government as a litigator and work-out
specialist in connection with the savings and loan crisis, while Ani
became a commercial and investment banker and a financial analyst
with the Office of Thrift Supervision. Today, they work together in
their New Jersey based real estate development and management company,
Gabrellian Associates.
Through these experiences, says Ani Gabrellian, they frequently
witnessed a disconnect between government officials and the private
sector arising from each side's misunderstanding or lack of knowledge
of how the other must function. "We saw how important it is for people
in government and business to come up with a more efficient way to
work together," she says. The Gabrellian Professorship, they hope,
will help to bridge this divide.
"We believe in the concept of endowment," adds Mark Gabrellian. "The
beauty of an endowment is that it lasts in perpetuity and will grow
over time. This is a gift based on a belief in the future."
By endowing the Mesrob Mashtots Innovation Grant, the Gabrellians
also are ensuring that this award will remain a permanent part of the
portable research grants program administered by the University's
Admissions Office. The grant is named after the Armenian scholar,
Mesrob Mashtots, who invented the Armenian alphabet and authored
numerous Armenian hymns and prayers. The award has been given each
year to three promising high-school seniors planning to enroll at
Rochester. It can be used to fund a summer internship, research job,
service-learning project, or other educational experience during the
recipient's undergraduate years.
Both pledges support The Meliora Challenge: The Campaign for the
University of Rochester, a University-wide fundraising campaign
that was launched in October 2011 and runs through June 30, 2016
(campaign.rochester.edu).
Contact: Susan Hagen [email protected] 585.276.4061 (office);
585.576.5945 (cell)