The Valley Performing Arts Center at Cal State Northridge will be renamed after philanthropists Younes and Soraya Nazarian to acknowledge a $17 million gift from their foundation, under action taken Tuesday by the California State University Board of Trustees.
“Through this historic and transformational gift, Younes and Soraya Nazarian are investing in the elevating power of the arts and in the artists who enlighten and inspire us all,” said CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison.
“The Nazarians’ generosity is unlike any CSUN has ever experienced,” she said. “The Nazarian family has made a profound and lasting impact on CSUN and the entire region. Younes and Soraya have ensured that we can continue to deliver the finest music, dance and theater events, engaging communities throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.”
The new name will be used informally throughout the 2017-18 season and be formally unveiled at the start of the 2018-19 season.
The Nazarians immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1979. She is a sculptor and her husband made his fortune as co-owner of Stadco, a tool and dye manufacturer of specialty parts in the aerospace industry, and as an early investor in the telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc.
“At CSUN, we found the perfect opportunity to impact the entire region by supporting two of our family’s most treasured values — education and the arts,” Younes Nazarian said.
“My wife’s name, Soraya, means jewel, and this center is a jewel, as well. It is very fitting that her name will grace this building that is itself beautiful and contains such artistic beauty on its stage.”
— City News Service