Faculty Member
Orestis Iatrides was one of the first teachers to join the faculty of Anatolia College during its relocation to Thessaloniki. When the College moved to its new facilities, Iatrides took over the management of the boarding house. In 1941, when President Riggs was forced to leave Greece due to the war, he entrusted the responsibility for the state of Anatolia to a committee consisting of three staff members: Orestis Iatridis, Prodromos Embeoglou, and Georgios Markoglou. Iatrides, who had earned the president’s trust as the manager of the boys’ boarding house, as a teacher, and as a counselor and translator when accompanying him on matters with the Greek authorities, was appointed interim director of Anatolia. When the U.S. diplomatic offices also closed and withdrew from Thessaloniki, Consul General Johnson handed over the titles of Anatolia’s property to him. Together with his family and in collaboration with art teacher George Paralis, they managed to transfer and eventually save part of Anatolia College’s library and equipment from the German occupation. An important initiative by Iatrides, with the participation of the committee appointed by President Riggs and in collaboration with other Anatolia teachers, was the establishment of a temporary Greek school in the center of Thessaloniki. The new school was named Adamantios Korais and provided students with an education modeled after Anatolia’s standards, while ensuring a livelihood for the teachers and staff. Orestis Iatrides continued as a senior advisor to the president and teacher until his retirement in 1962.
