Pit Stop #95: Ashesi University

It is always astonishing to comprehend what a small world this is, and how we remain connected to each other across space and time.  In 2004, Patrick Awuah, the co-founder of Ashesi University in Ghana, was awarded an honorary degree at his (and my) alma mater of Swarthmore College. At the time, I was working at the college and it was my…Continue readingPit Stop #95: Ashesi University

Pit Stop #94: Thailand!

This was an unusual trip for me — not to visit a particular university, but to attend athree-day summit sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), Thailand. In the fall of 2025, after extensive research into international accrediting agencies across the globe, the Ministry selected NECHE to assist as it…Continue readingPit Stop #94: Thailand!

Pit Stop #90: American Farm School

My final stop on this Turkey and Greece tour was to Perrotis College, part of the American Farm School. The American Farm School is an independent, nonprofit educational institution founded in 1904 to serve the population of Greece and the Balkans. Major educational divisions include the Primary School, Haseotes Middle School, Vocational High School, General High…Continue readingPit Stop #90: American Farm School

Pit Stop #89: Anatolia American University

After three splendid, warm and sunny days in Athens spent visiting NECHE institutions, I arrived at the airport for a flight to Thessaloniki… and landed a quick 35 minutes later — perhaps my shortest flight ever!  Thessaloniki is a historic, Biblical city on the coast of the Aegean Sea. While half of Greece’s ten million people live in Athens, Thessaloniki boasts a mere one million — but…Continue readingPit Stop #89: Anatolia American University

Pit Stop #88: Hellenic American College in Athens

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…Continue readingPit Stop #88: Hellenic American College in Athens

Pit Stop #87: The American University of Greece

In Greece, my first stop of four visits was to The American College of Greece in Athens. Founded in 1875, ACG is the oldest American-accredited college in Europe and the largest private college in Greece. It has been accredited by NECHE since 1981 and is an independent, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, co-educational academic institution. (Whew– that’s a lot of adjectives!). This…Continue readingPit Stop #87: The American University of Greece

Pit Stop #86: Bahçeşehir University

In May, I began a two-week trip to visit six universities: two in Turkey and four in Greece. (Yes, I know, work can sometimes be a real burden!)  My first stop was Istanbul, where I made an initial visit to Bahçeşehir University, commonly known as BAU. (When a new institution applies for NECHE  membership, it requires a 2-3 day visit…Continue readingPit Stop #86: Bahçeşehir University

Pit Stop #85: OP Jindal University

I suspect few of you have visited the part of India from which I recently returned: the state of Chhattisgarh and the city of Raigarh in central India. Raigarh is a two-hour flight from Delhi (which is a 20-hour flight from Boston), followed by a 100-km car ride from the regional airport in Jharsuguda. Long story short, I was…Continue readingPit Stop #85: OP Jindal University

Pit Stop #84: Hult International Business School

Penetrating Question: If one of NECHE’s institutions had campuses in Boston, Dubai and London, which one do you think I’d visit first? (Okay, that’s a bit of a trick question since I was already going to London and thus made it irresistible to choose Hult International Business School.) In addition to being accredited by NECHE since 1976, Hult is recognized by business education’s three most…Continue readingPit Stop #84: Hult International Business School

Pit Stop #80: International University of Grand Bassam

I’m guessing that most of our readers are not familiar with the International University of Grand Bassam. In fact, I suspect many of you might not be able to place Grand Bassam on a map. Both were surely true of me several months back, but now I’m actually here in Côte d’Ivoire, the Ivory Coast.  I arrived from Florence, Italy (read more here) and that’s the amazing thing about travel…Continue readingPit Stop #80: International University of Grand Bassam