California State University, Fresno students, staff and alumni will celebrate the university’s Centennial and honor the legacy of Roger Tatarian with his posthumous induction into the Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ) Alumni & Friends Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, at the Smittcamp Alumni House on campus.

H. (for Hrach) Roger Tatarian, the son of a cobbler, graduated from Fresno State in 1938 with a degree in political science and experience in journalism as an editor of the Collegian newspaper and Campus yearbook. One student whose picture appears with his in the publications sections of old yearbooks was Eunice Krauchi, who became his wife in 1940.

Tatarian was hired by United Press International, a month after commencement. He rose through the ranks of the news service to become editor in chief, after reporting from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Washington, D.C. During a 34-year career, he covered World War II, lifting the postwar Berlin Blockade, the Hungarian revolution and the assassination of President Kennedy.

Upon his retirement from UPI in 1972, Tatarian returned to Fresno State as a journalism professor, retiring in 1987, but staying connected with students and with former students embarked on their careers.

Author and former Los Angeles Times reporter Mark Arax said Tatarian “never left my life. He was a mentor, yes, but also a father figure. There was my father, Ara, my grandfather, Aram, and then Roger.”

After graduating in 1981, Arax was working at the Baltimore Evening Sun and needed Tatarian’s advice. “I remember calling him up at midnight, Baltimore time, and having him edit a 3,000-word piece that was going on the front page that weekend,” he said.

“He edited as I read it to him over the phone, line by line,” added Arax. “‘Read that sentence again Mr. A.; more slowly this time.’ It took him three hours. When we were done, it was midnight, California time.” Faxes and computers weren’t available to speed the process.

Jim Tucker, professor emeritus and department historian who worked with Tatarian at Fresno State, said, “We knew he was one of the world’s great journalists, and we soon found out that he also was a great teacher.”

Tatarian was a columnist for The Fresno Bee (1987–95), where he successfully advocated for a Little Hoover Commission to investigate local government operations and promote efficiency, economy and improved services.

Ray Steele, a former president and publisher of the Fresno Bee and first MCJ Hall of Fame inductee, said Tatarian “dedicated his life and his soul to his students.”

Steele met Tatarian in New York before a writing competition. Tatarian, a judge, took him to dinner.

“He was a Fresno State alumnus and, at the time, editor in chief of UPI and I was just a lowly student,” Steele said. “But just because I held a little piece of home for him, he took me under his wing and showed me around the city. That was the beginning of a very wonderful friendship.”

Arax, Tucker and Steele will speak at the induction ceremony, which is sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities, the MCJ alumni chapter and the Fresno State Alumni Association and presented by MCJ 159 public relations students.

For additional information, call 559.278.2087 or visit http://mcj.csufresno.edu/news-events/hall-of-fame-induction/.

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