YEREVAN, Armenia — It is with immense sadness that the American University of Armenia (AUA) announces the passing of AUA trustee, benefactor, and longtime friend, Dr. William Frazer. With a decorated career in academia, Dr. Frazer served as senior vice president of the University of California (UC) system and professor of physics, UC Berkeley. He also chaired the External Advisory Panel for the UC-Caltech Thirty-Meter Telescope project, and was a member of the Boards of Governors of Los Alamos National Security, LLC, the contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, the contractor for Livermore.
As the founding chairman of the AUA Board of Trustees, Dr. Frazer’s involvement with AUA extends back to the founding of the University, when he led the task force to establish its affiliation with the UC. Throughout the past three decades, his support was monumental in helping advance the mission of the University, and in the process he built long standing friendships with fellow board members, including Edward Avedisian who, before his passing, named an endowed professorship at AUA in Dr. Frazer’s name.
“Throughout the past 30+ years, Bill has been an ardent and steadfast supporter of AUA. He has been such a passionate advocate for improving AUA’s academic status, regularly reminding the AUA Board of Trustees of its responsibility to emphasize a strong education of our students and increasing the research efforts of our faculty. He put together the initial process that allied AUA with the UC, and as our founding AUAC Board of Trustees chair, he was instrumental in helping the early survival and success of the University,” comments Dr. Lawrence Pitts, chairman of the AUA Board of Trustees.
Dr. William Frazer was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1933. He attended Carleton College before obtaining his M.A. in physics from UC Berkeley in 1956, and subsequently his Ph.D. in 1959. From 1960 to 1981, Dr. Frazer was a member of the UC San Diego Department of Physics, where he conducted research and published extensively on the theory of the elementary particles. He was also a fellow of the American Physical Society. From 1985 to 1991, Dr. Frazer served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the university research associates, which managed the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for the Department of Energy. In 1978 and 1979, he chaired the Academic Assembly and Council, the UC systemwide bodies by which the faculty exercised their shared governance responsibilities. From 1981 to 1991, he was provost of the University of California’s nine-campus system. In addition to academic planning for and admissions to the UC, his responsibilities included oversight of the scientific programs of the Los Alamos, Livermore, and Berkeley National Laboratories, managed by the UC for the Department of Energy. After leaving the provost’s position he was charged with organizing UC’s oversight structure, the President’s Council on the National Laboratories and its panels, and was the first chair of its Science and Technology Panel.
During Dr. Frazer’s term as senior vice president of UC, a gift of almost $200 million from the Keck Foundation was given to UC, in partnership with Caltech, providing the opportunity to design, build, and operate the twin 10-meter Keck telescopes atop Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. Frazer was the first chairman of the Board of Directors of the California Association for Research in Astronomy, the nonprofit corporation set up by UC and Caltech to build and operate the observatory. Each of these 10-meter telescopes is currently the largest and most powerful in the world.
In recalling his initial involvement with AUA, Dr. Frazer said, “When I was UC provost, three faculty members paid me a visit: Mihran Agbabian, Armen Der Kiureghian, and Stepan Karamardian. They wanted to help Armenia recover from the great [Spitak] earthquake that had just occurred. They proposed to found an American-style university, privately funded, but with UC participation to ensure the quality of education, an admissions process free of corruption, a dignified student culture, etc., and so I proposed and led a visit to Armenia by a UC delegation to decide whether that vision was possible.” After the task force visited Armenia in 1990, the Regents of the UC unanimously voted in favor of the affiliation, establishing Dr. Frazer as the first chair of the Board of Trustees. “I had the honor of presenting this resolution to the regents, and it was the only time I ever received a round of applause!” he exclaimed.
At AUA’s 26th Commencement ceremony, Dr. Frazer was awarded the Presidential Commendation award. When presenting the award, AUA co-founder, President Emeritus, and Trustee Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian recognized him as an individual who had made extraordinary contributions in advancing education and scholarship with special impact on Armenia. He remarked, “Dr. William R. Frazer has had a decisive role in the founding of AUA, and all of us, indeed the Republic of Armenia, are indebted to him for his leadership during the early years of establishing and developing the University.” Upon accepting the award, Dr. Frazer thanked Dr. Der Kiureghian and asked the graduating students “to remain involved with AUA, to remain part of the family, to become active alumni, because without your support, the University cannot achieve its full potential.”
In 2008, for the opening of the AUA Paramaz Avedisian Building (PAB), Dr. Frazer and his wife Jane also participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for a classroom they had named in the new building: Dr. William and Jane Frazer classroom.
In 2022, philanthropist and AUA Trustee Edward Avedisian announced the establishment of two endowed professorships, a magnanimous gift that enabled AUA’s ability to attract highly accomplished scholars and educators from across the world. Both of the professorships were named in honor of colleagues and fellow trustees Dr. Judson King and Dr. William Frazer, respectively. Commenting on the gift, Dr. Frazer said: “I feel deeply honored. Helping to found AUA is one of the two most satisfying accomplishments of my career, but more important is the value of the gift of these Endowed Named Professorships. These will be a great help to AUA’s recruitment of distinguished research scholars.”
Avedisian’s vision at the time was that the contribution would help spur research initiatives at the University: “Both the Dr. King and Dr. Frazer Endowed Professorships set the beginning of the final stage for AUA’s development in becoming a research university, attracting the best international professors and students to explore the future through research. Their continuing contributions to AUA are most appreciated, and we thank them as we look forward to a very bright and promising future with the establishment of the final phase of an academic university as AUA begins to offer doctoral programs.” This was also Dr. Frazer’s sentiment, who commented, “I trust that a determination to maintain and enhance quality remains foremost. And I hope that an elusive goal is finally achieved: establishing a culture of research.”
Indeed, three years later, and three decades in the making, AUA is making strides in research, with faculty, students, and alumni collaborating on and publishing their work in some of the most respectable scientific journals. In the words of AUA President Bruce Boghosian, “It has been an honor and a privilege for me to have had the opportunity to work with Bill Frazer during both my first and second terms as AUA president. His immense knowledge about academic administration and his experience acquired from decades of work at one of the foremost academic institutions in the world has been of immense benefit to AUA over the years. His vision has shaped the development of AUA in myriad ways, and his influence underlies our growth and our emphasis on research.”
AUA will forever be grateful to Dr. Frazer, and his important work will have a lasting impact for the University and the nation. Thank you, Dr. Frazer.
Dr. William Frazer is survived by his wife of 70 years, Jane; and his children, Bruce and Katherine. Donations in his name may be made to the American University of Armenia at this link.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values. AUA’s Office of Development stewards the University’s philanthropic efforts exclusively for educational purposes.
