April 3 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bilkent University’s beloved founder, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı. Each year, Bilkent celebrates Prof. Doğramacı’s birthday as Bilkent Day, honoring his memory with deepest respect and affection.
This year, Bilkent Day will include two main events: the Bilkent Day Conference and a celebratory concert by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra.
The 2015 Bilkent Day Conference will take place on Friday, April 3, at Mithat Çoruh Conference Hall.
The program will start at 1:30 p.m. with opening remarks by Rector Abdullah Atalar, in which he will talk about the “The Bilkent Project,” and continue with the panel “İhsan Doğramacı’nın Amaçları.”
The panel will feature presentations by Vecdi Gönül, former minister of national defense of Turkey and founding member of the Turkish Council of Higher Education; Prof. Mehmet Haberal, founder of Başkent University and member of Parliament; Prof. Tezer Kutluk, professor of pediatrics at the Hacettepe University School of Medicine and the Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, and chair of the Turkish National Committee for UNICEF; Errol Alden, executive director/CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Ignaz Bender, president of the International Conference on Higher Education; and Gürer Aykal, conductor and Turkish state artist.
This will be followed by Prof. Atalar’s presentation of “The State of the University.”
On the evening of April 3, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra will perform a special concert under the baton of Howard Griffiths, with soloists Gülsin Onay (piano) and Julian Lupu (trumpet). The performance will take place in the Bilkent Concert Hall at 8 p.m., and the program will consist of the “Pavane for a Dead Princess” by Maurice Ravel, the Concerto for Piano and Trumpet by Dmitri Shostakovich, and Symphony No. 4 in E minor by Johannes Brahms.