Finding Aid for the Vahac Mardirosian papers, 1964-2007
Processed by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli
and Megan Hahn Fraser, December 2011; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by
Arcadia
funds.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2011
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Vahac Mardirosian papers
Date (inclusive): 1964-2007
Collection number: 1887
Creator:
Vahac Mardirosian
Extent:
7 document boxes and 1 half document box (3.75 linear ft.)
Abstract: Reverend Vahac Mardirosian has been a major advocate of Mexican-American educational reforms in Los Angeles and San Diego
school districts since the early 1960s. This collection contains material related to his pastoral work, his involvement with
the 1968 East Los Angeles walk-out demonstration and organizations he helped found and run, including the Hispanic Urban Center
Board of Education (founded 1970) and Parent Institute for Quality Education (founded 1987). Materials include clippings and
press releases, letters and statements, notes, sermons, evaluation reports, reading score percentiles and rankings, memoranda,
fact sheets and administrative documents, and cover a wide variety of educational topics including bilingual education, integration,
teachers' attitudes towards Mexican American students, parental involvement, and reading achievement.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Vahac Mardirosian, 2011.
Processing Note
Processed by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli
and Megan Hahn Fraser, December 2011.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by
Arcadia
funds.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Vahac Mardirosian papers (Collection Number 1887). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E.
Young Research Library, UCLA.
Biography
Reverend Vahac Mardirosian has been a leading advocate of educational reform in Southern California, especially in the Mexican
American communities, since the late 1960s. Of Armenian descent, he was born in Alepo, Syria and raised in Mexico City and
Tijuana. He became ordained as a Baptist priest in California in 1946 and went on to serve the Mexican American communities
of Topeka and Chicago, before returning to California in the 1950s. In 1968 he became involved with the walk-out protests
at Garfield High School in the East Los Angeles School District. He acted as a mediator with administrators and became a representative
of parents and students in his role as chairman of the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EICC).
He founded and acted as executive director of the Hispanic Urban Center in Los Angeles in 1970, which focused on in-service
education for teachers, seeking to enhance their perceptions of Mexican American culture and improve teacher/student relations.
In 1987 Mardirosian started the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) to address underperforming schools in the San
Diego School District in response to concerned parents. PIQE offers a 9-week program to help improve education through the
joint collaboration of parents, students and teachers and emphasizes the role of parents as advocates for their children.
In 2006 California State University (CSU) began working with PIQE to provide funding and support of outreach and training
for low-income families.
In 1988 Mardirosian received recognition from Phi Delta Kappa for his service and leadership in educational reform and in
1998 CSU awarded him an honorary doctorate for his impact on the lives of parents and children of California. In 2010 Mardirosian
received the "Remarkable Leader in Education" award from the University of San Diego.
Scope and Content
This collection contains material related to Vahac Mardirosian's pastoral work, his involvement with the 1968 East Los Angeles
walk-out demonstration and the organizations he helped found and run, including the Hispanic Urban Center Board of Education
and the Parent Institute for Quality Education. Materials include clippings, press releases, letters, statements, notes, sermons,
evaluation reports, reading score percentiles and rankings, memoranda, fact sheets, and administrative documents, and cover
a wide variety of educational topics including bilingual education, integration, teachers' attitudes towards Mexican American
students, parental involvement, and reading achievement.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Pastoral Work
- East Los Angeles High School Walk Out
- Hispanic Urban Center Board of Education
- Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)
- Biographical Materials
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Vahac Mardirosian---Archives.
Hispanic Urban Center Board of Education.
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE).
Related Material
Container List
Pastoral Work
1964-2007
Scope and Content Note
Mostly VM's handwritten notes and sermons, as well as some typescript notes on a variety of materials
including notebook paper, index cards and the back of ephemera. Most tend to be undated. Majority of sermons labeled with
biblical references. Also, typescript draft of Mardirosian’s “Our Cultural Heritage and the Gospel,” and programs, letters,
clippings
and periodicals, minutes for Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Theological Education for Hispanic-Americans, and report of Baptist
Hispanic Causcus.
Box 1, Folder 1
Southern California Baptist Convention written materials
1964, 1968 April
Scope and Content Note
Brochure. Also, letter received and newsletter.
Box 1, Folder 2
Article by VM, "Testimonio Social"
Ca. 1970
Box 1, Folder 3
Letters received by VM
1971
Box 1, Folder 4
50th Anniversary of Hispanic Baptists anniversary program
1973
Box 1, Folder 5
Avance Bautista Hispano clippings
1972, 1982-1988
Scope and Content Note
Clipping from 1972 "Avance" and 1980s copies of Hispanic Baptist newsletter "Avance".
