New York, NY - His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has announced the appointment of a Search Committee to select a new President of Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. The position has been vacant since the resignation of the Very Rev. Archimandrite Damaskinos Ganas last August.
Mr. George Behrakis will chair the committee which also includes: Prof. Helen Hadjiyannakis Bender, Prof. Elias P. Gyftopoulos, Dr. Aristotle Michopoulos, Dr. Constantine Papadakis, the Rev. Dr. Theodore Stylianopoulos, Prof. Theoharis C. Theoharides and the Rev. Alexander Veronis.
Presidential Search Committee:
George Behrakis, Chairman: President and CEO of Muro Pharmaceutical, Inc., Tewksbury, MA, is Vice Chairman of the HC/HC Board of Trustees, member of the Archdiocesan Council, Diocesan Council of Boston, Leadership 100 and an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saints Memorial Medical Center, Lowell and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Northeastern University. He is a supporter of educational institutions including: the Northeastern University George D. Behrakis Chair in the Field of Targeted Pharmaceuticals; Boston College, Bentley College, Merrimack College, University of Mississippi-The Triplett-Behrakis School of Pharmacy Endowment Fund and the Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology Computer Room, funded and named for Muro Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Prof. Helen Hadjiyannakis Bender: Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law, New York City, is a graduate of Vassar College and Fordham Law School where she edited the Law Review. She has published several books on Contract Law, her specialization, and was also a member of the Search Committee for the Dean of Fordham Law School. She has served as a Trustee of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and as Treasurer of the Archdiocesan Council. Professor Bender is a Trustee of the Archbishop Iakovos Library Trust, the American Associates of the St. Catherine Foundation ( St.Catherines Monastery in the Sinai) and the Kallinikeion Foundation, which benefits Greek education and the Greek Orthodox Church worldwide. She is married to John C. Bender and they have a 12 year old daughter.
Prof. Elias P. Gyftopoulos: Ford Professor of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a native of Athens and a graduate of the Technical University of Athens with a Science Doctorate from MIT. He has initiated courses on nuclear power plant dynamics and most recently dedicated his efforts to the study of cost-effective energy use in industrial processes. He is vice -chairman of the Board of Anatolia College, board member of the Constantine G. Karamanlis Institute of Democracy, the American Nuclear Society, chairman of the Aerospace Division of ANS, trustee of HC/HC and the American Farm School, Board member of eleven U.S. private corporations and was a United States delegate to several international conferences on peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Dr. Aristotle Michopoulos: Acting Dean and Associate Professor of Modern Greek Studies, Hellenic College. A native of Greece, and graduate of the University of Athens, he moved to the United State and served as a translator for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese while studying for an M.A. in comparative literature at Queens College. His Ph.D. was earned at Florida State University in the bilingual/bicultural program funded by the Department of Education. He was for five years assistant professor of classics and modern Greek and associate director of the Center for Greek Studies at the University of Florida before accepting the position as Hellenic College Director of Greek Studies in 1987.
Dr. Constantine Papadakis: President of Drexel University, Philadelphia, is an innovator in higher education with extensive experience in the academe and corporate world. Prior to joining academe, he served in executive positions with Tetra Tech, STS Consultants, Ltd and Bechtel, Inc. He presently serves as a member of the Board of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology, the University City Science Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Fidelity Federal Bank, Greater Philadelphia First and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. He was recently appointed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court to the Judiciary Council of Pennsylvania.
The Rev. Dr. Theodore Stylianopoulos: Professor of New Testament HC/HC and has been a visiting professor of New Testament at several schools including St. Vladimirs Seminary and Boston College. A graduate of Holy Cross, he holds an STM from Boston University and a Th.D. from Harvard Divinity School. A Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he is the pastor of St. George Church, Keene, NH, lectures extensively and has published many books and articles. He has served as a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, the Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation and as Theological Consultant to the Religious Education Department of the Archdiocese from 1976-1997.
Prof. Theoharis C. Theoharides: Professor of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine, Tufts University and president and CEO of Theta Biomedical Consulting and Development CO., Brookline, MA. A graduate of Anatolia College in classics, he holds a B.A., PH.D, and M.D. from Yale University and a Master of Public Administration from the JFKennedy School of Government, Harvard. He has served as member of the Board of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Technology and as Special Advisor to the Hellenic National Drug Organization. He has received the Oliver Smith Award, Recognizing Excellence, Compassion and Service, by the New England Medical Center and the Great Cross of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Boston for humanitarian health care.
The Rev. Alexander Veronis: Pastor of the Annunciation Church, Lancaster, PA; HC/HC Trustee and President Emeritus of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. A 1958 graduate of Holy Cross, he holds a B.A. from Lafayette College, an S.T.M. from Boston University, a Licentiate in Orthodox theology f rom the Athens University School of Theology and a D.D. from Lebanon Valley College. In 1981 friends of Father and Presvytera Pearl initiated The Father Alexander and Presvytera Pearl Veronis Scholarship Fund in their honor. At their request this fund was changed to the Endowment Fund for Orthodox Missions and has since raised one million dollars to promote Orthodox Missions and established an Endowed Chair of Missiology at Holy Cross School of Theology. Their son and daughter-in-law, Father Luke and Presvytera Faith Veronis, are full-time missionaries/teachers in Albania, having served previously in Kenya.