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As Turkey debates the new rector appointment to Boğaziçi University, a top higher education institution in the country, we have spoken about the issue with Prof. Engin Karadağ from Akdeniz University, who conducted a study about the academic success of the country's universities in late 2019.
The qualification of the rectors directly affects universities' success, says Karadağ. "Boğaziçi, İstanbul University, the Middle East Technical University and the İstanbul Technical University were our leading universities in the success ranking but they have declined now because of rectors."
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Prof. Melih Bulu, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), was appointed as the rector of Boğaziçi University by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 1.
The appointment has caused outrage among the students and academics of Boğaziçi as they have protested Bulu, whom they dubbed as "the trustee rector," over the past week.
"Someone who has declared their political identity shouldn't be a rector or a dean," says Karadağ. "But the most important indicator is scientific merit. Rectors with low academic qualifications cause universities to regress."
"Melih Bulu, who is appointed to Boğaziçi University, has a political identity. But much more important than his political identity is his low academic qualifications, we should discuss this," he says.
While the country's top universities have been declining, some other universities have been on the rise, notes Karadağ. "For example, Ege University Rector Necdet Budak is a former MP but he has increased the success of the university a lot because his academic quality is high and he prioritizes this.
"Gebze University and İzmir Technology University are also among examples that can be considered as positive. If we want our universities to be successful and included in world rankings, we have to attach importance to scientific merit."
About Melih BuluProf. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Haliç University on January 17, 2020. In office in this foundation university for less than a year, he has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University. He was a Dean and University President at the İstinye University from 2016 to 2019. Between the years of 2010 and 2016, he was the Head of the Business Management Department of İstanbul Şehir University's Business Management and Management Science Faculty. He was the General Coordinator of the International Competitiveness Research Institute (URAK), an NGO working on the economic competitiveness of cities and countries, from the year 2017 to 2019. Since 2011, he has been the Executive Board member of the İstanbul Electric-Electronic Machinery and Informatics Exporters R&D Market. In 2002, he founded the Sarıyer District Organization of the ruling AKP in İstanbul. In 2015, he was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections from the AKP in the first election district in İstanbul. He studied Industrial Engineering at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara in 1992. He did his MBA and PhD at Boğaziçi University's Department of Management. |
(RT/VK)