Box 1, Folder 6
American Baptist Seminary of the West commencement program
1992
Box 1, Folder 7
National Hispanic Baptist Caucus summary report
Ca. 1999
Scope and Content Note
Summary report of history, constitution, regulations, functions, organization chart and logo.
Box 1, Folder 8
Clippings and correspondence
1969-2007
Scope and Content Note
Includes letters received, programs, press releases and clippings.
Box 1, Folder 9
Clippings
1983, 1989
Scope and Content Note
Copy of February 1983 "Buenas Nuevas" monthly newsletter with profile on VM and 1989 "Education Week"
excerpt by VM.
Box 1, Folder 10
Sermons
1955, 1966 and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Handwritten notes. Mostly undated. Also, 1955
statistical report for Southern California Baptist Convention and 1966 program for Park Vista Baptist Church.
Box 1, Folder 11
Sermons
1963, Ca. 1992-1994 and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Some undated.
Box 1, Folder 12
Sermons
1964, 1983, and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated. Also, agenda for 1964 Spanish
American Baptist Seminary workshop "The Church in a Changing Community."
Box 1, Folder 13
Sermons
Ca. 1980s and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 1, Folder 14
Sermons
Ca. 1983 and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 2, Folder 1
Sermons
Ca. 1980s-1990s and undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 2, Folder 2
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 2, Folder 3
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 2, Folder 4
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 2, Folder 5
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 3, Folder 1
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 3, Folder 2
Sermons and pamphlet
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten and typescript drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated. Also copies of Southern California
Baptist Convention pamphlet.
Box 3, Folder 3
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Mostly undated.
Box 3, Folder 4
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Organized in envelopes with his typescript notations of the sermon's
title and/or biblical references. Some envelopes empty.
Box 3, Folder 5
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Organized in envelopes with his typescript notations of the sermon's
title and/or biblical references. Some envelopes empty.
Box 4, Folder 1
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Organized in envelopes with his typescript notations of the sermon's
title and/or biblical references. Some envelopes empty.
Box 4, Folder 2
Sermons
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten drafts of VM's sermons. Organized in envelopes with his typescript notations of the sermon's
title and/or biblical references. Some envelopes empty.
East Los Angeles High School Walk Out
1968-1972
Scope and Content Note
Clippings, statements made by VM, memoranda, letters, notes, leaflets, press releases, and drafts. In
addition to the 1968 walk out, topics include the Mexican American Education Commission, death of Ruben Salazar, profile of
Cesar Chavez, youth leadership and community development project, chapter VM wrote on “Planning for Effective Schools,” 1969
sit-in demonstration, and actions taken by Board of Education.
Box 4, Folder 3
Inter-Religious Goals Committee memoranda and suggestions
Ca. 1968 February
Scope and Content Note
Memoranda. Suggested elements for the Goals Council Report.
Box 4, Folder 4
Copies of flyer for meeting of educational issues committee.
1968, July 23
Box 4, Folder 5
Editorial responses
Ca. 1968
Scope and Content Note
Letters written in response to newspaper editorials on East Los Angeles education issue.
Box 4, Folder 6
Publications and writings
1968
Scope and Content Note
Pamphlet, copy of "Con Safos" magazine, flyers and information sheets, contact list, clippings, meeting
minutes, letters received, notes, and poems. Includes information on student demands, indicted instructors, a police riot
at
Roosevelt High School.
Box 4, Folder 7
Walk-out demonstration materials
1967-1969
Scope and Content Note
Press releases, clippings, map of march route from Placita Park to Board of Education, meeting program,
fact sheet on Roosevelt High School, letter received, financial report, handwritten notes, statements made by VM to Board
of
Education.
Box 4, Folder 8
Reprinted profile on Chavez from the New Yorker by Peter Mathiessen.
1969 June
Box 4, Folder 9
Press and publications
1969
Scope and Content Note
Pamphlet, press release, newsletter clippings, flyers, Board of Education member list. Topics include the
Mexican American Education Commission and reading scores and programs.
Box 4, Folder 11
Writings by VM
Ca. 1980s-2005
Scope and Content Note
Typescript chapter by VM on "Planning for Effective Schools" and a 2005 account by VM of a sit-in at the
D.A.'s office.
