NEW YORK – Dr. Symeon Symeonides, Dean Emeritus and Alex L. Parks Distinguished Chair in Law, Willamette University, will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Peter Kakoyiannis, Esq. will be the recipient of the Community Service Award at the 2019 Annual Testimonial Dinner of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations (FCAO) to be held on Thursday, September 26, 6:30 PM at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Dr. Symeonides will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his scholarly work and significant contributions and exceptional achievements in the field of law.

Kakoyiannis will be honored with the Community Service Award for his outstanding volunteer service and dedication to the community and for promoting the ideals and values of Hellenism.

The Testimonial Dinner organized by FCAO – the leading organization dedicated to the promotion of Greek Cypriot cultural heritage in the United States – will be co-chaired by His Excellency Nicos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, and His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.

The annual FCAO Testimonial Dinner is held every September in New York. Past award recipients include: His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, then-United States Senator Joseph Biden, the former Prime Minister of Greece Costas Karamanlis, Dr. Chrysostomos Nikias, President of the University of Southern California, Nikos Kotzias, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Dr. Harris Pastides, President of the University of South Carolina, numerous United States Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as prominent American businessmen and philanthropists.

Dr. Symeon C. Symeonides was born and raised in Lythrodontas, Cyprus. After completing his military obligations, he earned a scholarship to study at the University of Thessaloniki Law School, from where he graduated in record time with the highest grade in that school’s history – a 10 out of 10 – as well as with a second degree in political science, with a grade of 9.

After again serving in the National Guard during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, he earned another scholarship from Harvard University, from where he received a Master in Law (LL.M.) and a Doctorate in Juridical Science (S.J.D.). He also holds two honorary Doctor of Laws degrees and an honorary Ph.D.

He began his teaching career at the University of Thessaloniki in 1976 and continued at Louisiana State University (1978-99), where he held the Judge Albert Tate Chair in Law and served as Vice Chancellor (1991-97). In 1999, he was elected Dean of Willamette University College of Law in Oregon and served in that capacity until 2011.

Since then he occupies the Alex L. Parks Distinguished Chair in Law. He has taught at The Hague Academy of International Law, NYU, and the universities of Paris-I (Sorbonne), Paris-V (Descartes), Aix-en-Provence, Louvain-la-Neuve, Tulane, Loyola, and East China, where he holds the title of honorary professor. He has lectured in more than fifty universities in the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

Symeonides has published 27 books and 135 articles, some of which appear in Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. The Stanford Law Review characterized him as “the giant” of private international law (v. 60 at 249), and The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law declared him “the world’s leading expert on comparative conflicts law today” (at 1380).

Peter Kakoyiannis was born in Brooklyn, NY, and is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. He attended Herbert H. Lehman College where he received his degree (1970 BA in economics). Following his graduation from college, he served six years in the New York Army National Guard while pursuing a law degree at St. John’s University. At St. John’s University, he received a scholarship for his skills in advocacy and was awarded a Moot Court Scholarship and became a Member of the Moot Court Board.

He currently is a member of the firm of Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, P.C., having been admitted to practice law in New York since 1975. He is a member of several Federal Courts including the Second Circuit and the State Courts of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His specialization in the firm is in transactional real estate, in particular, cooperatives and condominiums, as well as representing Lenders in commercial financings.

The Federation of Cypriot American Organizations (FCAO) is a non-profit umbrella organization representing 28 Greek Cypriot American organizations located throughout the United States. Its mission is to develop good relations and solidarity amongst its chapters, to promote their common goals, represent their common interests and the coordination of their common, social, educational, philanthropic, and cultural activities.

The FCAO undertakes and promotes charitable activities primarily within the Cypriot-American and Greek-American communities; preserves and promotes the Greek language and Greek Cypriot history in the United States; supports the leadership of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States in the establishment and preservation of Greek American identity and the Greek Orthodox faith in the United States; and preserves and promotes the Greek Cypriot cultural heritage in the United States.