Tarsus American College or Tarsus American School (official Turkish name: Özel Tarsus Amerikan Lisesi, aka Tarsus Amerikan Koleji) is a private coeducational high school located in Tarsus, province Mersin, Turkey.It is known for the success of its alumni throughout the world. The school maintains a respective fellowship system, in which all students in the school know each other and have strong bonds. The college was established in 1888 under the name "St. Paul's Institute at Tarsus" after an idea of US newspaper publisher Elliot Fitch Shepard to build an institution in dedication to "St. Paul" during his visit to Tarsus. In its first years, the school had close contact with the American Board Foundation, a charity organization located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Alexander Mac Lachlan and presbyterian missionary Harutune Stephen Jenanyan (25 April 1858, Marash, Turkey – 25 September 1907, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, served as the first school administrators until 1891, Thomas Davidson Christie from 1893 to 1920.