NEWSLETTER #2
March 17, 2010
Merhaba Yale Ambassadors!
While we continue to finalize details of the trip to Turkey, other YaleGALE opportunities are opening up all over the world! Just to keep you informed about our initiatives, we (Mark and Kathy) met with Peking University (an IARU member) and Tsing Hua University in Beijing recently to introduce the concept of a program in China. Both institutions are extremely enthusiastic and it turns out that there is a multi-university gathering of alumni relations administrators every summer – a ready-made opportunity for us. And during the week of March 15 as part of the Yale Alumni Service Corps trip to Monterrey, Mexico, a delegation will meet with Monterrey Tec University for a mini-alumni leadership exchange program. It is exciting to see that there is interest in the program all over the world.
And the interest in our venture in Turkey is growing as well. I am very pleased to announce that Chris Hill ’99, a member of the delegation in Japan last year, and Nicholas Lewis ’93, Director of Shared Interest Groups at AYA, will both be joining us in July.
Here’s what you will find in this Newsletter:
Turkey: History and Current Events 2
Update on the World Alumni Leadership Conference 3
Spotlight on Boğaziçi University and Istanbul University 4
A bit about Konya and Cappadocia 6
Get in YGALE Gear 7
Gobble, Gobble: Did you know? 7
For Teens and ‘Tweens 8
Gentle Reminders /What you need to do now 8
Future Newsletters 8
Turkey: A Bit of History and Some Current Events
You have probably heard of the Ottoman Empire (and Constantinople[1]), Ataturk, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn but how much do you really know about modern Turkey? There is so much information about Turkey[2] and current events there that the “short” version is provided here and the “long” version is at the end of the Newsletter for those who want more detailed information.
Turkey[3] (Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasian country. The predominant religion in Turkey is Islam and its official language is Turkish. Turkey is the successor state to the Ottoman Empire. It is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient and historical cultural heritage. Its political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The current prime minister is the former mayor of İstanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose conservative AKP party won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in the 2002 general elections.
As for current events, here is some information about three news topics:
The earthquake: On March 8th there was an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 in Elazig Province which is about 400 miles east of Ankara – far from where we will be. Unfortunately, a number of villages were destroyed and over 50 people were killed.
The “power struggle” summarized from an article by Charles Recknagel of Radio Free Europe on February 23rd:
Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party has dramatically upped the stakes in its showdown with the secularist establishment by detaining more than 50 current and former military commanders.
The detentions are by far the most sensational single event in the government's investigation of the "Ergenekon" network, an alleged gang of top military officials who sought for decades to act as a shadow government and determine the country's political course.
According to Turkish press reports, the new round of detentions may be linked to a plan by Ergenekon members to carry out a military coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2003.
The detentions have electrified Turkey as the most sweeping move to date by the Islamist-rooted AKP to redefine the Turkish republic by challenging the traditional dominance of the military as its protector.
… the question for the months ahead has become whether the AKP has the political strength to bring the detained commanders to trial and whether, if convicted, the verdicts would still be overturned by the old-guard Supreme Court of Appeals.
The answer will tell much about the future direction in which Turkey will go. That direction now is generally seen inside Turkey itself as a choice between two poles: the traditional Kemalist secular state vs. an Islamic order that critics say would usher in Shari'a law.
But the reality may ultimately be an identity at a point somewhere along this continuum that has not yet been determined. And part of the process of determining that point may be exactly the political crisis now rocking the country.
Conflict with the Armenians in 1915: there is a long standing debate between Turkey and Armenia as to whether or not the confrontation in eastern Turkey was genocide of the Armenians or a justifiable defense of territory. This is still a contentious issue which is preventing Armenia and Turkey from normalizing relations. Recently, following the passage of a measure in the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Turkish government said in a statement that Ambassador Namik Tan has been recalled to Ankara for consultations.
Update on the World Alumni Leadership Conference
The wires are buzzing and the internet is practically overloaded with conversations among the group about booths for the Conference. The universities in Turkey are contacting us about session topics for the break-out sessions. Many of them will have display booths as well to host their alumni and to share what they do in alumni relations.
Some of you were concerned that the booth is quite large and it might be hard to find sufficient material to present – no worries. It turns out that we have a choice of booth styles – you and your teammate(s) can choose between the original design and the simpler booth show on the left:
In the next few weeks, Ilona will be in touch with you about which booth you prefer for your display.
And we are very lucky to have Chris and Nicholas adding their efforts to the Conference as well Chris will join the team working on the Young Alumni booth and Nicholas will be part of the Affinity Groups with emphasis on the Shared Identity Groups. To keep your contact list complete - Chris can be contacted at and Nicholas can be contacted at .
Spotlight on Boğaziçi University and Istanbul University
Perhaps the most rewarding part of our YaleGALE program is the opportunity to work with the leading universities in a country and meet their alumni. In order to make our time with our partners and hosts as productive as possible, it is important for us to know a bit about them before we get together. So in the next few Newsletters, we will provide some information about the Turkish universities that are hosting us in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University[4] (http://www.boun.edu.tr/index_eng.html) was originally founded as Robert College for boys in Istanbul in 1863 by Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, an American educator, inventor, technician, architect and builder, and Mr. Christopher Rheinlander Robert, a well-known philanthropist and wealthy merchant from New York.
