To Bilnews Readers

As we come to the end of another semester, it's once again time to say good-bye until next year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers for their support and contributions throughout the past academic year. To those of you who will be returning next year, we look forward to seeing and hearing from you again; to those who are graduating, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

In addition, the Bilkent News would like to take this opportunity to say a special farewell to Atilla Karakurum, one of our student columnists and the creator of our puzzles. He has also served as a board member for the past two years, contributing to the development of the paper with his invaluable insights and suggestions. Atilla will be graduating this semester. We at the Bilkent News would like to wish him much success in his future career. Good luck and happiness in the years to come, and thanks for all of your great articles!

Once again, many thanks to all, and have a wonderful summer!

The Bilkent News Editorial Board

 

Bilkent Professor Wins Service Award for Traffic Safety Work

Prof. İhsan Sabuncuoğlu of the Department of Industrial Engineering, who has been serving as the head of the university's Traffic Committee since 1996, has received the Rotary "National Service in a Profession" award. Prof. Sabuncuoğlu received the award for his outstanding work from 2002-2004 on a project organized by the Rotary Club to promote community traffic safety in Turkey.

The goal of the project, which was piloted on Çayyolu and in Ümitköy, was to create an awareness of traffic rules in order to prevent accidents. Prof. Sabuncuoğlu stated that he used the experience that he had gained at Bilkent in developing the Rotary project. "Bilkent has become the leader in establishing a traffic model for Turkey," he noted, adding, "I hope that further progress will be made in this area in the future."
 

Also in this issue:

Board of Trustess Meets

The Board of Trustees of Bilkent University met on May 24 under the chairmanship of Professor İhsan Doğramacı. Among the trustees who attended the meeting were Mr. Hüsnü Özyeğin, founder of Finansbank, Retired General M. Lütfü Sel, Mr. Ersin Özince of İş Bankası, Mr. Yener Dinçmen, alumni members Ahmet Nalbur and Boğaç Üner, and Professors, Enver Hasanoğlu, Gülsev Kale, Şencan Özme, Orhan Baysal, Feyza Erkan Krause, and Muhsin Saraçlar. A new research grant (of 11 million YTL) from the State Planning Organization to Bilkent's national nanotechnology center was gratefully acknowledged. In addition, the board approved a statement on academic freedom, which was the outcome of a conference of university presidents held at Columbia University earlier this year. This statement will soon be available on the university website

At the meeting, the board of trustees also agreed upon the budget for the coming year, as well as changes in tuition. As is well known, the tuition for currently enrolled Bilkent students is paid in dollars. The board decided to increase this tuition by five percent for the coming academic year. However, tuition for newly incoming students will be 13,000 YTL+ 8%VAT .

In addition, the board approved the university senate's proposal for a department of psychology at Bilkent, which is expected to have a strong research focus on cognitive psychology. The establishment of new units of the Bilkent University Preparatory School was also agreed upon.

 

Alumni Meets for Homecoming Picnic

The sun shone brightly on Bilkent graduates as they came together for the traditional "Alumni Homecoming" picnic on Sunday, May 15. Organized by the Alumni Office, the annual gathering gives graduates the opportunity to meet with their former classmates and faculty members, network with fellow alumni and discuss ways to support their alma mater.

This year's picnic was held at the Main Campus lawn area. The day's activities included games, sports, a Radio Bilkent broadcast and live music from the Kaan Yalçın Band, plus a juggling performance.

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