“TO head an institution such as this, one must be both an academic and a general manager.”
That was the verdict of the Executive Dean of Intercollege, Nicos Peristianis, who added that it is a difficult position, “as one has to combine a multitude of skills and understand many different fields.
He said that unlike state institutions where finances are secure, you have to be good enough to go out and create the resources for your institution and possess both marketing and management skills, while maintaining the spirit of the institution.
“It is a balancing act of academic and commercial needs, with the organisation needing to grow commercially in order to achieve its academic goals such as hiring better faculty and creating better infrastructure.”
The 53-year-old has been with Intercollege since its inception in 1980 and has been the Dean, a position now referred to as Executive Director, for the past 15 years.
He described himself as an academic who just happened to get into the general management of the institution.
He studied sociology and economics in the UK before joining the Higher College of Technology in Cyprus, which later became known as Frederick College.
“I was actively involved in organising a teachers’ union and a union to unite private educational institutions at the time,” he said. “However, the management did not approve of what I was doing and discontinued my employment.”
Intercollege had just started its courses and Peristianis was invited to teach sociology, on a part-time basis.
“The owner, a Greek by the name of Stelios Zarafopoulos, saw that I was very popular and respected by others and he decided to sell me his shares.”
By the end of 1980, he had become the college’s Academic Director.
“Growing up, I thought of pursuing many different occupations, but funnily enough, teaching was never one of them,” he explained.
Speaking candidly about what his current role involves, the Dean stated that in order to succeed in such a position, one must be an academic who understands what academia is all about such as the issues, sensitivities and concerns involved.
“You cannot simply be a business manager as academics are very protective over the cultural capital which they possess. They have invested in their knowledge and one has to appreciate that fact and not go treading into their domain trying to impose decisions.”
He added that Intercollege has been successful, “as we deeply respect the values of academics, operate with clear values and policies, cultivate a transparent culture and are forever engaged in dialogue regarding all aspects of university life.”
According to Peristianis, being a qualified sociologist helps, “as sociology gives you a certain valuable perspective of distance and the insistence on objectivity and understanding other people and their cultures. I must accept that each point of view is equally valid. A big problem is that people just stick to their own way of looking at the world and try to impose this on others.”
He was also asked for his views on whether the government has been a help or a hindrance over the years.
“Unfortunately, it has been the latter. In the 1980s the government was deeply suspicious about the private sector being involved in higher education. They were very negative and no framework of laws existed regarding tertiary education. The first, in 1987, was an attempt to control us.”
Even by 1998, “academics who the government appointed to accredit local private institutions were prejudiced and were not ready to issue bachelor degrees but only two-year diplomas. Now though, we have convinced them that we are good enough for masters’ degrees and that we can be named a university.”
He said the news was a belated development. “It’s about time. I feel that it’s a good move as being called a college was a great constraint. When there are thousands of universities in the world, we were effectively playing in the second division.”
He said his organisation is now in a position to do even better in the future.
“Perhaps a new era can begin and I hope to have a more constructive relationship with the government from now on.”
