Margaret Steward, College Principal, with students at the Commencement, 1961
1961 is an important year in the history of The American College of Greece. In 1961, The Orlinda Childs Pierce College for Girls (Gymnasium and College Division), known as The American College for Girls or Pierce College, stopped being part of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and became an independent academic institution, incorporated in the State of Colorado.
On March 23, 1961, the authority from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was transferred to an independent Board of Trustees consisting of five members: Mildred McAfee Horton, Frederick W. Hyslop, Loomis Patrick, W. Elliott Pratt, Jr., and Sargent H. Wellman. The stated purpose of the institution was: “… To provide for women practical, cultural, and professional education of high academic standards designed to develop in them the qualities of unselfish, dependable, and self-reliant character and to awaken in them the aim of serving their country and the world in accordance with the principles and ideals of the Christian faith…”.
Celebrating the event, in the present exhibit we present a copy of the cartificate, the first catalog of the college after its incorporation in the State of Colorado and an audio by Flora Haniotou, Director of the Boarding Department, recalling a significant discussion related to the specific event.
