Chair of the Board of Trustees
Dr. Leonidas Tzonis (Chair). Dr. Leonidas Tzonis is President of the Board (Chief Executive Officer) of the Hellenic American Union, where he leads Greece’s oldest educational and cultural institution. He has been a key figure in the development of Hellenic American University, having served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Professor of Business. His leadership has shaped the University’s academic excellence, financial stewardship, and international growth. He holds a Ph.D. from Newcastle Business School, an M.Sc. in Finance and Investment and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Durham, and a B.Sc. in Economics and Business Finance from Brunel University. Earlier in his academic career, he taught at Durham University Business School, the Singapore Institute of Management, and SOAS, University of London. Dr. Tzonis has consulted for organizations across Greece, Northern Africa, and Central Asia, specializing in strategic planning, education management, and financial governance. He has also supported the establishment of higher-education institutions in Cyprus, Libya, and Mongolia. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce in New York and is an active member of several professional and community organizations, including the Culture Committee of the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic American Leadership Council, and the American Hellenic Institute. His contributions to education and community service have been recognized with an Honorary Professorship from the Warsaw University of Business and distinguished honors from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa (Archon).
President
Themis Kaniklidou is President at Hellenic American University. In this role, Dr. Kaniklidou is responsible for the academic enterprise of the University, across the Athens and Nashua instructional locations. She is also Associate Professor in Translation and Communication and Associate Director of the Ph.D. program at Hellenic American University.
Before assuming this role, she served as Associate Provost and Director of the Master of Arts in Translation She completed her Ph.D. (Language and Communication) working on Media Discourse and Translation at the University of Athens where she wrote her thesis on Narrative Theory and News Translation. She also holds an M.A. in Specialized Translation from the University of Surrey (2004) and a B.A. in Translation (2002) from the Ionian University of Foreign Languages – Department of Translation and Interpreting. Themis has been involved in various projects that link academia with the translation industry and EU institutions, and since 2015, is an active member of EURASHE. She has organized international conferences, has given keynote addresses and has participated in panel discussions as a discussant. Since 2008, Themis has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Translation Studies, Terminology, EU Translation, and Language and Communication, Greek culture and ethics and western culture. She has been visiting scholar at the communications department at Rollins College, USA and a part-time lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has supervised M.A. dissertations and has been mentoring graduate and Ph.D. students. Themis Kaniklidou has chaired the steering committee of International Conferences Europe in Discourse. Themis has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and has written chapters for edited textbooks. She has refereed articles for Rodopi and TEXT and TALK. Dr. Kaniklidou is the founder and co-coach of the HAU debate team.
Interim Provost
Panayotis Kalozoumis is Interim Provost at Hellenic American University, where he oversees academic programs, faculty affairs, curriculum development, and the academic operations across the Athens and Nashua campuses.
Dr. Kalozoumis joined Hellenic American University in 2018 as adjunct faculty and in 2019 he assumed the roles of Coordinator of the Engineering Programs and Director of the Research Institute. In 2021, he was appointed Director of the Informatics and Engineering Department, while he continued serving as Director of the Research Institute. Within this capacity, he led the restructuring and development of the Informatics and Engineering academic programs and contributed to the expansion of the University’s research activity and external collaborations.
He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Sciences from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), with specialization in theoretical physics and applied mathematics. His research interests focus on quantum and optical technologies, and he has worked at leading international and Greek universities and research centers, including the Center of Optical and Quantum Technologies, University of Hamburg (Germany), the Laboratoire d’Acoustique de l’Université du Mans (France), NKUA, the University of Patras, and the Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers, FORTH (Crete, Greece).
Dr. Kalozoumis is the author and co-author of thirty publications in peer-reviewed journals, and his work has been presented at international conferences and workshops. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, supervised theses and capstones, and mentored students in research and academic development. His approach to higher education is grounded in rigorous thinking, interdisciplinary program development, and the alignment of academic programs with emerging technological and societal needs.
Dean of Digital Learning and Education innovation
Dimitris Tolias holds a B.A. in Literature and Linguistics from the University of Athens, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Exeter, UK, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Hellenic American University, USA. From 1991 to 2001, he taught writing and research courses at the American College of Greece (Deree College). Between 1995 and 1999, he also taught writing and methodology courses in the English Department of the University of Athens.
Dr. Tolias is the author and co-author of several course books on teaching Greek as a Foreign/Second Language and co-author and editor-in-chief of a handbook for teachers of Greek as a Foreign Language. At Hellenic American University, he has served as Head Librarian and currently teaches courses in academic writing, communication, critical thinking, second language acquisition, critical discourse analysis, intercultural communication, and the application of artificial intelligence in education and professional settings.
He serves as the Director of the M.A. in Applied Linguistics/TESOL Program and the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Since September 1, 2021, he has held the position of Dean for Digital Learning and Education Innovation. In this role, he oversees the university's digital transformation initiatives and provides strategic direction for integrating innovative technologies into teaching and learning.
Dr. Tolias is deeply involved in training academics and professionals in artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), focusing on their pedagogical and practical applications in various professional domains. His research interests include e-learning, the design of virtual learning environments, and understanding and leveraging AI tools to enhance teaching, learning, and professional practices.
Dean and Executive Director of the Nashua Campus
Marieke Martin received her Bachelor of Science in BioScience and Technology from the University of New Hampshire, and her Masters in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, she is working toward completing her Ph.D. dissertation in International Business Strategy, from Southern of New Hampshire University. Her area of research focused, under the tutelage of the former chief economist for OPEC, on Emerging Capital Markets, (specifically Eastern European Market nations such as Russia and Turkey), innovation and international new ventures. Ms. Martin has worked in the private sector participating in many government-funded research projects focused both in finance and biotechnology. Prior to her recruitment at CitiGroup as a Wealth Manager, she worked as the Northeast Technical Specialist for the German biotech firm Machery-Nagel, a worldwide maker of medical research chemicals and filters, where she worked on corporate and government research project implementation and management, and U.S. and international business development.