BOSTON, MA – Fr. Christopher Metropulos, president of Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) in an interview with TNH spoke about the new academic year, the number of students, the finances, the visions, and aspirations of the two unique schools. “It is amazing every year the Lord continues to send us young people for HCHC” he said.“We are like every other university in the country and it is always difficult to recruit students. There are 3000 colleges and universities in America, 1200 of them are faith-based and we (Greek Orthodox) have one school and we have to grow that school.”
They have a total of 180 students this year, including 57 freshmen almost evenly split between the College and the School. He said that “out of 28-30 students, 22 or 24 at the School of Theology will aim for the Holy priesthood for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.”
Fr. Metropoulos wants to bring students from Greece to study at HCHC. He said “we have students from Greece and from Constantinople. I am trying very hard to reopen the ability to bring in students from Greece. I would like to see 20 per year. There are certain scholarships we can offer them. I traveled to Greece last year and visited seven high schools, and I am returning to those schools again to visit and offer students the opportunity to come here.
“It is a very good option, because the situation as you know is very difficult in Greece. I feel it is my duty to do that because I know there young men and women over there who want to get an education, and we also know that once they graduate from a university in Greece it is very difficult to get work there.”
When we asked him is the total number of 180 in both schools is representative of the Greek-American Community and its resources, he said, “absolutely not, my goal will be, let us say in ten years, to have 500 students. I think in five years we should have 300 students at least. Part of the issue for many, many years was finances and enrollment. I am trying to recruit the right students, but also we look at partnerships with local universities, which will allow us to have programs whereby when students graduate from here they will be able to earn their master’s degree within one year thereafter.
“We are in the process of announcing in a month or so the partnerships that have been established and try to offer new programs in the sciences. We can’t afford to create new majors on campus, but we can easily use them in Boston,the ‘Athens of America.’”
In recent years there was trimming of the budget. He said, “over the years I have worked with the Board of Trustees to cut the budget here. We have eliminated 17 positions, three of which were senior cabinet positions so we can live with our means, we cannot spent more than we are taking in. Those are tough things to do, but I feelif you pull back on that, you build a solid foundation and then you march forward.”
Metropulos reveled that “we had a deficit when I started three years ago (he did not disclose the number) but next year we should be running in the black.”
In terms of personnel, he said “when I came there were 62 now we have about 50. If we don’t have a successful year I would have to eliminate more positions.”
Via TNH, he asked the Greek-American community to support the HCHC. “I want the people to visit the school, to visit the website and see what is going on, and I am trying to be as transparent as possible. We ask that they help us with whatever they can give: $5, $10, or $1 million. Get the entire community behind this school. We only have one College, one school of Theology; I am asking them to send their children to HCHC.”
He also wants to take HCHC students to Greece “because I want them to experience Greece, the Holy Land, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
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