Vice rector shares old projects: ‘Boğaziçi is now doing science’

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Gürkan Kumbaroğlu, one of the three vice rectors appointed by Prof. Melih Bulu, the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University, posted a news report titled "Boğaziçi is now doing science" on his Twitter account.

Artık #bilim @UniBogazici pic.twitter.com/R3xEu800wm

— Gürkan Kumbaroğlu (@GKumbaroglu) April 1, 2021

While the news report in question refers to the research projects carried out by the university in the period of 2017-2020, when neither Bulu nor Kuöbaroğlu had yet been in office, the fact that a news report of pro-government Yeni Akit has been shared by vice rector Kumbaroğlu has sparked criticisms among the faculty members of Boğaziçi University.

The academics of the university have referred to a news report published by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) on March 26, 2021 with the title "Boğaziçi University aims to add new projects to its EU-supported projects." It is known that the university's research projects mentioned in the news report started in 2020 or earlier and were carried out in 2020.

The above-mentioned AA news was then published by Yeni Akit a day later, on March 27, with the title "Boğaziçi is now producing science."

'A smear campaign against our community'

The faculty members of Boğaziçi University have defined Kumbaroğlu's social media post as an "April 1st joke" and underlined that "this news which can be described as an overview of the projects was published in the media outlet called Yeni Akit on March 27, 2021 with the title 'Boğaziçi is nor producing science' with the its content being distorted and misleading."

The academics have stressed that "the research and scientific works undertaken by Boğaziçi University as a research-oriented university for years have been disregarded in the related news report."

"In fact, before Boğaziçi University was assigned with this title by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) in the 2017 - 2018 academic year, it had proved itself as a research university and it has been doing intensive research and producing science for years with its all academics and researchers, as it needs to be done by a research university," they have underlined.

The academics have defined it as "problematic" that Kumbaroğlu, who has been appointed as the managing vice rector and working as an academic at Boğaziçi for years, shared the related news report of Yeni Akit on his LinkedIn page and Twitter account without giving a reference.

The faculty members have further stressed that "Kumbaroğlu posted such a tweet on April 1, instead of building trust and despite the objections and reactions of faculty members, will cater to the lynch campaigns run against the academic community of Boğaziçi University." (AÖ/SD)