As the new president of this venerable organization, I decided the best way I could fully understand the challenges and unique strengths of the schools we serve was to go out and see the institutions for myself, talk to their leaders, and even visit with some of their students. It’s a chance for me to learn about…Continue readingAbout NECHE on the Road
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
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!
A few days before the holiday season began in earnest, I made a trip to Geneva to visit the Geneva School of Diplomacy (GSD), an institution just starting on the path to NECHE accreditation. What a charming time of year to visit! The Geneva School of Diplomacy was founded in 2003 by one career diplomat with a passion for international relations, and one…Continue readingPit Stop #93: Geneva School of Diplomacy
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with an old friend, President Arthur Levine, on the campus of Brandeis University. Arthur, a Brandeis alum, stepped into the presidency in the Fall of 2024 –after happily retiring and promising himself he would never take on a third college presidency. I suppose such promises are destined to be broken, because when duty called, Arthur (who had remained incredibly loyal and…Continue readingPit Stop #92: Brandeis University
It’s hard not to love the founding story of Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts. It all began with the light. Legend has it that in the spring of 1851, a group of individuals gathered together and as the sun rose in the sky, illuminating Bragdon Hill, they made the laser-like decision to found a new school on that spot. As the founders, known as boomers, put shovels into…Continue readingPit Stop #91: Lasell University
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
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
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
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
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