An official celebration for the new name was held Sept . 7 . The son of an Armenian immigrant shoemaker , Mr . Tatarian rose to the highest ranks in newspaper journalism , serving as editor-in-chief of the United Press International ( UPI ) news service . His distinguished career spanned more than three decades in news capitals around the world before he returned to his hometown to teach journalism at Fresno State . He is the only person to be named both Fresno State ’ s outstanding professor ( 1981 ) and alumnus ( 1984 ). Mr . Tatarian died in 1995 at the age of 78 .

Despite his prominence , Mr . Tatarian was approachable to students and transitioned easily to teaching . Students vied for seats in his classes . Many former students and colleagues attended the renaming celebration at his namesake school .

“ This is acknowledgment for him and an acknowledgment for the Armenian community ,” said writer and former journalist Mark Arax , a leader for the name change and a student and friend of Mr . Tatarian ’ s .

Tatarian Elementary will be the first school in Fresno Unified to be named for an Armenian . The Fresno Unified Board of Education voted Oct . 13 to replace the name of J . C . Forkner on the northwest Fresno school with Tatarian ’ s after members of the community brought information forward that Forkner