# American College of Greece

The American College of Greece (ACG) is a private college, graduate business school and high school in Agia Paraskevi, Greece. It is the oldest American-accredited college in Europe and a not-for-profit institution.

## History

ACG was founded in Smyrna (currently İzmir, Turkey), in Ottoman Empire in 1875 as a school for girls by United Church of Christ American missionaries. The first Dean was Minnie Mills. The school relocated to Athens in 1923 after the Greco-Turkish War and the population exchange. It became co-educational in 1932 and changed its name to The American College of Greece in 1962. 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
Undergraduate and graduate studies are based on the 64-acre main campus in Aghia Paraskevi. Another campus (called East Campus) is located in Spata and serves pre-K and elementary students. Alba Graduate Business School is located in downtown Athens.
John S. Bailey served as president from 1975 to 2008. David G. Horner has been the president since 2008. The college is governed by a board of trustees.

## Academics

ACG comprises three academic divisions: Deree, the undergraduate and graduate division; Alba Graduate Business School, the graduate business school; and Pierce, the secondary education division.

## Pierce

Pierce was founded in Smyrna (modern day İzmir) in 1875. It was initially situated in Palaio Faliro, a suburb in the southern Athens and later on in Elliniko, in the area where the old Athens Airport was. In 1963 it moved to Aghia Paraskevi suburb in north-eastern Athens. The school was for girls only until 1982 when it became co-educational. Until 2021 it had only a gymnasium & lyceum, based in Aghia Paraskevi. From 2022, a new campus (East Campus) opened in Spata and it currently houses Pre-K to 12 Grade.
As of November 2022 the school was accredited by Middle States Association – Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, MSA-CESS. As of Fall 2023, it enrolls approximately 2.000 students.

## Deree

Deree was named after Socrates Derehanis who was a benefactor. It offers 38 undergraduate programs in Business & Economics, Liberal Arts & Fine Arts. It also operates a Graduate School which offers 9 master programs. It enrolls ~5,000 students as of Fall 2023. The school is accredited by New England Commission of Higher Education. Open University UK is a partner institution and accredits the degrees of Deree.

## Alba

Alba Graduate Business school was created in 1992 through a joint initiative of the Federation of Greek Industries (ΣΕΒ) and the Hellenic Management Association (ΕΕΔΕ). It merged with The American College of Greece in 2011. It offers 9 MSc programs, an MBA, an Executive MBA and an Online MBA course. It is accredited by AACSB and Association of MBAs. As of fall 2023 it has approximately 500 students enrolled.