Vartan Gregorian, a humble Iranian Armenian immigrant to the United States who rose to become a leading figure in American academia and philanthropy, died April 15 in a hospital in New York City at the age of 87. From 1997 until his death, he was president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a major foundation that supports education, democracy and international peace.
Gregorian steered the foundation to provide significant support for development of the social sciences in the Middle East. He was also active in countering Islamophobia and the idea of a “clash of civilizations” that would supposedly pit the West against the Muslim world—notions that took on greater popularity after Al Qaeda’s 2001 terror attacks in the United States.