In the West, researchers are more independent. In Turkey, however, department heads expect researchers to work on subjects that they find appropriate,” she said, adding, “This fact is especially disturbing for the young people who have been educated in European and US universities.”

Soysal was one of Turkey’s few rectors who drew attention for her pro-freedom views. She was especially disturbed in 2005 when the university first decided to host -- and then cancelled because of a court order -- a conference on the Armenian issue titled “Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire” that would discuss World War I-era killings of Armenians, still a taboo in Turkey.

She had a good chance of becoming a rector in the next four-year term despite coming in second in the elections, but she called for respect for the democratic election process and expressed her unwillingness to accept such an appointment.

Speaking to Monday Talk, she elaborated on the shortcomings of the higher education system in Turkey.

There are quite a lot of women in Turkish universities as academics but, when it comes to the upper-level positions, there are so few. Why do you think this is the case?

It is harder for women to get elected. Maybe this is a discouraging factor for women. Despite that difficulty, though, women should be stubborn and become candidates for the elections. That’s what I did. I became a candidate three times to be the head of the university, but I was elected only once. This is how it happens. Women should accept this and try to overcome the glass ceiling.

You came in second in the last election by a close margin and you still had a chance to become the head of the university. But you did not wait for the whole process to be completed. Why?

I wanted the democratic process to prevail, but I was not able to do anything but send some messages. According to the legal procedures, universities need to have at least six candidates, and we had only six candidates. If I retracted, the elections would be null, so I did not, but I called for respect for the result of the election. I remained as a candidate, but I did not go to the interview at the Higher Education Board [YÖK].

Does YÖK call each candidate for an interview?

Yes.

How would the process work if you went to the interview? What would be asked in those interviews?

The interview system arose a few years ago, so I have never been interviewed by YÖK. I do not know what questions are asked. The law says YÖK should make a short of list of three candidates among the six, rank them and send the list to the president.

The president does not have to appoint the person who came in first in the election, and sources in Ankara say the president was likely to appoint you as the rector. When there was such a demand at the higher levels, was it hard to indicate that you were not willing to take the position?

Yes, it was.

What are the problems with the current rector election system?

Before law No. 2547, rectors were appointed only by the president. Then upon the initiative of some of the universities, including Boğaziçi University, the system was changed. Now there is a middle ground: Both voting by the faculty and YÖK are involved in the process. As a result, YÖK and the president are involved in appointing rectors.

What is the main problem with that?

To me, the main problem is that it has not been made clear what is expected of a rector. Currently university instructors vote for the rector candidates. So they have some expectations, but what are they? If students voted, they would expect something else, probably. So who should appoint rectors is a subject that is currently being discussed in the world. And there are different models. If what is expected of a rector can be clearly defined, then the system of electing one would be clear.

How do you think this could be done in Turkey?

There are varying factors. The needs of the universities differ according to where they are located. Is it an inner-city university or is it outside of a city? Is it a newly established university or a rooted university? So a framework system should allow responses to the different needs and demands of the universities.

Do you think an autonomous system would help?

Autonomy should be provided in the academic environment, but having autonomy at the administrative level would present problems. Take Boğaziçi University, for example: It is a public university supported by public funds, so it should be accountable to the public. We should look at the models available in the world and adopt the administrative models of respectable universities.

What would you say about the responsibilities of rectors?

Good governance is a big part of their responsibility and nobody inspects them on this issue. A university is like a company. For example, we are a mid-sized university with 11,000 students and thousands of employees. Somebody should evaluate the rector to see what has been done at the university since his or her ascendance to the position of rector. This has not been done and the system has been criticized without bringing concrete solutions to the problems. I am not saying this to defend the system, but we cannot say that the only culprit behind the low-productivity level at the universities in Turkey is the system.

How do you think university rectors could be evaluated?

The office of the rector should be transparent. What the rector promises and what is being done can clearly be seen then. The rector can periodically provide information on what is being promised and done or not and why. Academics should also be interested in this process. They should have a shared vision for the university. They should clearly outline their expectations and question how many of them have materialized. In addition, the rector’s office should be observed from outside the university, as well, because the university is a place where the future heads of companies, state institutions and entrepreneurs are educated. So what happens at the universities matters to everyone. If we have a look at what is going on in the universities after a rector is appointed for his or her four-year term, if we adopt an evaluation mechanism, then universities would be better administered and would be better places for research.