Box 4, Folder 12
Clippings, notes, correspondence, and statements
1968 March 17-April 25
Scope and Content Note
Clippings and handwritten notes about walkout and its aftermath. Also, letters received, VM's statements to
Board of Education, meeting minutes of Educational Issue Coordination Committee (EICC), and teacher proposals.
Box 5, Folder 1
Clippings, notes and minutes
1968 May 2 - July 26
Scope and Content Note
Clippings and handwritten notes re: Educational Issues Committee sponsoring a walk through, East L.A.
selected for UAW community plan, opponents of the walk-out, integration in schools, indictment of participants. Also EICC
minutes and VM statement.
Box 5, Folder 2
Clippings, writings and notes
1968 August 1 - November 22
Scope and Content Note
Clippings, minutes, draft and notes re: Board of Education & Urban Affairs meeting, student demands,
indictment of participants, statements by VM, demonstration at Lincoln High School, bilingual education, sit-in at the School
Board, interview with VM.
Box 5, Folder 3
Clippings, minutes and notes
1968 December 17 - 1969 May 9
Scope and Content Note
Meeting minutes of Educational Issue Coordination Committee (EICC), clippings and notes re: Spanish
language programs, creation of citizen units, studies on education, ethnic makeup of Urban Affairs and Housing Committee
members, demonstrations.
Box 5, Folder 4
Clippings, notes and statements
1969 June 1 - 1971 March
Scope and Content Note
Re: prejudice charges against Lincoln High instructor, School Board meetings and decisions, bilingual
education, Mexican American Education Commission, reading programs, reform bill on teacher licensing, report card elimination
proposal, integration.
Box 5, Folder 5
Press on teachers' attitudes towards Mexican Americans
1972
Hispanic Urban Center Board of Education
1970-1979
Scope and Content Note
Includes progress reports, program proposals, clippings, leaflets, letters, school visit commentary, fact
sheets, L.A. school sample lists and reading scores, press release for VM's candidacy as school board member (District 5),
photographs.
Box 5, Folder 6
Center open house materials, reports and proposals
1971-1977
Scope and Content Note
Brochure, reports and proposals, invitation to open house, program honoring VM, letters received, fact
sheets. Includes 3-phase plan for the Center.
Box 5, Folder 7
Media materials and committee meeting documents
1970
Scope and Content Note
Pamphlets, press releases, clippings about education, Mexican American Education Commission task force
memoranda, EICC meeting agenda, copy of "Regeneracion" newsletter, KABC broadcast transcript.
Box 5, Folder 8
Letters, clippings and address
1971
Scope and Content Note
Letters of interest, clippings about education, reading scores, address by VM "God's team: Clergy and
Laity."
Box 5, Folder 9
Reading scores, update report, and in-service education proposal
1972
Scope and Content Note
Clippings about bilingual education and test scores, copies of reading scores, VM's update report on the
Center, proposal for in service education program for teachers.
Box 5, Folder 10
Reading achievement materials and in-service education project summary
1973
Scope and Content Note
Reading scores, summary of community project for in-service cultural education, clippings, VM's reports on
reading achievement, program for Baptist church on South McDonnell St.
Box 5, Folder 11
Awards, experimental course and board of education application
1974
Scope and Content Note
Materials related to VM's KNX Newsradio Man of the Year Award, outline of experimental course on minority
student education, Mexican American Education Commission progress report, clippings, reading scores, VM's application to CA
state board of education.
Box 5, Folder 12
Clippings, reading scores and site visit summaries
1975
Scope and Content Note
Clippings, letters received, reading evaluation contract with RAND, press release re: KNX Man of the Year
Award, reading scores, draft letters from VM re: site visits
Box 6, Folder 1
Communications, reports and evaluations
1976
Scope and Content Note
Educational development committee communications include recommended sample of schools, district
reading plan. RAND reports, reading scores, letters received, affirmative action advisory committee agenda, progress reports,
sample school lists, flyer.
Box 6, Folder 2
Tom Bradley letters, reading plan materials and research
1977
Scope and Content Note
Letters received, clippings, brochure on course offerings, VM consultant contract, sample school list,
reading scores, copy of "Teaching Reading and Language" by Wesley Becker, guidelines for district reading plan, analysis of
Rand Reports.
Box 6, Folder 3
Assessment materials and resignation
1978
Scope and Content Note
Chicano Teacher Program materials, clippings, letters received, reading scores, assessment results,
consultant contract. Topics include integration, Hispanic teachers, bilingual education. Also VM's resignation.
