The emblematic multi-building complex, where New York College has been operating for the last 32 years, at 38 Vas. Amalias Av. in the heart of Athens, has a long history that is directly related to the history of the Greek state. The construction of the complex (1878-1879) is the result of the inspired initiative of the first Greek women's association, named Association for Education of Young Women, founded by 62 Athenian women in 1872—in a male-dominated era, when women in Greece did not have the right to vote or even to participate actively in public affairs—who shared  an ambitious vision: The education of financially underprivileged girls and young women, with emphasis to their professional training and employment, in line with the pertinent vision of Ioannis Kapodistrias, first Governor of Greece (1828-1831), who founded the first special schools for girls in the country.

That daring private initiative at the time, i.e. the goal of economic independence of needy unmarried women, was put under the auspices of Queen Olga of Greece. The initial endeavors of the Asscociation met with success, initially by concession of the plot that today spans the city block at 38 Vas. Amalias Av. to the Association by the Municipality of Athens, and thereafter by construction of the educational complex there by a generous monetary donation by Andreas Syngros, who was a major banker and philanthropist in the 19^th century and is historically recognized ever since as “Great Benefactor” of Greece. The architectural plans were drawn up by Nikolaos Lysippos, who offered them kindly to the Association (without pay) and supervised their implementation for two years personally (also without pay).

As of Fall 1879, the newly-built first mansion of the complex at 38 Vas. Amalias Av. (today's “Syngros Hall”) housed the “Laboratory of Resourceless Women” of the Association, and later the “Hospital Training School”, whose graduates were the first to staff as nurses the newly built Evangelismos Hospital (1884), the first major hospital in Greece.

An important milestone in the history of the Association and the insurance system of the country was the establishment of “Pension Fund” by the Association for its employees in 1906, a pioneering accomplishment at the time, three decades before the first legislative and administrative attempts (1932-1934) for the establishment of the first state institution for social insurance (“Social Insurance Foundation” or “IKA”) as late as 1937.

During the Asia-Minor Catastrophe (1922-1923), the Association treated and hired 150 Greek refugees as workers. Right after WWII, during which the Association managed to survive despite extreme wartime circumstances of foreign occupation and deadly famine in Athens at the time, the multi-building complex housed the National History Museum temporarily before its final relocation to the Old Parliament building. In January 1946, the Association founded the “Middle Urban School” (which soon evolved into a model high school, renamed as the “44th High School at Plaka for female students” in this multi-building complex) and later founded the pioneering “Laboratory of Liberal Studies Andreas Syngros”. Since 1982, the mansion on 38 Vas. Sofias Av. has also shone at an artistic level: The actress Aliki Nor operated the “Pyli” (Gate) Theater there for four years. 

In sum, the Association has contributed positively to advancing the cause of work opportunities and political rights of women in Greece, as perhaps no other private Association, given that the timeless struggle of its highly-motivated members—in the midst of national, civil and world wars—was effective and successful through their leading example, their creative thinking, and their daring but always peaceful and nationally unifying initiatives.

Since 1990, the Association has entrusted this historic multi-building complex to the hands of Elias S. Foutsis, Hon. Ph.D., founder and President of New York College (NYC), for the operation of the college there, in collaboration with the American State University of New York (SUNY), in order for the two institutions “to offer the opportunity to mentally gifted but financially non-privileged students to have access to tertiary education at the highest international level”, as literally specified in the initial international agreement between NYC and SUNY—historically the first international academic-validation agreement in Greece and the Balkans (1989), i.e. a groundbreaking agreement that was a catalyst and a model for further development of the college sector in Southeastern Europe in the following decades. The building complex itself has been undergoing continuous development: This campus has changed, adapted, and modernized over the years, but always with due respect to and in line with the architecture and history of the site, so that today NYC students have the opportunity and privilege to attend academic classes in this educational complex as a timeless symbol of history that is part of the collective memory.

11. The Acropolis (left, up) and the front building (today's “Syngros Hall”) of the educational complex on 38 Vas. Amalias Av. (right, middle) in 1896: Photo probably taken on March 25, 1896 (old calendar), the first day of the first Olympic Games (1896) in modern history, from Panathinaiko Stadium. 12. Photo of schoolgirls and female students on campus (1902). 13. Great Benefactor Andreas Syngros. 14. Athens 1965 ca.: “Laboratory of Liberal Studies Andreas Syngros” under renovation (today's “Syngros Hall” of NYC Athens Campus); photo from the Photographic Archive of the National History Museum. 15. Athens 1941-1944, in front of the educational complex at the time of Nazi Occupation of Athens: Vas. Amalias Avenue, the tram (line 12 for Pagrati), the National Garden and in the background the Old Palace (today's Parliament of the Hellenic Republic) and Lycabettus Hill. 16. Athens, April 27, 1930, in front of the educational complex: a parade to the Acropolis on Vas. Amalias Avenue in celebration of the Centennial of the Greek Struggle of Independence. ERT TV Digital Archive.

The bust of Great Benefactor Andreas Syngros, donor and prime financier of the multi-building educational complex where NYC Athens Campus currently operates, adorns the traditional courtyard of the college.

More about the history of NYC Athens Campus can be found here.

NYC Athens Campus (38 Vas. Amalias Av., SYNTAGMA) has evolved into a pioneering world-class educational and cultural hub, in line with higher-education applied models of openness to society: Two interactive historical museums based in NYC Athens Campus are open to the public; furthermore, training seminars by scholars, lectures by prominent academics and politicians, as well as discussion sessions and structured debates according to ancient Greek democratic standards, take place periodically in NYC Athens Campus and are also open to the public with free participation.