Wright State inks cooperation agreement with Turkish university

Wright State Provost Steven Angle (second from right) and Hasan Akay, provost of ATILIM University (second from left) sign a memorandum of understanding between the two universities. Looking on is Andrew Hsu, dean of the Wright State Graduate School (far right), and Stephen Foster, associate vice president for international affairs (far left).

Wright State University has signed a cooperation agreement with a university in Turkey that paves the way for the two institutions to collaborate in research and graduate education.

Wright State Provost Steven Angle and Hasan Akay, provost of ATILIM University in Ankara, Turkey, signed the memorandum of understanding Sept. 16 in University Hall.

Akay called the agreement substantive.

“Wright State truly seems to us a good fit for our goals for excellence in research and education,” Akay said.

Fifteen-year-old ATILIM is a private, nonprofit university with more than 5,000 students. The agreement may to lead to student exchanges, combined degree programs and collaborative research.

“I think it’s a chance for students, faculty and staff to learn more about the world, to have Turkish students here and have our faculty go to Turkey,” Angle said.

The signing came on the eve of the Turkish-American Solidarity Conference, a two-day event at Wright State designed to explore important cultural, social and historical themes in a way that enriches the friendship between Turkey and the Miami Valley and leads to greater collaboration.

The conference, which will be held Sept. 17-18 in the Student Union, will include remarks by Fatih Yildiz, honorable consul general of the Republic of Turkey to Chicago;  Stephen Foster, Wright State’s associate vice president for international affairs; Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell; State Reps. Roland Winburn and Jarrod Martin; and Beavercreek Mayor Scott Hadley.

Panel discussions will touch on Turkish-American relations, cooperation in higher education, Turkish community activism and gender equality. Participants will include Yildiz; Akay; G. Lincoln McCurdy, president of the Turkish Coalition of America; Ergun Kirlikovali, president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations; and Haris Tahir, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C.