BAL FAMILY SETS UP $100,000 PHD SCHOLARSHIP FUND AT ZORYAN INSTITUTE

TORONTO, CANADA - A new scholarship fund has been established at the Zoryan Institute by the Bal family for PhD students preparing their thesis on the Armenian Genocide or comparative genocide with a focus on the Armenian Genocide. 

The creation of this fund was the initiative of Mr. and Mrs. Dikran and Sonia Bal of Montreal, who made it possible by their generous donation of $100,000 as a seeding fund for this purpose.

The Bals have been regular supporters of the Zoryan Institute. In just the last two years, in addition to this new scholarship fund, they have contributed $200,000 for scholarly research and publication in general, and the Genocide and Human Rights University Program in particular.

The scholarships will be awarded to a total of four candidates each year, and are renewable, pending an annual review. Applicants must have completed an MA in one of the social sciences, such as history, international law, political science, psychology, or sociology and be enrolled full-time in an accredited PhD program. Knowledge of the Armenian and Ottoman Turkish languages will be considered an asset for applicants. The amount awarded will vary according to the individual needs of each research project.

In explaining why they chose to create such a fund, Mr. Dikran Bal commented that “It is important for people like us, who are not specialists but care about this field of study, to support those who can make a scholarly contribution. The fruits of their research go directly towards helping us understand the Genocide and its impact on our history, the formation of modern Armenian society, and on our identity.” He continued by appealing to others to help. “We hope that the community will join us in supporting this initiative and build up this scholarship fund to attract new scholars. With a knowledge of our recent history, we will never be able to understand our present and accordingly plan for our future, as a nation.”

He concluded his remarks by stating, “It is clear that the Armenian community wants to see its genocide studied, documented, analyzed and written about, and to see it achieve full recognition along with other cases of genocide, universally. There are currently very few young scholars taking up this challenge. Therefore, I urge the community to actively support the institute and help Zoryan motivate young scholars to pursue work in this field at the highest academic level.”

Mrs. Sonia Bal, joining her husband, expressed her thoughts on this initiative, by stating, “I hope that this scholarship fund will be a catalyst for drawing young scholars to pursue their academic dreams in this field. I feel that the Zoryan Institute is the right organization to administer such a fund, as it has a proven record of over twenty years of original scholarship and a reputation for academic integrity, directed by board members who are world renowned scholars, such as Prof. Vahakn Dadrian, Dr. Roger Smith, and Dr. Yair Auron, to name only a few.”

“We are deeply moved by the kind of support that the Bals’ donation signifies,” remarked K.M. (Greg) Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute. “This kind of support is essential for the institute to carry out its mission and to help pursue the study of the Armenian Genocide as part of the worldwide phenomenon of genocide. Moreover, it is inspiring to find people like the Bals, who appreciate how much time and effort goes into developing such an institute, and particularly into preparing scholars in this field. It is my fervent hope that through the growth of this scholarship fund, we will enable students to pursue the study of the Armenian Genocide and make this subject part of their professional careers.”

Professor Vahakn Dadrian, Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute, explained, “It is exciting to see people like the Bals get involved actively and personally in the support of genocide studies. Such involvement can only serve to reinforce Zoryan’s motivation to persist and at the same time renew its commitment to this much neglected domain of scholarship. Moreover, students need extra encouragement to pursue the study of the Armenian Genocide, because it is a difficult and often painful subject to deal with. Apart from that, it demands knowledge of many languages, and the sources of information are scattered around the world and hard to find,” he remarked. “The establishment of such a fund will definitely facilitate the recruitment of interested and qualified candidates.”

Roger Smith, Chairman of the Academic Board and Director of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program (GHRUP), noted, “This scholarship fund created by the Bals serves as a perfect complement to the GHRUP, which is designed to provide students with a strong introduction to genocide studies on campuses in the US, Canada and Europe. The confidence in the institute demonstrated by the Bals with this most thoughtful and strategic idea is both humbling and gratifying.”