Deree College
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| Deree College | |
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| Motto | Non Ministrari Sed Ministrare |
| Established | 1875 |
| Type | Private |
| President | David G. Horner |
| Provost | Theodoris Lyras |
| Location | Athens, Greece |
| Campus | Aghia Paraskevi campus, Downtown (Ambelokipi) campuses |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Website | www.acg.gr |
Deree College along with the Junior College and the Pierce College constitute the private, coeducational institution American College of Greece. Deree College is located the main college campus, situated in the leafy northeastern Athenian suburb of Aghia Paraskevi. John Bailey has been the president of the institution since 1975 and has been responsible for the successful development of the college to what it is today. It has full school accreditation from New England Association of Schools and Colleges.[1] Deree College confers associate and bachelor’s degrees in a variety of fields. It offers courses of study in the arts and sciences, business, computer information systems, performing arts, and engineering. As of today by greek law it is not recognized as a college or a university and the degrees issued are not accepted as legal. In Greece private Universities are not allowed by constitution and there is no legal framework for colleges.
[edit] History
The American College of Greece was founded in 1875 in the city of Smyrna, Asia Minor, by American Christian missionaries. Initially an all-girls secondary school, it became an institution of higher education in 1885. The College was shut down in 1922 during the massive flight of Greeks from Asia Minor following the Asia Minor Disaster in the aftermath of World War I. In 1935 Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of the Greek Republic, invited the College to reopen in Athens. It did so in 1936 and survived the World War II Nazi occupation of the country.
The postwar modernization of the College occurred under the stewardship of Thanis G. Alexander (1927-2003), a Greek-born naturalized American citizen with a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, who served as Vice President of the College from 1968 to 1976. An MBA program was established in conjunction with Northeastern University, strengthening the College's accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Downtown Business Campus was opened at Ambelokipi (1971), and the College's scholarship program for gifted female students from Greek villages was greatly expanded. Concurrently, a major construction project at the Aghia Paraskevi campus resulted in a second lecturing and administration building and the upgrading of the ladies dormitory and cafeteria.
During the dictatorship of the Greek junta from 1967 to 1974, yearly attempts by incoming Ministers of Education to nationalise the College were successfully resisted.
Thanis G. Alexander, who was an avid sports fan, also inaugurated the College's basketball program, initially seeding American college-aged basketball players amongst Greek participants in the College's team. In 1972 he brought Richard Dukeshire, the coach of Northeastern University's basketball team from 1958 to 1971, in Athens to coach the College's team. Dukeshire later served as coach of the Greece national basketball team. Notable American players included Michael J. Clouse, Glenn Congley, Chris Macauley, and Rich Szabunka. The College's association with sports is evidenced by the fact that many U.S. Olympic teams, including the men's basketball team, trained at the College before and during the 2004 Athens Olympics.[citation needed]
[edit] Deree College Invitational Debating Tournament
Twice yearly, the college hosts an open invitational Debating Tournament, in British Parliamentary format. There are five preliminary rounds, a break into semi-finals, and a final. The winning team and the best speaker according to the quality points of the preliminary rounds receive prizes.
The XXXI Invitational took place on the 7th to the 8th of April 2006.[dated info] The College hosted the European Universities Debating Championship in 1993 and the World Universities Debating Championship in 1998.
[edit] External links
- Deree College, American College of Greece
- Deree College Alumni in the United Kingdom
- Deree College Alumni of Diaspora Portal
