The 6th Emeritus Faculty Membership Ceremony organized by Sabancı University took place on Friday, June 16, 2023, at the Sabancı Performing Arts Center with the participation of the Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees, Güler Sabancı.
Oğuz Babüroğlu, Hüveyda Başağa, Albert Erkip, Gürol Irzık, Zehra Sayers and Behlül Üsdiken received the title of "Emeritus Faculty Member" at the ceremony where the opening speeches were delivered by Sabancı University Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees, Güler Sabancı and Sabancı University President, Yusuf Leblebici.
In her speech, Güler Sabancı emphasized that the faculty members who received the title of Emeritus contributed significantly to the establishment of Sabancı University. Noting that important achievements have been achieved together in the past, she thanked the faculty members for the value they add to Sabancı University and for all their efforts.
Yusuf Leblebici stated that they are very happy to hold the "Emeritus Faculty Membership" ceremony, which is a tradition for Sabancı University but could not be held for about 3 years due to the pandemic, and continued as follows: “It is an honor for us to have them at Sabancı University. Our university was founded on a very assertive vision that had not been tried before in Turkey and had very few examples in the world. Our faculty members, who are now Emeritus, have put a lot of effort into making this model successful. Sabancı University continues to be one of the most assertive universities in Turkey today. We are raising the bar every day. Behind this is the fact that the foundations laid 25 years ago are very solid. We are very grateful to these professors who have contributed.”
“It was an opportunity to contribute to a great birth”
Oğuz Babüroğlu, Emeritus Faculty Member of Sabancı Business School, stated that the title of Emeritus includes the relationship, love and belonging with the university, and said: “This reminded me of the beautiful people I have had the opportunity to work with over the past 20 years. The Search Conference held for Sabancı University in August 1995 would not have happened had it not been for Sakıp Bey (Sakıp Sabancı, Sabancı University Honorary Chair). On this occasion, the opportunity to contribute to an amazing birth emerged.”
Hüveyda Başağa, Emeritus Faculty Member of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, said, “I have received various titles, awards and academic appreciation in my 40-plus-year career. However, for me, the title of Founding Faculty Member of Sabancı University is perhaps the most valuable of them all. There are many things to remember in this pleasant journey that started with the first Search Conference we held in 1995, and continued with the days when we were preparing a course program in Karaköy while we were impatiently waiting for the construction of the campus, and all that happened until today.”
“We have realized an undeniable success story”
Saying that he joined Sabancı University 25 years ago, Albert Erkip, Emeritus Faculty Member of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, said: “The joy and excitement I felt during this time has never changed. Over the years, I learned new things, met new people, made friends. Being a dean was an experience that benefited me a lot. Although it was difficult at times, I continued to enjoy it. It was a special pleasure for me to see the presentation project that we created together as the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences come to life. At Sabancı University, we have realized an undeniable success story.”
Emphasizing that Sabancı University's understanding of education allows students to draw their own paths is very valuable, Gürol Irzık, Emeritus Member of the Faculty of Art and Social Sciences, said, "Students are under pressure to choose a profession due to increasing livelihood concerns all over the world. However, we know how important and functional it is for them and our country to be well-equipped in a wide range of fields from philosophy to literature, from sociology to economics, from psychology to political science. I am very happy that our university does not compromise on the principle that the aim of higher education is not only to provide a profession, but to provide students with a universal formation, inquiring and creative thinking skills that will shed light on all aspects of life."
“The most important thing is our students who blow like a fresh wind”
Expressing her happiness to be a part of the team that tries to bring a new perspective and approach to the education system in Turkey, Zehra Sayers, Emeritus Faculty Member of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, said, “It gave me great pleasure to conduct some experiments with students in the field of research, which would be considered the first in Turkey, to teach them, to raise them. In addition to these, being the director of the Foundations Development Program and acting as the president, even for a short time, gave me invaluable experiences. Among all these, of course, the most important thing was that we had students blowing like a fresh wind.”
Sabancı Business School Emeritus Faculty Member Behlül Üsdiken recalled his early years at Sabancı University and shared his memories of Minerva Han and later Tuzla campus with the audience. Summing up the 20 years that have passed, Üsdiken pointed out that being an Emeritus has a liberating aspect in the field of writing.
In their speeches, our Emeritus faculty members commemorated Sabancı University Honorary Chair Sakıp Sabancı, Founding President Tosun Terzioğlu, Founding Secretary General Hüsnü Paçacıoğlu and many valuable people who took part in the establishment phase, with love and respect. They shared their gratitude with their colleagues at the university, starting with Güler Sabancı, Founding Chair of our Board of Trustees.