Box 6, Folder 4
School board campaign, folder 1 of 3
1979
Scope and Content Note
Letters re: VM's move to San Diego, materials regarding VM's candidacy for school board including
typescript drafts, handwritten notes, clippings, petition for candidacy, press releases, funding raiser invitation
Box 6, Folder 5
School board campaign, folder 2 of 3
1979
Scope and Content Note
Letters, press releases and broadcasting announcements, clippings, sample ballot, statements, map for
fund raising walk, steering committee contact lists, campaign update memorandum re: endorsements, district map, pamphlet
Box 6, Folder 6
School board campaign, folder 3 of 3
1979
Scope and Content Note
Clippings, letters and cards, campaign photographs of VM.
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)
1971-2004
Scope and Content Note
Includes clippings, notes, fact sheet, copies of newsletter "Informe," San Diego City Schools reading scores,
Phi Delta Kappa Certificate of Recognition, materials for the C.I.E.N. organization, proposed goals, reports (evaluation report,
superintendant report, assessments), bylaws, copies of Universidad Comienza Hoy newsletter, letters, contact lists,
student/teacher/parent pact form, evaluation materials, memoranda, proposal to “World Vision Ministry,” mission and philosophy,
meeting minutes and treasury report.
Box 6, Folder 7
Research materials
1971-1989
Scope and Content Note
Clippings, newsletters, letters and reading achievement scores dating back to 1971. Most materials primarily
from 1980s.
Box 7, Folder 1
Literature on reading achievement and learning
1972-1982
Scope and Content Note
Hispanic Urban Center 1972 evaluation report, ethnic survey, newsletters, clippings and writings,
statements, fact sheet for Project Rainbow.
Box 7, Folder 2
San Diego reading scores
1979-1985
Scope and Content Note
Reading score percentile charts and ranking. Also clippings
Box 7, Folder 3
C.I.E.N. materials
1980-1981
Scope and Content Note
Brochures, ethnic surveys, newsletters, superintendent reports, handwritten notes, reading scores, San
Diego Board of Education brochure, letters, statement and flyer.
Box 7, Folder 4
Reports and clippings
1980-2004
Scope and Content Note
Brochures, focus group report, details on drug workshop, agreement with San Diego City Schools, financial
information, clippings, bylaws, letters, proposals, flyers and information sheets
Box 7, Folder 5
Evaluation reports
1983-1984, 2000-2001
Scope and Content Note
Organizational assessment, evaluation summary, and materials about the Mexican-American Advisory
Committee.
Box 7, Folder 6
PIQE organizational materials
1987-1997
Scope and Content Note
Statements and reports, financial reports and budgets, clippings, meeting minutes, fact sheet,
announcements, annual report and photograph.
Box 7, Folder 7
Administration binder
1987-1997
Scope and Content Note
Letters, proposals, funding information, meeting minutes, parents' contact information, charts, handwritten
notes, form letters, evaluation reports and annual reports.
Box 7, Folder 8
Newspaper clippings
1987-2003
Scope and Content Note
Cover PIQE, Hispanic education, VM's involvement and Cesar Chavez.
Box 7, Folder 9
Informe newsletter
1988 January to 1993 July
Scope and Content Note
Copies of "Informe" newsletter published by PIQE.
Box 8, Folder 1
World Vision U.S. Ministry collaboration
1989-1996
Scope and Content Note
PIQE proposal to WVUS (World Vision U.S.), agreement, fact sheets, grant commitment letters and
proposals, organizational chart, clippings, fund raising materials, recommendations and findings, coursework listing, memoranda.
Box 8, Folder 2
APUS (Association of Parents of University Students) bylaws and registration form
2002
Box 8, Folder 3
APUS (Association of Parents of University Students) organizational materials
2002-2003
Scope and Content Note
Stationery, copy of student-parent-teacher pact, member directory information, fact sheet, clipping,
announcement, activity lists.
Box 8, Folder 4
Universidad newsletter
2001 March - 2003 June
Scope and Content Note
Copies of the "Universidad" Spanish language newsletter issued by APUS (Association of Parents of
University Students).
Box 8, Folder 5
San Ysidro School District resolution of support
2003
Biographical materials
Undated, 1980, 1998
Scope and Content Note
Includes resumes and honors for VM
Box 8, Folder 7
Honors
1988, 1998
Scope and Content Note
Phi Delta Kappa program and certificate for recognition of VM. Also, honorary degree of Doctor Humane
Letters from trustees of California State University.
