Alex Ghazarian retires after 33 years at VCU

By Alisa Sweeney
VCU Communications and Public Relations

For more than three decades, Alex Ghazarian was one of the most recognizable faces in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Office of Records and Registration, where he helped students with transcripts, enrollment and registration.

Ghazarian ended his long career at VCU with his retirement on Friday, Jan. 29. And while many students may not have known Ghazarian by name, he influenced their college careers, guiding thousands of them through the registration process. He was the subject of a multimedia exhibition, “This is Alex,” in 2007.

The exhibition was created by 12 VCU graduate photography and film students in collaboration with Jon Rubin of Carnegie Mellon University. It used film, photography, drawing, sculpture, text, sound and video to give insight into the life of the man behind the registration counter. The exhibition was on display in the office for more than a month, greeting more than 10,000 students registering for summer and fall classes.

Over the years, many of these students have expressed their gratitude for Ghazarian’s helpful and friendly service in letters, cards and emails, which he has kept.

“During my tenure here at VCU, I have come to enjoy my times at Founders Hall,” wrote one student in 1997. “Mr. Ghazarian is the reason for those experiences being positive.”

Ghazarian feels the same way about the students. He said meeting and working with them has been his greatest joy.

After so much time in an office, Ghazarian now plans to spend much of his time outdoors, enjoying some of his favorite hobbies.

“I have enjoyed my time at VCU,” Ghazarian said, “but now it’s time to go fishing!”