* Photo: Can Candan
Click to read the article in Turkish
After Melih Bulu, who was appointed as the rector of Boğaziçi University by President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 2, was removed from office by another Presidential decision on July 15, the elected senators of Boğaziçi have addressed an open letter to the people who will apply to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) by August 2 the latest and become rector candidates.
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The letter underlining the need for a new governance model in higher education in Turkey has been signed by 11 senators.
The elected senators of the university have emphasized that they attach importance to the principles put forward in the report dated July 13, 2021, which was prepared by the Governance Structuring at Universities Working Commission (ÜYYK) and addressed the future of public research universities on the basis of academic freedom and university autonomy:
"The rector candidates must be able to undertake that they will abide by the principles of our university, its principles of bottom-up governance, its principles of meritocracy and autonomy and its vision of a student-oriented public research university and that they will be accountable."
The open letter of the senators"To the Rector Candidates of our University, "Since January 2, 2021, we have been going through a period of crisis which has undermined the academic and administrative autonomy of our University and inflicted considerable damages to the university life. "In these days leading up to the process of determining a new rector, we, the undersigned senate members, consider it to be our duty to remind our colleagues who are candidates for the position of the below points: "Our country is obviously in need of a new governance model in higher education. We attach importance to the principles put forward in the report dated July 13, 2021, which was prepared by the Governance Structuring at Universities Working Commission (ÜYYK), a commission founded by our Senate to contribute to such a work, and addressed the future of public research universities on the basis of academic freedom and university autonomy. "The rector to be in office in this period of transition will have important responsibilities. The text of Principles on the Functioning of Public Universities, which was put forward by Boğaziçi University in the light of its 158-year institutional tradition and 50-year experience as a public research university and was accepted at the senate meeting no. 2012/9, is a guide in this context. "We expect that our colleagues who are candidates for the university administration undertake their loyalty to these principles. "We would like to remind the rector candidates of some points indicated in the ÜYYK report as to the competence of the rector:
"The rector candidates must undertake that they will be able to abide by the values of our university, its bottom-up governance principles, principles of meritocracy and autonomy and vision of a student-oriented public research university and that they will be accountable. "We will keep on demanding that our university be administered in the light of these principles and values. Best regards, Prof. Yasemin Bayyurt, the Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Özlem Berk Albachten, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Prof. Ümit Bilge, the Senate Representative of the Engineering Faculty Prof. Metin Ercan, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Prof. Gülcan Erçetin, the Senate Representative of the Faculty of Education Prof. Çiğdem Kafesçioğlu, the Senate Representative of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Prof. Cengiz Kırlı, the Director of the Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History Prof. Ayşe Mumcu, the Senate Representative of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Prof. Turgut Tüzün Onay, the Director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences Prof. Özlem Yıldırım Öktem, the Director of the School of Applied Disciplines Prof. Can Yücesoy, the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering |
(DŞ/SD)