Stop #2 on my Greek institutional tour was to Hellenic American College in Athens (HAEC). An “institutional” tour… as opposed to an official “initial tour” for accreditation, as at Bahçeşehir University in Turkey… is just a fancy way of expressing my commitment to visit as many NECHE institutions as I can.
The HAEC campus is in the urban center of Athens, a location designed to meet the needs of its primarily urban, adult working audience. The main facility is housed in an eight-story building shared with the school’s sponsor, the Hellenic American Union.
Founded in 1957, the Hellenic American Union is a non-profit, public service institution that provides accessible and innovative educational programs, testing services, and cultural events to the diverse and ever-expanding populace of Athens. Since its establishment, the Hellenic American Union has brought a multicultural focus to its endeavors, welcoming students and visitors from all over the world to Greece’s famed capital.
For generations of Greek and international audiences, the Hellenic American Union has been a leader in designing and delivering lifelong learning programs. Its language-learning and exam-preparation programs in English and Greek are legendary and a fixture of life in Athens. In fact, since 1957, the Hellenic American Union has administered open, fair, and secure language examinations to more than two million candidates.
The University itself offers six undergraduate degree programs, seven Master’s-level degree programs, and one doctoral program. HAU is a relatively small institution with a total
enrollment of around 450, including more than 100 graduate students. The majority study on the Athens campus rather than at the New Hampshire campus with which HAEC is affiliated.
I know the world of Greek higher education is complicated, so I’ll try not to lose you. Students at HAEC are enrolled in the degree programs of Hellenic American University (HAU), which was founded in 2004 by an Act of the New Hampshire (US) Legislature and is accredited as a non-profit by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Students in both Athens and New Hampshire are taught by the same faculty.
President Koskos shared that the name “Hellenic American” reflects the founder’s vision of an institution embodying the values of two distinct cultures: the spirit of innovation, reward of merit, and pursuit of excellence from American higher education, elevated by the inventiveness and extroversion that characterize the Hellenic mindset.
I was fortunate that my visit coincided with the opening of a special art exhibition on the ground floor of the campus building, titled “Athena and Athens from 1834.” On display were hundreds of paintings and objets d’art from Michael Scoullos, an affable and zealous collector, whom I was lucky to meet. He confessed to a lifelong passion for collecting (along with his wife and both their parents) and that was evident in the fascinating range of portraits, proclamations, memorabilia, and personal treasures spanning the ages.
What a pleasure it was to spend time getting to know the people and patrons of HAEC!