The UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archeology received a $2 million donation to establish a research program that would study Armenian archeology and ethnography, according to a UCLA statement released today.

The program will be the first permanent research program of its kind in an American university, according to the statement.

Zaruhy Sara Chitjian, a UCLA alumna, made the donation to broaden the public’s knowledge of Armenian archeology and ethnography at both UCLA and worldwide, the statement read.

“Studying the ethnographic artifacts of recent age is an important means of understanding the past of this still thriving culture,” Chitjian said in the statement.

In her 2003 memoir, Chitjian said she funds research programs around the globe as a tribute to her father, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, according to the statement.

Chitjian also gave the Cotsen Institute artifacts, documents and books pertaining to Armenian culture both before and after the Armenian genocide from 1915 to 1923, according the statement.

The new Chitjian Collection and Research Program, housed in the Cotsen Institute, will provide public lectures and online scholarly articles. The collection will also be digitized so a worldwide audience can learn about the Armenian culture and diaspora, according to the statement.

Chitjian said the preservation of artifacts is important to her because the exhibit will help educate the public about the contributions of the Armenian culture, according to a UCLA statement.

Compiled by Kendal Mitchell, Bruin contributor.