SJSU President Dr. Mary A. Papazian Mentions AUA in Inauguration Speech

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SAN JOSE, California – On May 4, Dr. Mary A. Papazian was formally inaugurated as the 30th President of San Jose State University. Previously, she served as President of Southern Connecticut State University from 2011 to 2016. Throughout the investiture ceremony, colleagues and community leaders alike emphasized her distinguished career and commitment to social justice and equitable access to higher education. 

Association of American Colleges and Universities President Lynn Pasquerella lauded Papazian’s commitment to education by underlining the many ways in which Dr. Papazian has leveraged her own education constantly giving back to the communities she served.

Later, in her own inaugural address, Dr. Papazian noted that, “Just a few weeks ago I visited the American University of Armenia, where I was invited to speak at a conference on the empowerment of  Armenian girls and women. There, as here, women confront many barriers to equity, they are paid less from men for the same work, they are underrepresented in many professions and in leadership positions. My advice to participants at last month’s conference was to lean into and not away from the issue of gender equity. No major challenge is surmounted through ignorance or neglect. And I encouraged the attendees to take inspiration from others’ efforts to ensure that women enjoyed the same opportunities as men.” Throughout her remarks, Dr. Papazian cited the importance of her background as an Armenian-American.

The video of the complete inaugural ceremony is available here.

More media coverage:

http://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2017/mary-a-papazian-inaugurated-as-sjsus-30th-president/