About ACT

Our history

Founded in 1886 by American Protestant missionaries in Asia Minor, Anatolia relocated to Thessaloniki in 1924.

In inspiration, mission, governance, and programs, ACT resembles the traditional New England colleges upon which it has been modeled.

Founded by American Protestant missionaries, Anatolia was originally located in Asia Minor and evolved from a seminary in Constantinople, which began in 1840. The school was closed during the Greek-Turkish War of 1919-1922 and ceased to have a viable mission in Asia Minor when Turkey's minority communities were uprooted under the peace treaties concluding that war.

In 1924, Anatolia relocated to Thessaloniki, where the greatest part of the refugee influx from Asia Minor had settled. In the mid-1930s, the school moved to its present location on a 54-acre campus a few miles from the center of the city.

Our mission, vision, and core values

Our Mission

ACT provides a high quality, tertiary level, multidisciplinary, skill-based and student-centered educational experience, in an innovative and flexible learning environment that is responsive to student needs and to a diverse and inclusive student body. Drawing on the principles of the American liberal arts educational philosophy and our Greek heritage, we foster depth and breadth of knowledge, grounded on theory, scholarly research, and intellectual freedom.

Our faculty members are passionate about teaching, value close relationships with our students and strive to instill in them the desire to pursue academic and professional excellence as well as personal enrichment.

Paramount to our mission is our institution’s contribution to society while cultivating students' democratic and civic awareness, enhancing a sense of individual and social responsibility, and creating a spirit of esteem for others, social institutions, and the environment.

Coupled with graduate programs that sustain and develop our strong ties with industry and community partners, we offer relevant, flexible and engaging professional training opportunities provided by field experts which enhance the participants’ skills-based life-long learning.

Our Vision

ACT aspires to be an institution of choice for students seeking the highest levels of personal, intellectual, and professional attainment. We want to be known as a renowned international institution that contributes to a sustainable society and produces well-rounded, principled, and open-minded citizens of the world.

Why ACT

• Challenging, high quality study programs
  Advanced studies with the style and substance of a true American University.
• World-class facilities
  A 54-acre campus encompassing the 4,500m² Bissell Library, one of the most sophisticated private facilities of its kind in Southeast Europe, and the Stavros S. Niarchos Technology Center, which gives students access to the latest tools in information technology.
• A diverse, multicultural environment
  Where students are encouraged to grow, develop and enhance their interpersonal skills.

Our student body

• USA
• Serbia
• Bulgaria
• Albania
• FYROM
• Austria
• Germany
• Romania
• Ukraine
• Georgia
• Sweden
• Brazil
• Zimbabwe
• Iceland
• Armenia

• Learning in ACTion
  An active approach to academic learning that engages students & faculty and immerses them in a rich hands-on community experience that offers real-world problem-solving skills.
• Experienced and highly qualified faculty
  Our faculty is international, with professors with degrees from leading universities in the U.S., U.K. and Greece, and substantial work experience in their respective fields.
• Small classroom sizes
  An average class consists of 16 students. This means that coursework can be tailored to class needs and each student’s contribution is acknowledged, particularly in discussion settings, with plenty of opportunities for personalized attention.
• Mentoring services
  All students have an assigned advisor to counsel them on their academic needs and guide them throughout their studies.
• Career services
  ACT caters to students even after they graduate, offering assistance to help them pursue their careers.

Governance Board

ACT Oversight Committee Members

Markos Papageorgiou, Chair

Since 2001, Mr. Markos Papageorgiou has served as President and Managing Director of MABIZ SA, the sole feedstuff producing industry for Mink farms in Southeast Europe. He is also a shareholder in Bosman Mink Farm SA, which operates five mink farms in Greece, and Vendavel Energy SA, a company active in the development and operation of wind farms and alternative energy sources in Greece with a portfolio in excess of 100 Mw. Additionally, Mr. Papageorgiou has considerable interests in shipping as well as commercial and residential property management companies in Europe and North America. Through his membership on the Board of Directors of the Papageorgiou Foundation, a charitable institution with donations in excess of $30 million over the past 10 years, he continues his family’s tradition of philanthropy and social responsibility in the fields of health, education, and religion. Mr. Papageoriou is an alternate member of the Board of Directors of Papageorgiou Hospital of Thessaloniki, a member of several cultural associations, former president of the Siatista Gymnastics Club for 10 years, and has served as president of the Kozani Nautical Club since 1998. Mr. Papageorgiou received his B.A. in Business Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Lambros Anagnostopoulos

Lambros G. Anagnostopoulos led the 2011 recapitalization and serves as CEO of the London Stock Exchange (AIM)-listed SECURE Property Development and Investment Plc (SPDI), an income-producing property company currently active in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Ukraine. In 2007, he founded SECURE Investments, a private equity platform investing in property projects in the same region. In 2000, he set up LAMDA Development, a real estate developer listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, where he served as CEO and Director from the company’s inception until June 2006. In parallel, he was party to setting up GRIVALIA (then EFG Properties), the leading Greek REIT, listed on the ASE, where he served as the Vice-Chairman of the board until 2007. In the 1990’s Mr. Anagnostopoulos was an executive of the Latsis Group, based in Geneva, Switzerland, where, among others, he was director of the Group’s business planning. Between 1988 and 1992, Mr. Anagnostopoulos worked as a management consultant with Pugh-Roberts Associates, a division of PA Consulting Group, in the USA and Great Britain. He is a graduate in naval architecture, marine and mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (1986) and received post-graduate degrees in shipping at MIT (1988) and in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management (1989).