Christopher Robert personally carried the greatest part of the financial burden while Hamlin raised funds in the United States and took on the responsibility of founding the college. A curriculum was drawn up, and Hamlin insisted that English should be the language of instruction. According to the stipulations made by the Board of Trustees, the College was to open its doors to students of all races, nationalities and religions without prejudice or discrimination. In addition, at Robert's request, the College was under no circumstances to become politically involved or show any political inclinations.
Over the years, there was significant expansion of the school and facilities. In 1964, the President, Dr. Simpson, proposed the physical movement of Robert Academy to what is now the Arnavutkoy Campus where it was to be combined, on a co-educational basis, with the existing American College for Girls, leaving the Hisar Campus entirely for higher education – university to us. On January 26, 1971 a resolution was passed by the Board of Trustees to the effect that the Turkish government should be encouraged to establish an independent university as a successor to Robert College on either of the campuses. The merger was finalized in the summer of 1971. Today's South Campus of 118 acres, including buildings, the library, laboratories and all facilities and personnel, was passed on to the Turkish government, and on September 10, 1971, Boğaziçi University was officially established on what had been the Robert College campus for over one hundred years.
The University has continued to expand both physically and academically. One faculty and six institutes offering graduate programs have been added. Many of the University's buildings are located on its South Campus, with the Bosphorus and the historical castle of Rumelihisar as its boundary to the east. This campus encompasses the oldest buildings of the University. The completion of the Main Library, the Science and Engineering Laboratories Building, the Faculty of Education Building, the Men's Residence Hall II, the Women's Residence Hall II and the Educational Technology Building has enhanced the North Campus. The Kandilli Campus, housing the observatory, was incorporated into the University in 1982 and the Hisar Campus in 1989. The University now has a lodging complex for the staff, a residence hall and a large athletic complex on the Ucaksavar Campus. A resort near Kilyos on the Black Sea coast, called Saritepe Campus[5], was acquired in 1985, where a new complex of buildings is under construction. Also under construction is an ultramodern dormitory ("superdorm"), the most developed student housing complex in Turkey.
The mission of Boğaziçi University is to generate knowledge on a global scale, to expand the scientific horizons of Turkey and to educate individuals who will ensure the dominance of contemporary science and technology in the development of the society. To achieve this mission, Boğaziçi University accepts scientific excellence at an international level as a measure and aims to become a leading research and education institution of international standing.
Boğaziçi University’s goals are to bring the very best, or those that are capable of being the best, faculty together with the very best students. The Secretary General of Boğaziçi is Yasemin Kahya –the wife of Mehmet! We are also working with Dr. Yesim Arat ’78, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs (not to mention that Resit Ergener ’74 teaches at Boğaziçi!)
As a result of being established by two Americans and maintaining connections with the U.S., Boğaziçi University is philosophically similar to many American educational institutions. In fact, they have a well established alumni association with a building on campus where we will be having some of our meetings on July 20.
Istanbul University[6] (http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/english/) is the oldest university in Turkey – the official founding year is 1453! But German historian Richard Honig believes that the history of the Medrese which first evolved into the Darülfünûn and later became Istanbul University actually started in 1321, during the reign of Osman I in Bithynia, the cradle of the Ottoman State.
The first modern Applied Physics courses were given at the Darülfünûn in 1863, which marked the beginning of a new period, and in 1870, the school was renamed as the Darülfünûn-u Osmanî (Ottoman House of Multiple Sciences) and reorganized to meet the needs of modern sciences and technologies. Starting from 1874, some classes of Literature, Law and Applied Sciences were given at the building of Galatasaray Lisesi, which continued regularly until 1881. In 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as the Darülfünûn-u Şahane (Imperial House of Multiple Sciences) with courses on Mathematics, Literature and Theology. In 1912, the school was renamed as the İstanbul Darülfünûnu (Istanbul House of Multiple Sciences) while the number of courses increased and the curricula modernized with the establishment of the Schools of Medicine, Law, Applied Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), Literature and Theology.
In 1924, the Republic of Turkey recognized the Istanbul Darülfünûnu as a state school, and the next year, the administrative autonomy of Istanbul Darülfünûnu was recognized while the "Schools" (within the old Medrese system) became modern "Faculties". In 1933, Istanbul Darülfünûnu was reorganized as Istanbul University following the educational reforms of Atatürk and classes officially began on November 1, 1933.
Istanbul University has a teaching staff of 2,000 professors and associates and 4,000 assistants and younger staff with more than 60,000 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate students every year. The main campus with its landmark gate used to be the Ottoman ministry of war. Located on the grounds is the Beyazıt Tower, a 279ft tall fire-watch tower. The grounds had also been the location of the Eski Palace (Old Palace) and some Roman and Byzantine ruins are still visible on the grounds.
Istanbul University does not have a tradition of working with its alumni. Our program will be an exchange of information as much as an alumni relations session so that they can see how we work together as they are not prepared to adopt our programs yet.
A bit about Konya and Cappadocia
On July 22 we will leave Istanbul[7] for a trip back in time. We will spend three nights on our retreat to learn more about the ancient history of Turkey. Our first stop will be Konya.
Konya was known in classical antiquity and during the medieval period as Iconium relating it to the ancient Greek legend of the gorgon's (Medusa's) head with which Perseus vanquished the native population before founding the city. It helps to know some ancient Greek to make the connection…
Konya has the reputation of being one of the more religiously conservative metropolitan centers in Turkey. It was once known as the "citadel of Islam" and is still more devout than other cities. Konya was the final home of Rumi, whose followers established the Mevlevi Sufi order of Islam in 1273 in this city and became known as the whirling dervishes.