| Mary Papazian | |
| Office: | 30th President of San Jose State University |
| Term Start: | July 1, 2016 |
| Term End: | December 21, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Susan Martin |
| Successor: | Stephen Perez |
| Office2: | 11th President of Southern Connecticut State University |
| Term Start2: | February 1, 2012 |
| Term End2: | June 30, 2016 |
| Predecessor2: | Stanley Battle |
| Successor2: | Joe Bertolino |
| Birth Name: | Mary Ellen Arshagouni |
| Birth Date: | 25 February 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Education: | Ph.D in English literature |
| Alma Mater: | University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA, PhD) |
| Children: | 2 |
Mary Arshagouni Papazian (born Mary Ellen Arshagouni; February 25, 1959) is the former president of San Jose State University.[1] She has had over 25 years of prior experience in academia,[2] having been the past president of Southern Connecticut State University and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lehman College. She resigned from her post in 2021.[3]
Papazian was born Mary Ellen Arshagouni to a family of Armenian descent in Santa Monica, California on February 25, 1959.[4]
Papazian started out as an assistant, associate and tenured professor of English at Oakland University.[7] After her teaching career, she continued her work in education. From 1999 to 2004, she was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University in Michigan and was also executive director of the department of music, theater, and dance at Oakland from 2003 to 2004. She then served as dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University in New Jersey from 2004 to 2007. Papazian was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Lehman College, City University of New York from 2007 to 2011.[7]
From February 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016, Papazian was president of Southern Connecticut State University.[8]
On January 27, 2016, the California State University Board of Trustees named Papazian the 30thWeb site: 2016 Fall Welcome Address. Papazian, Mary A.. San Jose State University. August 25, 2016. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20170208033300/http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/FALL_WELCOME_ADDRESS_2016_FINAL.pdf. February 8, 2017. dead. president of San Jose State University, beginning July 1.[10]
On October 7, 2021, Papazian announced that she would resign as the president of San José State University at the end of the 2021 fall semester.[11] The resignation came after the U.S. Department of Justice investigated San Jose State for a sex abuse scandal where the school failed for more than a decade to adequately respond to reports of sexual abuse by its former director of sports medicine.[12] [13]
Papazian's dissertation at UCLA was titled John Donne's "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions": A Puritan Reading.Ph.D.. John Donne's 'Devotions upon emergent occasions': A Puritan reading. Mary Ellen. Arshagouni. University of California, Los Angeles. 1988. She has edited two books, John Donne and the Protestant Reformation[14] and Sacred and Profane in English Renaissance Literature[15] as well as numerous articles on Donne.
She married Dennis Papazian in 1991; they have two daughters.[4] Dennis Papazian died on March 16, 2023.[16]
Papazian has a B.A. (1981), M.A. (1983), and Ph.D. (1988) in English literature from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[4]