FUND
RAISING
RC Launches 2006-2007
Annual Giving Campaign
R
obert College launched its 2 0 0 6 - 2 0 0 7 A n n u a l Giving
campaign on O c t o b e r 12th, with a Kick-off Dinner at
Bizim Tepe attended by Class A g e n t s across the
years, as well as High Honor donors, scholarship donors,
representatives of corporate donors and RC Trustees.
Lauding last year's c a m p a i g n , H e a d m a s t e r J o h n Chandler
noted that 1,742 alumni contributed to the effort, raising a
total of more than $1.5 million. Highlighting the importance
of these funds to sustain the school's scholarship program,
he s a i d , " T h e challenge this year, is to do even better, with a
goal of s u r p a s s i n g 2 0 0 0 donors. "
Guest speaker at the event was Prof. Dr. Tosun Terzioğlu
RA 61, Sabancı University rector, who spoke about Robert
College as "a s c h o o l which gives a person the values to make
t h e m h u m a n ' ' . " Y e s , good education is an expensive
enterprise," he said, "but the cost of ignorance is so m u c h
greater."
Terzioğlu recounted his own family's involvement with the
s c h o o l as an illustration of the profound and life
transforming impact the College can have. His mother,
Meliha Cevdet, graduated from a primary s c h o o l in the
Guest speaker of the 2006/7
Annual Giving Kick-off dinner,
Prof. Dr. Tosun Terzioglu, RA 61.
village of Turgutlu on the A e g e a n coast in 1925. Her father
was a big fan of Halide Edip A C G 01, and d e t e r m i n e d to send
his daughter to the s a m e s c h o o l she was f r o m . A g e d 10,
Meliha Cevdet traveled to istanbul and began her studies as
a boarder at the College. She would go on to study biology
and later complete a doctorate in physiology at Yale - o n e of
only two w o m e n to receive that degree in 1936.
The evening concluded with the award c e r e m o n y to honor
the most successful class agents , listed below.
Class Agent Hilmi Guvenal RC 80 and longtime
Annual Giving donor Sibel Ankan, RC 73.
From L to R: Class Agents Oral Bozyiğit RC 98, Meltem Aran RC 96,
Kutlu Kazancı RC 96, Serra Levi, Erez Navaro RC 96 and Fulya Çanakçı RC 95
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2005-2006 Annual Giving
Campaign Outstanding Classes
LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION
LEVEL OF GIVING
1-RC 76
1-RC 75
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Nedim Ölçer
Cihan Uzunçarşılı Baysal
Yasemin Palandüz Kahya
Engin Özkaraca Ölçer
2-RA 6 8
2-RC 8 4 ,
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Behçet Demircan
iclal Büyükdevrim Özçelik
Behçet Demircan
ilgin Özden
Rıfat Karakimseli
ilgin Özden
3-ACG 61
3-RC 76
3-ACG 61
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Nedim Ölçer
Sezen Tezcan Malta
Nedim Ölçer
Sezen Tezcan Malta
Yasemin Palandüz Kahya
Leyla Batu Pekcan
4-RA 6 8
4 - R A 61
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Behçet Demircan
Y. Aydın Bilgin
Rıfat Karakimseli
Hasan Subaşı
5-RC 73
5-RC 9 0
Class Agents:
Class Agents:
Harika Erler Ahmet
Okan Atilla
Nevzat Fresko
Meltem Ince Okvuran
6-RC 83
Mete Tuncel
Class Agent:
6-ACG 53
Serra Mansur Soysal
Class Agent:
7-RC 74
Suna Özyiğit Gürçay
Class Agents:
7-RC 75
Metin Mansur
7-RC 75
Rengin Akün Kevenk
Class Agents:
Rengin Akün Kevenk
Class Agents:
8-RC 8 5
Cihan Uzunçarşılı Baysal
Class Agents:
Engin Özkaraca Ölçer
Class Agents:
Engin Özkaraca Ölçer
Bilge Yavuz Rızvani
Ali Yılmaz
8-ACG 45
Bilge Yavuz Rızvani
Ali Yılmaz
Class Agent:
9--RC 9 0
Necla Solak Kavala
Class Agents:
9-ACG 55
Okan Atilla
Class Agent:
Meltem ince Okvuran
Ayla Un Gümüşlügil
Mete Tuncel
10-RC 92
10-RC 87
Class Agent:
Class Agent:
Kaan Okurer
Burak Pekcan
ACG 70 Class Agent Candan Fetvacı and loyal supporter of
the Annual Giving Campaign, Sedat Ergin RC 75.
T
he opening of the school year each S e p t e m b e r is a rite
that manages to be different and yet unique every
time. The air is rich with a sense of possibilities. Like a
teenager before a date, the school has been freshly painted
and readied. The faculty, energized after a s u m m e r which
many spend in training and refresher courses abroad, prepare
to greet their students. Marble Hall teems with clusters of
students happy to be a m o n g their friends again, poring over
their schedules, trying to figure out where their classes are
held... It is an eventful day, full of hope and anticipation for the
year ahead, a small time out before the humdrum of day-to-
day living sets in. We hope the following spread brings back a
little of that sense of possibility to y o u . The selection of
pictures from this year's Opening Day is intended to capture
the many faces of this tradition, ones that will resonate with
you, even after many years.
R
C Headmaster J o h n Chandler wrote the following
introduction to this feature. " S c h o o l opened on a rainy
day in September, thus offering the promise that we
will have a good year. A n d so far, that promise has been
realized indeed! A dynamic group of new teachers have joined
an excellent incoming Lise Prep class to bring additional
strength and spirit to the campus.
This year's Opening Ceremony speeches emphasized the
importance of a sense of community for Robert College - on
campus, in Turkey, and in the world. Please take the time to
read Jennifer Sertel's powerful speech in the pages following
about what RC students should value. It sets a moral agenda
for the school community, and it is one which we will
emphasize. (the other speeches, including Turkish Director
Güler Erdur and SC President Bürge Abiral L 12, can be found
on the on the school website: www.robcol.k12.tr)
Any recent RC graduate knows J e n n y Sertel, not only as a
superb teacher but for her passionate care for others. Her
work in our Outreach program over the years has led to the
creation of the W I N P E A C E peace education program, which
brings high school students from Turkey, Greece, and North
and South Cyprus together to find ways of understanding each
other and to build cultural bridges. A n o t h e r of J e n n y ' s
initiatives is SWETA, a highly successful annual s u m m e r
program held on the RC campus which provides enrichment
courses for English teachers in Anatolian public schools. She
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