Pan Papacosta and Karelisa Hartigan believed that students at the University of Florida might be interested in learning the Modern Greek language. They offered an introductory course two evenings a week. Their belief was correct: if Greek is offered, the students will come. Throughout the next year, Drs. Papacosta, Hartigan, and Leonidas Polopolus worked tirelessly to create the Center for Greek S
tudies. Again, they were successful: the Florida Board of Regents approved the establishment of a Type II Center. Thus was born the University of Florida's Center for Greek Studies, the only such center in the state of Florida and, indeed, in the Southeast of the United States. The Center was inaugurated in May 1981, in a ceremony attended by then-consul Mr. Dimitrios Tsikouris and other prominent members of the Greek community. In the fall of 1981, the Center hired Dr. Aristotle Michopoulos, who taught a full range of Modern Greek language courses. He worked with Drs. Polopolus and Hartigan to spread the word about the Center throughout the state of Florida. Through the ever-growing generosity of Greek-Americans across the state and beyond, the Center has flourished. Years later, the Center hired Dr. Robert Wagman to teach Greek as well as many Classics courses. Dr. Wagman coordinated the Center’s multi-disciplinary course, “Greece Yesterday and Today,” in which all of the Center’s faculty have participated and which regularly attracts more than one hundred students. In the fall of 1995, Mr. Kontaridis started teaching as an Adjunct Lecturer in Greek Studies. He, too, added many students to the Greek language courses. In 2000, the Department of Classics and the Center for Greek Studies appointed Dr. Kostas Kapparis to a newly created position. Dr. Kapparis, who holds degrees from the University of Crete and the University of Glasgow, became the Center’s Associate Director two year later. In 2009, the University of Florida and the Center filled the Cassas Chair in Greek Studies and hired Dr. Gonda Van Steen, who currently also serves as Executive Director of the Modern Greek Studies Association of North America (www.mgsa.org). The Center made a junior appointment by bringing Dr. Eleni Bozia on board as Assistant Professor with specialties in Classics, Digital Humanities, and Modern Greek. Dr. Tom Kostopoulos continues to enrich our curriculum by offering courses on Modern Greek history and politics. Recently, Adjunct George Topalidis joined the ranks with his specialization in Greek-American History and the history of the Greeks of Florida. In 1979, Drs. Papacosta and Hartigan could never have dreamed that their "little class" would develop into a Center that has since brought hundreds of students to its courses and programs. And the Center is still growing! If you want to contribute to the Center’s success story and to its permanent growth, please contact Gonda Van Steen at [email protected] or 001-352-273-3796. We look forward to working with you!
