LOS ANGELES – The American Hellenic Council of California (AHC) honored Dr. Christina Bogdanou with the Aristeion Award in Academic Leadership at the AHC New Year’s Gala on January 27. The sold-out event, held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, also honored Theodore Polychronis, one of the founding members of the Save Cyprus Council which later became the AHC, and his wife Eleftheria Polychronis, Vice President of the AHC Board of Directors, with the Aristeion Award in Community Leadership.

Incoming Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles Christina Valassopoulou and Dean of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral Rev. Fr. Gary Kyriacou were also introduced at the Gala. Entertainment reporter, television host, radio personality, and official Oscars broadcaster for Greece George Satsidis served as Master of Ceremonies.

Dr. Bogdanou earned her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she also taught as a lecturer, with an emphasis in 19th-20th century European literature, critical theory, and gender studies

A native of Athens, Greece, she completed her BA in English Literature and Linguistics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Following her graduation, she received the prestigious National Scholar Award (IKY) to pursue an MA in Comparative Critical Theory Studies in the UK and next in the U.S.

Dr. Bogdanou joined Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in 2001 where she taught classes in language, literature, and cultural history. She has held the position of the Director of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies and the Odyssey Summer Study Abroad Program in Greece since 2015. During her tenure as director, she has worked towards redesigning the program’s academic curriculum to include not only core classes in Greek language and culture, literature, history, and the Greek Orthodox tradition but courses that cover a broader area of study that examines Greece on a global stage with classes on contemporary issues such as current economic and political developments, immigration movements, issues of public health, urban and environmental studies. Under her guidance, the Caloyeras Center has become instrumental in the internationalization LMU’s curriculum and its mission to engage students in global citizenship and community-based learning, both locally and abroad.

Dr. Bogdanou is actively involved in several Greek-American community organizations. She is a board member of the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, an organization that preserves the rich history of the local Greek-American community. She is a member of the Programming Committee at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) and the scholarship advisor at the St. Katherine Foundation in Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach, California.

In her speech accepting the Aristeion Award, Dr. Bogdanou expressed her gratitude to Dr. Robbin Crabtree, Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at LMU under which the Caloyeras Center operates, for the university’s unwavering support of the Center’s academic program. She acknowledged her mentor and former academic director of the Center, the late Demetrios Liappas, as well as fellow faculty members Fr. John S. Bakas (retired), Fr. Michael Courey, Dr. Kalliopi Kefalas, and Dr. Eleni Tsaggouri for their dedicated service. Dr. Bogdanou also extended her gratitude for the Caloyeras family and the Center’s many supporters who have embraced the Center over its 50-year history.

In closing, she expressed appreciation to the AHC Board, the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles, the Honorary Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, the St. Sophia and St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Churches, the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, the Hellenic Library, the LAGFF, the Hellenic American Women’s Council, and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture for their collaboration towards the shared mission of promoting Hellenic culture, values, and causes.

Established in 1974, the Caloyeras Center offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate curriculum in Modern Greek Studies open to all LMU students. The curriculum encompasses courses on Modern Greek history, contemporary politics, the Greek Orthodox tradition and spirituality, Modern Greek literature, language and culture, theater, the arts, and current political issues. Throughout the academic year, the Center sponsors and organizes lectures, book presentations and readings, film screenings, concerts, and exhibitions on topics of interest to the university and the community at large. It offers semester-long study abroad opportunities as well as the Odyssey Program, our signature four-week summer travel and study academic program in Spetses, Greece.

The American Hellenic Council is a non-partisan, political advocacy organization. Their goal is to promote democracy, human rights, peace, and stability in Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, with an emphasis on Greece and Cyprus, by informing the American public and the government about on-going issues and conflicts in the area.

More information is available online: https://americanhellenic.org/.