Boğaziçi University’s appointed rector appoints himself as acting dean

Boğaziçi University rector Prof. Dr. Naci İnci has appointed himself as the acting dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, two weeks after dismissing Prof. Dr. Özlem Berk Albachten from the post.

Wednesday February 02 2022 11:09 am

Duvar English

Prof. Dr. Naci İnci, who was appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the rector of Istanbul's prestigious Boğaziçi University in August 2021, has appointed himself as the acting dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, daily Cumhuriyet reported.

The move came two weeks after İnci dismissed Prof. Dr. Özlem Berk Albachten, the elected former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, from her post.

Albachten was among three deans who were removed from their duties due to "disciplinary" investigations launched against them.

İnci tweeted on Feb. 1 that the appointments made to the dean's offices were temporary and the rectorship will notify the alternative names to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) as soon as possible.

Üniversitemizde dekanlıklara yapılan görevlendirmeler geçici ve vekaleten yapılan görevlendirmelerdir. En kısa zamanda 3 fakültemize dekan atamaları yapılması için Rektörlüğümüz YÖK’e alternatif isimleri bildirecektir.
— M. Naci İnci (@MNaciinci) February 1, 2022

After the appointment of Prof. Dr. Melih Bulu as the rector by Erdoğan in January 2021, the university's students and academics launched a protest demanding his resignation.

Following months-long protest, Bulu was eventually dismissed from his duty by Erdoğan in July 2021. A month later in August, again via a presidential decree, it was İnci who assumed duty as the rector of the prestigious institution despite the high disapproval rates he received on polls held among the community.

Academics and students are continuing with their protest against İnci's appointment. In this process, some students were detained and stayed behind bars for months.