The Board of Trustees of College Year in Athens announces its recent decision to strengthen CYA’s leadership structure.

Alexis Phylactopoulos, who has admirably served as President of College Year in Athens since 1986, was elected to the newly established governance position of Executive Chair of the Board of Trustees of CYA, succeeding Daphne Hatsopoulos, who served as interim Chair since July 2022. In his new capacity, Mr. Phylactopoulos will Chair the Board of Trustees and support and advise the new President of CYA, with whom he will jointly design CYA’s strategic goals and vision. The Executive Chair will maintain his presence at CYA, function as the public face of CYA, represent the institution in Greece and abroad, engage in fundraising in the US and Greece, and oversee the school’s construction projects.

Theoni Scourta has been selected by the Board of Trustees to be the new President of CYA, succeeding Mr. Phylactopoulos. The Board’s selection came after a thorough search process by the consulting firm Egon Zehnder. The search concluded that Ms. Scourta, as an internal candidate, had the credentials, experience, and commitment and was ideally suited to assume the tasks of this challenging position. As President of CYA, she will have the overall responsibility for the institution.

Theoni Scourta has ten years of experience at CYA, having served with great success as Academic Director since 2013 and, more recently, as Executive Vice President and Head of Academic Affairs. Theoni was born in Patras, Greece. She is an art historian with a research interest in contemporary art. She received an MA from California State University, Los Angeles, in Art History and another MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Indianapolis. She has taught for more than 25 years in the US and Greece. She served as an assistant to the head of the Greek EPP-ED delegation to the European Parliament in Brussels for five years, after which she returned to Athens to head the academic department of AKTO Art & Design College before joining CYA.

Angelos Papadopoulos, Ph.D. in Archeology from the University of Liverpool and a CYA instructor since 2013, has been appointed to succeed Theoni Scourta and assume the role of Director of Studies at CYA. Angelos will be in charge of the Academic Affairs of CYA for a three-year assignment.

Peggy Myresiotou was named Executive Vice President and Head of Administration of CYA. 

All the above changes are effective 1 July 2023.

The Board of Trustees extends wishes for success to all new appointees. Furthermore, it would like to express its profound gratitude for Alexis Phylactopoulos’s extraordinary service, spanning an impressive 37 years, to CYA and to the Study Abroad field worldwide. His unwavering dedication has left an indelible mark on our institution, shaping it into the thriving organization it is today.

 

Daphne Hatsopoulos
Chair of the Board of Trustees
College Year in Athens