Vision & History
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Welcome to the Pierce website, our online home where you can learn about Pierce’s academic programs, meet our faculty and students, and explore our exceptional 64-acre campus on Mt. Hymettus, overlooking Athens, and our 27-acre East Campus in Hristoupoli, Spata, hosting Pierce PK-Elementary and Future PK-9.
Pierce, a premier, co-educational, PK – 12 school offering a Greek-based national curriculum and an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, is one of three divisions of The American College of Greece (ACG), the oldest and largest U.S.-accredited, comprehensive educational institution in Europe. Through Pierce, Deree (undergraduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, fine and performing arts as well as graduate programs in the arts and sciences) and Alba Graduate Business School (MBA and MSc as well as extensive Executive Education programs), ACG serves over 7,000 students and has over 62,000 alumni worldwide.
Pierce traces its historical roots to 1875 when visionary women missionaries from Massachusetts founded a school for girls in Smyrna (today Izmir, Turkey). Relocating to Athens in 1923, Pierce evolved into a coeducational school of almost 2,400.
For current students, the Pierce website is a portal to ACG’s extensive technology resources. For alumni and friends, the site offers a way to stay connected, be informed, and take advantage of all ACG offers.
As you explore the Pierce website, we hope you will not only discover but engage ACG’s expanding role as a unique center of educational excellence and social contribution in Greece.
David G. Horner, PhD
President The American College of Greece
MISSION & LEARNER PROFILE
The School's mission
The mission of Pierce is to provide a holistic education to form intellectually independent, morally responsible, socially engaged global citizens. “Non ministrari sed ministrare” (“Not to be served but to serve”) defines our institutional character and our aspiration for our students.
Pierce students are educated to be:
Leaders
- Aware of global challenges
- Committed to working for justice
- Open in their thinking, able to communicate clearly
- Appreciative of the riches that diversity and equity bring
- Able to develop unique and sustainable solutions to real world problems
Independent Learners
- Knowledgeable in a wide range of subjects
- Critical thinkers
- Creative
- Able to conduct their own research
- Excited by discovery and learning
- Understanding of the complexities they will encounter in their studies, work, personal lives, and broader society
We inspire them to
- Resilient and hard-working
- Persistent and tenacious and brave
- Collaborative
- Honest and compassionate and empathetic
- Confident and influential personalities who act with a sense of ethics and personal responsibility
