About
Mission and History
The Center for Hellenic Studies serves as a nucleus of activities concerned with Hellenic language, history and culture, political life, social issues, and economy. With the study of Greece and Hellenism, the Center aspires to educate and nurture students with the values of Hellenic civilization. It also aims to form strong bonds between the University and the Greek-American communities of Long Island and New York, and establish connections and interactions with educational and academic institutions in Greece.
On October 18, 2017, thanks to a generous gift provided by Peter V. Tsantes, we celebrated
the official opening of the Center for Hellenic Studies (see photos below). Establishing
a dedicated space on Stony Brook's campus greatly supports the ongoing operations
and events of the center, including the pursuit of scholarship and dispersion of knowledge
on Hellenism and the encouragement of student engagement in community activities.
The Center is located in the Humanities Building on Stony Brook's West Campus, Room
1052.
Hellenic Studies faculty, friends, and students celebrate the opening of the center
on October 18, 2017.
Peter V. Tsantes and the Endowed Professorship in Greek Literature and Language
In 1951, at the age of 21, Peter Tsantes left his native Ikaria and journeyed to the United States on board the ocean liner Hellas. Peter has always felt indebted to the woman who supported him during World War II in Greece and sponsored his immigration to the U.S.: his adoptive mother, Aikaterini Spanou Haralambou Batuyios. Her encouragement inspired Peter to support Hellenic education.
He became involved with the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture (AFGLC), and through it funded an endowed chair in Hellenic Studies in Aikaterini’s name at Stockton University in New Jersey. Then turning his focus to his longtime home on Long Island, he and a handful of people who shared his enthusiasm for Hellenism formed the New York Chapter of AFGLC. Peter and his friends then approached Stony Brook University and were encouraged by its enthusiasm and educational reputation and the strong Greek-American Long Island community surrounding it. As a result, Peter, with matching support from George Tsunis and his family, established a named professorship in 2013- the Peter V. Tsantes Endowed Professorship in Greek Literature and Language- to promote the study of Hellenic civilization, culture, history, socioeconomics, language, and literature.
The professorship is the base for a plethora of Hellenic activities on campus, supported
not only by the Tsantes family, but also by the generosity of other members of the
Long Island Hellenic community that Peter has helped inspire. He and his family remain actively engaged in events organized by the Center and have also sponsored the Tsantes Family Scholarship for study abroad in Greece. The Center for Hellenic Studies is grateful to Peter Tsantes and his family for their
generosity and support.
From left to right: Simos Zenios, current Peter V. Tsantes Professor in Greek Literature and Language, Sophia Tsantes, Peter Tsantes, Stony Brook President Andrea Goldsmith, and the Dean
of the College of Arts and Sciences David Wrobel. Photo from the 2025 Stony Brook Investiture Ceremony.
From left to right: Kalliope "Kay" Gemelas, Despina Tsantes, Peter Tsantes, Nikolaos Panou, inaugural Peter V. Tsantes Professor in Greek Literature and Language, and Stella Tsirka, Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies. Photo from the 2016 Investiture
Ceremony.
Peter and his wife Despina with Hellenic Studies faculty and students.
Leadership
Styliani-Anna (Stella) E. Tsirka is the Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies and Director of the Hellenic Studies Minor. She was born and raised in Greece. She received her BS and PhD degrees from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After pursuing postdoctoral studies at University of California San Francisco and SUNY Stony Brook, under the mentoring of Doctors Phil Coffino and Sid Strickland, respectively, she became a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook in 1998, and then joined the Pharmacology faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2000.
She has received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in University Service,
the Mentor of Excellence Award from the SBU Center for Inclusive Education, and was
elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
She served as the President of the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture
(AFGLC) and has served as the Inagural Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies
since 2017.
Annual Newsletters
Stay connected with the Center for Hellenic Studies. Special thanks to Dr. Maria Athanasopoulou for creating our newsletters.