MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Members of the Koç University Community,
As we approach the end of the school year, I am happy to announce that we have initiated the process of recognition and celebration of the upcoming 25th Year Silver Anniversary of the founding of our University, with a sequence of exciting events for the entire university community, alumni and friends of Koç University, starting this summer and culminating on our birthday, October 4th, 2018.
What we have planned is a journey throughout which we hope to celebrate our past, our present and the future that awaits us.
Our birthday is that special day, October 4th 1993, when our founder Vehbi Koç delivered the 'First Lecture' and stated these extraordinary words in the Bequest, an excerpt taken from the deed of trust of the Vehbi Koç Foundation:
"I call upon all my heirs, my close acquaintances, my business colleagues, my fellow citizens who may be involved in this Foundation, and the officials who will assume its administration, to accept this endowment as a bequest made to the Turkish Nation, to protect it, and strive with their best intention to achieve its original aims."
As education was one of the three primary pursuits of this foundation, Vehbi Koç saw it as his duty: "We need to educate our youth as best as we can so that we can catch up with the developed countries of the modern world and be prepared for the future."
So it was that our university was founded, rooted in these noble ideas of a true visionary...
Every time I read his words, I am filled with a new sense of urgency and duty to ensure that myself and my colleagues, as the current custodians of this great university, do justice to this vision and do our level best to use the tremendous resources provided to us in the best way possible to achieve these noble goals.
I invite you to visit our newly launched website at 25.ku.edu.tr, where you can find the Bequest and the story of the founding of our University and where you can visit and relive our past through the anecdotes of the many people, especially the Koç Family, to whom we are forever grateful.
As the website presents a sort of a travel through time, I also had the opportunity to highlight the many landmarks of our great university in my remarks, that you can see at: 25.ku.edu.tr/rektorden. We hope that all of you who explore this webpage may feel an enhanced sense of belonging to our university, as students, alumni, faculty or staff, former or current, or just anyone who has taken an interest at our institution.
As the video presentation was shot in the course of two days, we were able to capture the beautiful sunrise through the 'Portal of Knowledge', signifying our hope that generations of students who would pass through this Portal may receive an excellent education and thus may make outstanding contributions in all walks of life at the highest level and in the service of humanity.
The voice of everyone who has ever contributed to Koç University, who has attended or delivered a lecture, who has spent the night studying in its library or who has participated in fervent conversations in the courtyards, resounds pleasantly in the Portal of Knowledge.
As I reminisce about our graduation ceremonies, I know that our connection with our graduates, their families and their loved ones is timeless and forever. With two weeks left for the upcoming graduation ceremony, it is hard not to feel the excitement that floats around our campus.
I am also very pleased to announce that our Commencement Speaker this year is Prof. Steven Chu of Stanford University, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, who also served as the 12th United States Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama during 2009-2013. I am honored to have known Prof. Chu as a faculty colleague and as a neighbor from my Stanford days and I very much look forward to his visit on our campus.
Activities and shows of our Student Clubs continued this month with great success. Together with my wife, I greatly enjoyed the SGKM shows of the Orchestra Club, the Folklore Club and the KU-Dancing Clubs, all of which were outstanding. Congratulations to all of the students and coaches and thanks to our Office of the Dean of Students, our Dean Bilgen Bilgin and Associate Dean Serpil Ekşioğlu, for overseeing these great activities of our talented students.
The Koç University Spring Festival, which successfully took place on May 6th in spite of the rain, was also a great success. We had missed the festival, which was not organized during the past two years for various reasons, and I congratulate the Social Activities Club and all others who contributed to its success.
My best wishes and regards to you all,
Umran Inan
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