Hratch Zadoian Papers

Hratch Zadoian was born in 1937 in Ploiesti, Romania, to Armenian parents who were survivors of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey during World War I. His early experiences included the heavy bombing of Ploiesti during World War II, the Soviet occupation, and years of Stalinist terror following the war. After his father’s death, Hratch, his mother Anoush and his sister Lucine, managed to leave Romania for Lebanon. They lived in Lebanon through the 1958 civil war and landing of U.S. troops, and immigrated to the United States in early 1959.

Zadoian joined the U.S. Army in the summer of 1959 and served as an infantryman in Korea and at Fort Devens, Mass. He received an honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant. He began attending Queens College as a part-time evening student and earned his degree in political science. He then received a fellowship to pursue his graduate studies at Columbia University.

Zadoian began his career at Queens College as an adjunct lecturer in political science. He eventually held various administrative positions, including director of Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, associate dean, acting dean, assistant provost and acting vice president for business and finance. Zadoian worked closely with the ethnic and area studies programs and centers and with the Calandra Institute of Italian-American Studies. He continued to teach courses on Soviet foreign policy, the Cold War and the intelligence community. He retired from administration in 2003, but continued to teach part-time in the political science department.

During his years at Queens College, Zadoian was involved in a number of initiatives dedicated to improving racial and ethnic relations, including the Queens Black-Jewish People-to-People Project, and co-chaired the first Comparative Diasporas conference. Zadoian endowed the student essay prize on the Holocaust/Genocide, awarded through the Jewish Studies Program, and the Human Rights essay prize awarded by the political science department.