St. Thomas University welcomes students from Greece

Leaders from South Florida’s Greek community descended upon St. Thomas University on Monday to celebrate its outreach efforts to attract students from Greece.

“We have signed an articulation agreement to provide an opportunity for Greek students from American Community Schools Athens to come and study in Miami,” said Yiannis Vassiliou, an associate provost at St. Thomas. “If you know what you are trying to accomplish, we will help you do it.”

Greek community leaders, including priests, college professors and lawyers, applauded the partnership at a private ceremony in the St. Thomas library. Miami-Dade County is home to a large Greek population with three orthodox churches.

“This is possibly the largest group of Greeks ever here at St. Thomas at one time,” said the Rev. Monsignor Franklyn Casale, president of the university since 1994.

ACS Athens’ roots go back to 1946 when it served the children of British military personnel stationed in Greece during World War II. A few years later, the school began to admit both British and American civilians.

“Diversity for us is the norm,” said Stefanos Gialamas, president of ACS Athens. “This is the beginning of a wonderful partnership.”

Six students from Greece have already been admitted for fall classes.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 2:41 PM with the headline "St. Thomas University welcomes students from Greece."