journalism faculty , mentoring and training a new generation of journalists for 15 years . He also provided commentary on local public television and worked as a consultant and writing coach for newspapers , including The Fresno Bee , where he wrote a regular column . A collection of his columns , “ Day of Mourning , Day of Shame ,” was published posthumously in 1996 .
“ He was a man of great confidence , skills and character , but these traits never showed up as puffy ego ,” Arax said .
Michele Markarian , principal at Tatarian Elementary School , is with Kay Davies , a former principal when the campus was Forkner Elementary School .
Fresno State honored Mr . Tatarian ’ s legacy with the Roger Tatarian Endowed Chair in Journalism , the Roger Tatarian Journalism Grant , the Roger Tatarian Symposium and a plaza near the building where he taught .
Now , Fresno Unified is paying tribute to one of the city ’ s most distinguished Armenians .
“ This [ name ] selection is just an acknowledgment that a great human being came through here , rose to the heights of his profession , then came back home to build the second-best journalism program in the country . He put Fresno State journalism on the map .” Arax said .
From left , Rosemary and Allan Jendian , Gabriella DeGeorge , Hailey Walters and Arsen Melkonyan ( who led the flag salute ) at the Tatarian celebration .
“ We ’ re also giving a nod to a culture that arguably shaped early Fresno more than any other culture .”
As part of the process of choosing a mascot -- the Hawks -- the district developed a video and an activity that all students participated in toward the end of the last school year .
Board Clerk Veva Islas and board member Majot Terry Slatic ( retired ) at the renaming event for Tatarian Elementary School .
Author Mark Arax was one of the speakers at the Tatarian Elementary School event .
H . Roger Tatarian Elementary School
FEATURE STORY : H . ROGER TATARIAN 5