From a Single Room to Today’s Campus: Prof. Atalar Describes Bilkent's Transformation
On Wednesday last week, Prof. Abdullah Atalar, rector of Bilkent University, delivered the first of this semester's Library Lunchtime Lectures, entitled "A Brief History of Bilkent." Speaking to a packed audience in the Art Gallery of Main Campus Library, Prof. Atalar presented a chronological outline of the development of Bilkent University, punctuated with personal memories and and some rarely seen old photographs.
He began his lecture by summarizing the career of Bilkent's founder, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı, and showed how Hocabey's life and vision was, and remains still, integral to the growth of the university. Focusing especially on the formative period of the 1980s and 1990s, the rector described how Bilkent has been transformed over the past three decades from a single room on the first floor of what is now B-Block in the Library, to an institution of higher education recognized internationally for its teaching and research.
Prof. Atalar referred to various statistical and other data in order to illustrate the administrative and structural changes that took place during the university's early days. The archival photos also demonstrated visually how the Bilkent campus has changed from the relatively barren open land of the 1980s to the green, tree-lined panorama of today. Prof. Atalar acknowledged that the history of Bilkent has not always been easy and smooth: notable problems included the lack of running water during the early days, and the more serious but brief threat of closure for legal reasons. The talk was rounded off with questions from students and faculty members.
The next lecture in the series will be given by Prof. Ali Güre (MBG) on Wednesday, November 14.
This week, the student Edebiyat Kulübü will set up a "Poem Aquarium" inside the entrance to Main Campus Library. Here, you will find copies of poems, in Turkish and English, which you can read as you enter or leave the Library, and even take with you if you wish. The supply of poems will be renewed every week. We look forward to seeing you all at the Aquarium, and hope the poems will provide you with inspiration and entertainment.