RECTOR: CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE THE FACE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000535

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM AA OSCE
SUBJECT: RECTOR: CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE THE FACE OF
BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY

REF: ANKARA 1451

Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Summary: Bogazici University rector Kadri Ozcaldiran
provided Consul General with a bleak prospect for the future
of what was once Turkey,s premier small university. The
conversation occurred against a backdrop of high media
coverage of Ozcaldiran,s unique approach to enforcing a ban
on headscarves in the university. The rector explained the
ban,s greater significance as Turkey,s Higher Education
Board (YOK) reacts to demographic pressures from Anatolia and
increases Bogazici,s enrollment; YOK,s detrimental impact
on the character of both Bogazici University and Middle East
Technical University; and the small but noticeable number of
students who hold negative opinions of the United States and
therefore choose not to pursue graduate studies in the U.S.
End Summary.

A Focus on Bogazici University,s American Heritage
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Prior to its nationalization in 1971, Bogazici
University was Robert College, a private American missionary
school founded in 1863 and reputedly the first American
school abroad. In the 1970s, Robert College became a state
university and established itself as an academically
prestigious school that carried on the Western academic
traditions of Robert College. It currently has 11,000
undergraduate and graduate students. Bogazici has multiple
relationships with universities in the United States but,
Ozcaldiran explains, the faculty would like to establish
long-lasting ties with a prestigious university such as Yale
or Harvard. In addition to institutional ties, Ozcaldiran
said he wants to create a center publicizing Bogazici,s U.S.
heritage, drawing on the resources of Robert College,s
archives stored at Columbia University. The Consul General
pledged to help with this project where possible and offered
to invite two or three Political Science students to the
Consulate General,s election watch event on November 5.


Politicized Rectorship Appointment
--------------


3. (U) President Gul named Ozcaldiran as rector on August 5
during an appointment process heavily criticized by the media
as overtly partisan. Rectors are appointed through a
three-phase system, with each university's faculty voting for
six top candidates, who are then submitted to Turkey's Higher
Education Board (YOK). YOK submits a short-list to the
president composed of any three of the top six names; the
president may appoint any of these three as rector. This
year, 12 of the 21 new rectors had received the highest
number of peer votes in the first stage. Gul selected
Ozcaldiran, Bogazici University's top candidate in the peer
election, over the second vote-getter Ayse Soysal despite
Soysal's support for lifting the headscarf ban (Reftel).
Soysal was one of only two sitting rectors eligible for a
second term who didi not win the peer elections.

Liberal Approach to Headscarf Ban Enforcement
--------------


4. (C) Citing Bogazici,s liberal past, Ozcaldiran
instituted a system in early September in which students and
professors were provided the opportunity to sign a
declaration of understanding about current regulations
regarding the headscarf. Individuals who signed such a
declaration were permitted to wear headscarves as they had
acknowledged their responsibilities. As Rector, he explained,
"I can let them in with their symbols as long as the
individual understands the repercussions." According to
Ozcaldiran, the Supreme Court ruling on headscarves is the
law and he contended he is not responsible for questioning
the legitimacy of such a law, only to respect it. Personally,
he noted, "I couldn,t care less. If she is over 18,
anything goes." He now acknowledged that it was a mistake to
think that his approach would be understood and not
politicized in light of the sensitive political environment
in Turkey.

How Covered is the University? A Question of Demographics
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) Ozcaldiran admitted that he did not have an
accurate count of the number of students who do or would

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cover their heads at Bogazici. To estimate, Ozcaldiran
showed the Consul General a spreadsheet and graphs portraying
the number of students in each department from Anatolia
compared to the number from urban centers. He conjectured
that the number of students who wear headscarves is roughly
equivalent to the number of female Anatolian students.
Ozcaldiran estimates that nearly 70 percent of female
students in the education department would wear the headscarf
as these students are largely from Anatolia. Of the female
engineering students, 50 percent would wear headscarves. He
noted that many engineering students come from high schools
established by the "Gulen movement." Conversely, only five
to six percent of female physical and social science students
might wear headscarves because they largely come from
wealthier families and urban centers, Ozcaldiran explained.
Despite these geographic and philosophical differences, he
maintained that the students mix well socially.


6. (SBU) Ozcaldiran explained his understanding of the
motivation of young women who wear headscarves. He said that
the majority of covered women cover for their own beliefs,
not because of family pressure or to make a singularly
political statement. According to Ozcaldiran, Islam cannot be
separated from its political nature, comparing its influence
on daily life to that of Christianity 600 years ago.

A New Research University? The Future of Bogazici University
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) Considering his recent appointment, the Consul
General asked what plans Ozcaldiran had for the university in
his new capacity. Acknowledging that its "glory days as a
liberal arts college" are over and facing the reality of
significant increases in the student population, he said he
plans to make Bogazici a research university. "Bogazici is
now just one of 150 branches of a national university"
centrally controlled by YOK, he said. YOK enrolled 10 percent
more students for this academic year, and Ozcaldiran related
that the YOK director told him to expect even more students
next year. He said that national demographics force YOK to
increase the number of accepted students, and subsequently
decrease the quality of education. Additionally, he
explained that YOK controls the selection of research and
teaching assistants and he anticipates it will soon select
assistant professors. If YOK continues to operate as it does
now, "state schools will suffer from poor quality education
and the privately-funded schools will offer higher quality
schooling."


8. (SBU) According to Ozcaldiran, designation with a special
status is the only way to "save" the university. He
suggested allying Bogazici with the Middle East Technical
University in Ankara, established in 1959 to bring American
teaching methods to Turkey. Ozcalidran expressed his hope
that a special status would make these two universities
exempt from the requirements foisted upon other public
universities.


9. (SBU) Comment: Facing demographic pressures to increase
university enrollment across the country, YOK is enrolling
more Anatolian students in urban center universities as more
Anatolian students receive high enough scores in the
university entrance exam to win placement in those
universities. Rector Ozcaldiran acknowledged that
demographic pressures result in more than just more
headscarves on campus. More significantly, the quality of
education will decline as student numbers increase. Even if
Bogazici is unable to obtain a specialized status within the
national education system, it will have to rely on ties with
prestigious American institutions of higher education to
distinguish the quality of education and worldview of its
students. End Comment.
WIENER