Bilkent University Commemorates Its Founder Prof İhsan Doğramacı One Year On
Professor İhsan Doğramacı, founder of Bilkent University, was commemorated at Bilkent Concert Hall last Friday, February 25 on the first anniversary of his death. His family, colleagues, and the Bilkent community paid tribute to his loving memory and celebrated his everlasting legacy.
The ceremony began with a moment of silence and a showing of the film İhsan Doğramacı -Connecting the Past to the Future and continued with memorial speeches by Prof. Tayfun Özçelik, chair of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Eda Emil, student in the Department of Economics, and Prof. Münevver Bertan, general director of the International Children's Center and a longtime colleague of Prof. Doğramacı.
In his speech, Prof. Tayfun Özçelik referred to Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Letters Prof. Talat Halman's speech on February 27, 2010, where Prof. Halman portrayed Prof. Doğramacı as 10 geniuses: Master of Pediatrics, Legendary Child Doctor, Reformer of Medical Education, Creator of Universities, Business Wizard, Monumental Philanthropist, Global Figure, Angel of Music and the Arts, Builder of a Model City, and Family Man Par Excellence. Prof. Özçelik shared his memories spanning a period of more than 40 years and described his real life experiences with the 10 geniuses. For example, he shared the memory of his meeting with Nobel Laureate Prof. James Watson, who described Prof. Doğramacı's invaluable contributions to education and said, "He knows the secret very well. It is the ability and the foresight to bring together the best and most talented that paves the way towards success." At the end of his speech, Prof. Özçelik reiterated Bilkent's commitment to Prof. Doğramacı's vision and ideals.
Eda Emil, second year student in the Department of Economics, spoke for Bilkent students by saying: “Our main aim is to universalize the values that our founder Prof. İhsan Doğramacı considered important. He dedicated his life to higher education, communication among countries and cultures, and raising a healthy youth. Our role model to reach and surpass our goals will always be Professor Doğramacı."
Prof. Münevver Bertan, expressed her feelings with these words: "Today is the first anniversary of the loss of our beloved Hocabey. In Ancient Greek, time is indicated with two different words, kronos and karios. There is a difference between the time measured by a clock and the time perceived by a person. Kronos is the time measured by a clock, whereas karios is the time we feel. What I know is it's been very difficult since our Hocabey passed away. This one year has been very long for us. There is a saying that 'Time heals all wounds.' This is just the opposite of how we feel for Hocabey. We miss him more, remember him more, and look to him more than any other time."
The ceremony concluded with a performance of the final movement ("Finale") of J. Sibelius, Symphony No. 5 by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra conducted by Işın Metin. In scoring the triumphant Finale, Sibelius wove a theme recounting his encounter with sixteen swans. He wrote about the swans in his diary, "One of the great experiences of my life! God, how beautiful." We could say the same thing about the light that Prof. Doğramacı brought into our lives.