Dimos Arhodidis

Dimosthenis (Dimos) Arhodidis (‘87), General Manager and member of the Executive Board of Eurobank, was appointed Head of Global Markets & Wealth Management in February 2015 and Head of Wealth Management (Private Banking Greece, Eurobank Private Bank Luxembourg SA and Eurobank Asset Management SA) in 2013. He joined Eurobank in 2001 as Head of Global Markets Sales and was appointed Head of Group Private Banking in 2008. His banking career started at Bankers Trust London in 1997. After the acquisition of Bankers Trust by Deutsche Bank, he worked in the Structured Credit Derivatives Group of Deutsche Bank London. He has also worked for strategy consulting firm Monitor Company on projects in the U.S.A., U.A.E. and Greece in 1995-96. Dimos received the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Business Economics (Ph.D. and MBA) from Harvard University and Harvard Business School on a full fellowship. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hamilton College where he received a double major in Economics and Mathematics. He received honors in both fields leading to his admission to the Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) Academic Honor Society for excellent academic performance. He also spent a year as a visiting student at the London School of Economics.

Yannis Assael

Dr. Yannis Assael (‘08) is a Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind working on Artificial Intelligence, he is featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” distinguished scientists of Europe. In 2013, he graduated from the University of Macedonia and with full scholarships, he did an MSc at the University of Oxford, where he finished first in his year, an MRes at Imperial College London, and in 2016, he went back to Oxford for a DPhil (PhD). Within the first year of his doctorate, a series of research breakthroughs and entrepreneurial activities led him to join Google DeepMind. Today, his research in Artificial Intelligence focuses on projects for contributing and expanding the greater good, ranging from medical applications to culture.

Gregory Galopoulos

Greg Gallopoulos is Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of General Dynamics Corporation, a diversified defense and aerospace company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. Before joining General Dynamics in 2008, Mr. Gallopoulos served as national managing partner of Jenner & Block LLP, an AmLaw 100 law firm. He is a member of the American Bar Association, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the International Bar Association. He is a trustee of WETA, Inc., a director of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a trustee of The Supreme Court Historical Society, a trustee of the Foundation for International Law, and board member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Mr. Gallopoulos holds a JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School (1984) and an AB with the highest honors from the University of Michigan (1981).

Anna Greka

Anna Greka (‘93) is a physician-scientist who serves as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and as an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Greka leads a program focused on defining fundamental mechanisms of disrupted cellular homeostasis that drive kidney, metabolic and degenerative disorders across the lifespan. Dr. Greka is the recipient of many honors including the Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research from the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Dr. Greka was Anatolia High School Commencement Speaker in 2018 and she annually sponsors an Anatolia student each summer to study in her lab in Boston.

Vasilis Kafatos

Vassilis Kafatos (‘86) is a Partner of Deloitte in charge of Strategy. He is the Clients & Industries Leader for Greece and Chairman of the Deloitte Alexander Competency Center. He has extensive consulting experience in various sectors of the economy. He has supervised major projects in the fields of corporate & digital strategy, business model transformation, financial restructuring, mergers & acquisitions and operational excellence. In addition to the Board of Trustees of Anatolia College, he serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the American - Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and as an Executive Committee member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece. He holds a degree in Economic Science from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, an MBA in Corporate Strategy from the University of Texas at Austin and postgraduate diplomas in Business Leadership from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne.

Charis Plakantonaki

Charis Plakantonaki (’97) is the Chief Strategy Officer at Star Bulk Carriers Corp., the largest dry bulk shipping company listed today on the NASDAQ. Previously she worked forseven years at Thenamaris (Ships Management) Inc., a leading global operator of oceangoing vessels, first as Strategic Projects Manager and subsequently as Head of Corporate Communications. Prior to Thenamaris, she was a Senior Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, and before that she has worked at the multinational FMCG company DIAGEO and at the Organizing Committee of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic & Paralympic Games. She holds an MBA from INSEAD (2003) and a BS in International & European Economics & Politics from the University of Macedonia (2001), where she graduated as valedictorian. Since 2001, Charis is a Board member of her family’s business which is active in real estate development and solar energy investments in Greece.