William McGrew grew up in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania. After graduating (Phi Beta Kappa) from Reed College, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service. He served a decade in D.C., Athens, Thessaloniki, Izmir and Cyprus, before resigning during the questionable Vietnam War.
Research into complex property issues while regional manager for an American firm in the Peloponnese led to a doctorate and publication of Land and Revolution in Modern Greece, 1800–1881.
For a quarter of a century, he presided over Anatolia College in Thessaloniki, adding to its high school the American College of Thessaloniki offering both Bachelor and Master degrees accredited in the U.S. This venture is described in his work, Educating Across Cultures, Anatolia College in Turkey and Greece.
He later presided at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki.
Bill (Vasilis) has had both a Greek and an American wife, five children and a dozen grandchildren, half Greek, half American, all treasured.