To celebrate the 20th year of our university, we have prepared a set of four questions to ask faculty and administrative personnel who have been with us since the beginning, and to our first students. They all tell "the story of 20 years" from their own perspectives.
Going in alphabetical order, this week's interviewee for "The Story of 20 Years" is Alev Topuzoğlu.
Alev Topuzoğlu has been a member of Sabancı University since November 1, 1998. Topuzoğlu has been a member of the Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) for 22 years, and an Emeritus Professor since July 2018.
Alev Topuzoğlu’s answers to our four questions are below.
What was your initial memory / impression of when you met Sabancı University for the first time?
A.T.: I have many memories. I remember the long meetings in Karaköy, thinking on every detail to come up with the best. We had discussed at length whether Civic Involvement Projects would be compulsory or elective, for example.
The most memorable day of the early years of the university was the first undergraduate commencement ceremony. It was an emotional day for most. We were enchanted by the glint in the eyes of our first students, whose change through the university years we had closely observed, and their confidence in themselves as they prepared to leave us and start a new life. Those students were firm believers of the university's philosophy to create and develop together. They did great things. I think they have a significant share in the success of Sabancı University today.
What are the differences between yourself 20 years ago and yourself today, and how did Sabancı University contribute to that change?
A.T.: 20 years ago, I believed that Sabancı University would be a success, and I am happy to see that it has mostly been achieved. The excitement we felt in the early years of the university to do the best possible was tremendous. It was a privilege to be part of an amazing experience. By sharing that experience, I made new friends or got closer to old friends: Zehra Öner, Zerrin Koyunsağan, Zehra Sayers, Albert Erkip… There were many "firsts" we went through together. And of course I have to remember our dearest colleagues Tosun Terzioğlu, Hüsnü Paçacıoğlu and Hilmi Çelik, who are no longer with us.
What comes into your mind when you think of Sabancı University in 20 years? What are your dreams for Sabancı University for the next 20 years? What about yourself?
A.T.: Sabancı University in 20 years conjures an image of a university that is respected worldwide in research endeavors particularly. I also hope to see that "creating and developing together" as stated in the foundational years has become a tradition of the university. When the university was small and all faculty, personnel and even students knew each other, it was easier to create an environment of developing together, of course. But as the university grows, there are more areas to create and develop together. So it becomes harder to make this tenet the priority, and in time the tradition, of our university, but it also becomes equally as important. That is because I believe that everyone who adopted this philosophy and developed creative ideas together in the early years of the university, and of course Tosun Terzioğlu for his outstanding role in the implementation of these ideas, have played great parts in Sabancı University's success today.
My hope for myself is to still be thinking on mathematics problems and seeing that my hopes for the university have come true.
Where and how would you be now if your paths hadn't crossed with Sabancı University?
A.T.: If I had not come to Sabancı University, I would have probably continued as a METU faculty member.