Academic Calendar Changes

This year the graduation ceremony will be held in three sessions on Thursday, June 16, 2011. Mark your calendars!

There have been a few changes to the academic calendar for the upcoming spring semester. The last day to pay tuition fees for spring semester is January 24, 2011 for continuing students and February 3, 2011 for BUSEL students. Course registrations remain the same, on January 27 and 28 as announced before. However, all registration appointments will be on the first day, January 27.

The last day to add or drop a course has been moved forward a week and is now set as February 7.

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Request Elective Pre-Registration Online

The Registrar’s Office has made it possible to request elective courses ahead of the registration period. Students who wish to pre-register for an elective course for the upcoming spring semester may submit a request via the Elective Pre-Registration page under the Services menu in the SRS system. Requested elective courses will be pre-loaded to students’ schedules depending on eligibility and availability. The deadline is January 10, 2010.

Prof. Nesim Erkip Appointed Assoc. Provost

As of February 1, Güliz Ger, associate provost and professor in Faculty of Business Administration, will take a sabbatical leave. Prof. Ger will leave her position as associate provost effective on February 1. Professor Nesim Erkip from the Department of Industrial Engineering has been appointed to replace her as associate provost.

Rector Abdullah Atalar expressed his gratitude to departing Associate Provost Ger: "We are grateful to Professor Ger for her devoted services to the Bilkent community. Her administrative contributions for the past 12 years have been exemplary." Rector Atalar also welcomed Prof. Erkip to his new post: "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Professor Erkip on his new position and wish him every success in his new administrative role."

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Asst. Prof. Eda Gürel Declared Young Academician of the Year

Eda Gürel, assistant professor in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management of the School of Applied Technology and Management, was declared the Young Academician of the Year by the Young Tourism Professionals' Association. The award ceremony took place at the Mardan Palace Hotel in Antalya on December 11. In the ceremony, representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Antalya Governor, Kepez Municipality, and Turkish Tourism Investors Association were present.

The association was founded in 2008. Today, it has over 30,000 members and is guided by an advisory board, which is comprised of academicians and university students. The mission of the association is to bring young people together to see tourism as a viable career option.

The awards are given in four main categories: The Young Academician of the Year, The Young Entrepreneur of the Year, The Young Manager of the Year, and The Young Bureaucrat of the Year. The nominees were determined by the young members of the association. This year is the first year for these awards.

Prof. Cüneyt Gökçer Remembered One Year On


State Artist and Founding Chair of the İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Theater Department, Professor Cüneyt Gökçer was commemorated at the FMPA Theater Hall on Thursday, December 23 by his colleagues and students on the first anniversary of his death.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence and continued with memorial speeches by General Director of the State Theaters Prof. Lemi Bilgin, State Artist Prof. Gürer Aykal, First Minister of Culture and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Letters Prof. Talat Halman, and State Artist Ayten Gökçer, Prof. Gökçer's spouse.

During his speech Prof. Halman paid tribute to Cüneyt Gökçer as “an extraordinary actor and director, a virtuoso teacher of the dramatic arts, a legendary theatrical personality who gave inspiration and excitement to hundreds of theatre, opera and ballet productions.” The speakers noted Prof. Gökçer's impressive success in founding and administering Bilkent's Theater Department. Cellist Hayreddin Hoca played a brief piece dedicated to Cüneyt Gökçer's memory. The audience also listened to a recording of Cüneyt Gökçer's performance of the leading role in the musical "Fiddler on the Roof."