Meeting with president of Turkey caps busy week of
activities that result in new partnership agreements with nation’s top
universities, renewed ties with IU Turkish alumn
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie
concluded the first official visit by a standing IU president to Turkey
since 1955, wrapping up a week of productive meetings with educational,
business and government leaders, as well as with members of IU’s two
Turkish alumni chapters.
On Saturday, Sept. 27, McRobbie met in Istanbul with the recently
elected president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Joining them were two
of Erdoğan’s three children who are graduates of IU, daughters Esra and
Sümeyye.
Esra Erdoğan and her youngest brother, Bilal, both earned bachelor’s
degrees from IU Bloomington’s College of Arts and Sciences, while
Sümeyye is a graduate of IU’s School of Public and Environmental
Affairs. President Erdoğan, who was sworn in as president last month
after more than a decade as prime minister, and his wife, Emine, have
both visited IU’s Bloomington campus in the past.
Later Saturday evening, McRobbie hosted a reception for IU Turkish
alumni, where he presented the Thomas Hart Benton Medallion to IU
alumnus Erdal Yildirim, the general manager of the Vehbi Koc Foundation,
in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in nonprofit
management and philanthropy over his career in Turkey and around the
globe. The Vehbi Koc Foundation, where McRobbie attended a meeting
earlier in the week, is one of Turkey’s largest non-governmental
charitable organizations. It aims to support the country’s development
through grants to support programs in education, healthcare and culture.
The Benton Medallion is given to individuals who have achieved a
level of distinction in public office or service and have exemplified
the values of IU.
“Few U.S. institutions of higher education have been as historically
active and engaged in Turkey as Indiana University,” McRobbie said. “For
more than 70 years, IU has been one of the nation’s premier
destinations for the study of Turkish and Turkic languages and the
history and culture of this dynamic nation that, with its strategic
location connecting several regions of the world, will continue to play a
vital role in international affairs.
“Our meetings in Istanbul and in Ankara have been extremely
productive, positioning us to substantially enhance our already strong
presence in Turkey, identify promising new exchange opportunities for
our students and faculty to study, teach and conduct research overseas,
and reconnect with our many successful Turkish alumni. Our Turkish
alumni are exceptional ambassadors for IU through their passion for the
university and the major contributions they continue to make to the
cultural, economic and political life of modern-day Turkey.”
As a result of the trip, IU formalized new partnership agreements
with two of Turkey’s top-ranked universities and strengthened
connections to several others. The university also explored
opportunities to open a third global gateway office, which would serve
as a central location for IU activities in Turkey, including
conferences, meetings, receptions, symposia and workshops. (The other
two IU gateway facilities are in Beijing and just outside New Delhi.)
On Sept. 23, McRobbie signed a Mevlana agreement with Boğaziçi
University of Istanbul. This agreement is part of a Turkish governmental
program to provide funding for student and faculty exchanges between
Turkey's higher education institutions and their counterparts around
world.
In recent years, IU and Boğaziçi University have developed a number
of relationships between faculty and research programs in a variety of
areas, including anthropology, Turkish studies and philanthropic
studies.
On Sept. 25, in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, McRobbie formalized
the university’s partnership with Middle East Technical University by
signing an agreement of friendship and cooperation. Since its inception
as a state university in 1956, METU, which has more than 24,000
students, has developed into one of Turkey’s most competitive
universities, and it is widely recognized as the nation’s leading
university in terms of depth and breadth of international ties and the
amount of funds generated from international research projects.
While in Ankara, McRobbie visited another IU partner, Ankara
University, the first higher education institution founded in the
Turkish Republic. Ankara University is a partner in the prestigious
Turkish Flagship Program at IU, the only federally funded program in
this area.
He also met with senior leaders and faculty at TOBB University of
Economics and Technology, a 10-year-old private university and the first
university in Turkey to offer cooperative education combining classroom
education with practical business experience.
TOBB is Turkey’s highest legal entity representing the private
sector, including all local chambers of commerce, industry and maritime,
as well as commodity exchanges. Its membership totals 1.4 million
companies.
Joining McRobbie on the historic trip were IU Vice President for
International Affairs David Zaret and IU first lady Laurie Burns
McRobbie.
While in Ankara, McRobbie met with members of Turkey’s national
higher education board (YÖK), officials at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and U.S. Consul General Charles F. Hunter to discuss new
developments at the university, including its recently established
School of Global and International Studies, and the university’s goals
for expanding its presence in the country and surrounding region.
McRobbie also hosted a reception for IU alumni living and working in the
city.
For decades, students and scholars have come to IU from Turkey to
pursue educational opportunities and collaborate with IU faculty. Turkey
consistently ranks among the top 10 nations of origin among IU's
international students, and many IU students continue to engage in
overseas study in a country that bridges Europe and Asia and, today, is
the major economic, political and military power in the region.
Reports from McRobbie's trip are available at a blog site,
IU Goes to Turkey, and through official IU social media channels on
Facebook and
Twitter.
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