History

History

The College was founded in 1875 by Congregational missionaries from Massachusetts as a primary and secondary school for girls in Smyrna, Asia Minor, at a time when women’s access to education was extremely limited in that part of the world. The destruction of the city and the ensuing expulsion of its Christian population in 1922 forced the College to relocate to Athens, Greece, at the invitation of Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos. In 1936 the school was renamed Orlinda Childs PIERCE College, in honor of the wife of a benevolent supporter.

In 1961, the College was incorporated in the state of Colorado and was authorized to expand into higher education and grant Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. In 1965 the College moved to its current 64-acre campus in Aghia Paraskevi, a northeastern suburb of Athens.
The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in 1969. The undergraduate division was renamed DEREE College in 1973 in honor of William S. Deree, a generous benefactor from Chicago.

In 1993 a second campus in the center of Athens began operations.

DEREE started offering courses in continuing and professional studies in 2003, and in 2004 it entered the field of graduate studies.
The College has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1981. NEASC is the oldest and most prestigious regional accrediting organization in the United States.