What were the problems you faced as a former rector?

Most of the rectors would complain about financial difficulties, but I believe strategic budget management can be a remedy to that problem. There are ways to gather donations, as well. The main problem in a state university is the recruitment problem. Public administration law binds you and it becomes too difficult to recruit the necessary staff you need. I am not talking about the supportive secretarial staff, but the academic personnel. The process is too slow. The university is a dynamic place because research is a dynamic area. You need to establish new departments and new laboratories fast, but you need to support those new places with more instructors, assistants and researchers. You need a flexible recruitment system to be able to do that. We have such a rigid system in which appointments can take months. Furthermore, you are even bound with the retirement plans of the people appointed.

When we look at the Turkish scientists and researchers in developed countries, we see that they are quite productive, but when they are in Turkey, they are no longer so prolific. Do you think this situation is partly due to the inflexibility of the Turkish system?

The main problem is that most of the universities in Turkey are still autocratic. In the West, researchers are more independent. If they receive a project, they can do the related research. In Turkey, however, department heads expect researchers to work on the subjects that they find appropriate. This fact is especially disturbing for the young people who have been educated in European and US universities. TÜBİTAK [Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey] has played an important role in overcoming this problem, at least in the scientific areas; but literature, for example, is not in the scope of TÜBİTAK.

You have not mentioned much about the budgetary problems of the universities, but what would you say about this issue? For example, does a highly respected university, such as, Boğaziçi, which is considered the Harvard of Turkey, have enough resources?

Of course not. In the United States, an average university has a budget 15 times more than ours, not to mention the universities like Harvard and MIT, which have millions of dollars in their accounts. Our budget is YTL 100 million. Indeed, our situation is dire because half of our budget goes to personnel wages and benefits.

Are there student representatives at universities?

Each university needs to have a student council. The way it works is that a student representative is elected in a department and then students elected in the departments come together in their faculty to elect a representative from their faculty. Then faculty representatives elect a student to represent all the students of the university. At Boğaziçi, we have the student representative attend the board of directors meetings when matters concerning students are discussed. During my term, we included the student representative in the tenders to select a food company, to give service to students. But this is not the case at each university.

Is there an institutional regulation at Boğaziçi regarding student representation?

YÖK has a basic regulation requiring higher education institutions to have student representatives. And the harmonization laws with the European Union call for this, as well. However, not every university complies with it.

You are known to be supportive of freedoms but that attribution seems to make your job more difficult rather than easier, right?

Unfortunately, you are right. Universities are the places in which full freedoms should be practiced while respecting the rights of other people. In Turkey we have a different picture. People think that there should be one idea at the university: the idea of the rector. This cannot be. A rector is a person who keeps all people together despite their varying views. We should remember that law No. 2547 was created when there was military rule in Turkey. That law seeks to punish freedom of expression. And that created an environment of distrust. This should be changed.

Was the court case following the planned Armenian conference at the Boğaziçi University a result of a mentality biased against freedom of thought and expression?

It probably was. Kemal Kerinçsiz [a member of the executive board of the Lawyers’ Association] filed a court case against us.

What were your thoughts after seeing his name among the people detained as part of the Ergenekon investigation?

I wasn’t surprised because at the time we received many ill-intentioned faxes from various sources. Now I can see that those people might be connected.

Where were the faxes coming from?

For example, from NGO’s whose names appear in the Ergenekon proceedings.

A new term for higher education will start and the headscarf issue continues to be a problem…

Fortunately, I am not a rector anymore. But I wish Turkey would find a way to allow its young conservative women who choose to wear headscarves to receive higher education.

Have you noticed any discomfort among students because of wearing or not wearing a headscarf?

Not at all.

Who is Ayşe Soysal?

Having served as the first female rector of Boğaziçi University from 2004 to 2008, she returned to the department of mathematics as an instructor. She has recently become a consultant for the Women Entrepreneurs of Turkey (KAGİDER) organization. Professor Soysal also held office as vice dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and as the chairwoman of the department of mathematics. Between 1992 and 2004, she was elected dean of the School of Arts and Sciences for four consecutive terms. She also represented Boğaziçi University in the Interuniversity Council (ÜAK), and she held board membership for the Turkey branch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Her research interests are in finite group theory, cohomology of groups and commutative rings.

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