American College of Greece


The American College of Greece was founded in Smyrna, Asia Minor by United Church of Christ American missionaries in 1875. It was originally a primary and secondary school for girls.

Structure

The college is run by the namesake 501 not-for-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Dr. John S. Bailey served as president from 1975 to 2008.
Dr. David G. Horner has been the president since 2008. The College is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The college has three divisions:
The American College of Greece was founded in Smyrna, in Asia Minor in 1875 as a school for girls. It was relocated to Hellenikon, Athens, after the loss of Asia minor to the Turks at the invitation of then Prime Minister of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos. During the Axis occupation of Greece, its premises were used as a hospital under German command. After the war, the College reopened at Hellenikon, where it remained until it moved to its new campus in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, where it operates to this day.
Pierce has won the British Council International School Award for the academic years 2015-2018 bestowed by the British Council in Greece and is a member of the International Schools Theater Association.
As of January 2016, Pierce is an authorized IB World School and has been offering IB Diploma Programme since September 2016.

Deree

The American College awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1969. In 1973, its undergraduate division was renamed Deree in honor of Greek-born benefactor from Chicago, William S. Deree. In 2004, it offered its first graduate programs.
Deree is an educational institution accredited by the in the US and validated by the Open University in the UK. One campus is located in Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, with four schools: Business; Liberal Arts and Sciences; Fine and Performing Arts; and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences that offers Master's degrees in applied psychology, communication, and leadership.

Alba

ALBA Graduate Business School at The American College of Greece has been placed among the top 250 business school universally, according to the 2017 QS Global 250 Business Schools Report.
Specifically, ALBA, placed amid the top 100 institutions in the list, has been classified as a “Superior Business School for Research and Employability”, midst the top institutions from 36 countries that offer Full Time MBA’s. In 2017, Eduniversal published its Ranking for the 4000 Best Masters and MBAs in 32 fields of study worldwide. Many of ALBA's programs appear in a prominent position within their category. More specifically:
MSc in Strategic Human Resources Management, ranked N° 25 in Human Resources Management, Western Europe.
The ALBA MBA, ranked N° 28 in MBA full time, Western Europe.
MSc in Tourism Management, ranked N° 39 in Tourism and Event Management, Worldwide.
MSc in International Business and Management, ranked N° 42 in International Management, Western Europe.
MSc in Marketing, ranked N° 44 in Marketing, Western Europe.
MSc in Business for Lawyers, ranked N° 48 in Business and Commercial Law, Western Europe.
On June 28 2018, Eduniversal published the 2018 ranking of the best Masters & MBAs programs. This year, more than 25 000 programs have been analyzed and among which 5000 programs are ranked in the best Masters&MBAs across a range of institutions in 154 countries. Many of ALBA's programs appear in a prominent position within their category:
MSc in Tourism Management, ranked N° 36 in Tourism Management, Worldwide.
MSc in Shipping Management, ranked N° 23 in Maritime Management, Worldwide.
In 2012 the American College of Greece's Degree division formed an alliance with Alba Graduate Business School, a nonprofit institution funded by student tuition and fees that offers MBA programs in shipping, financial services and banking. The arrangement allows "the schools to pursue a joint strategy to boost their already leading position in south-east Europe."
The two institutions are distinct legal entities with integrated governance and organizational structures. Under this arrangement, Alba is also accredited by NEASC under Degree-ACG's accreditation.
In 2011, Kerin Hope of Financial Times reported, "Alba has gained a place on the global business education map through high-quality research published by its 22-member faculty, and an unmatched record in the European Business Plan of the Year competition. Its 2,500 alumni are seen as a catalyst for change in corporate activity in Greece, which traditionally sends more than 10,000 young people to study abroad every year because of a lack of specialised courses at state-dominated universities."

Notable students