ICHE2015

24th International Conference on Higher Education “Quality of Undergraduate Education”

Program…………………………….. 2 Abstracts…………………………… 4 Participants………………………. 8 Who is who?...... 10

The University Club

New York 1-2 September 2015

1st Day of the Conference Program Tuesday, 1 September

9:00-9:45 Welcome Address Ignaz Bender, President of ICHE and former Chancellor of Trier University,

Quality of education as a determinant of peace and prosperity James F. Jeffrey, Former Ambassador of the USA to Ankara, Baghdad and Tirana

The global relevance of the liberal arts: Historical traditions and contemporary developments Philip G. Altbach, Boston College, USA

Coffee Break

10:00-11:45 Session Chair: Adnan Akay, Provost, Bilkent University, Turkey

The role of liberal arts in undergraduate engineering education Jared L. Cohon, University Professor & President Emeritus, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Education for future members of the legal profession in emerging economies: the role of humanities as intellectual infrastructure Sinan Chalabi, Minister of Justice, Regional Government of Kurdistan, Iraq Lale Sirmen, Professor, Faculty of Law, Bilkent University, Turkey Mustafa Nakeeb, Coordinator of Program in Cultures, Civilizations and Ideas, Bilkent University

Educating future scientists Harold Varmus, Lewis Thomas University Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College, USA

Lunch

13:15-14:30 Session Chair: Ignaz Bender, President of ICHE and former Chancellor of Trier University, Germany

Institutional challenges to the introduction of liberal arts into existing curricula: the Bilkent experience Adnan Akay, Provost, Bilkent University, Turkey Ali Doğramacı, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Bilkent University, Turkey

Panel: Towards a Global Community of Visiting Scholars and its Potential Impact on Quality of Higher Education Chair: Ludvik Toplak Panel Members: Arif Allan E. Goodman, D. Bruce Johnstone

Çağlar, NelsonCoffee M. BreakFraiman,

14:45-15:45 Session Chair: Issa Batarseh, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, USA

Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduate business education in and Qatar: the role of liberal arts in the curriculum İlker Baybars, Dean & CEO, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

The three cultures; the role of the arts in a mathematical education Anthony Scholl, Professor of number theory & algebra, , UK

Special Performance for the Conference Franz Schubert – Fantasy in F minor D940 – Piano, four hands Gülsin Onay and Tony Scholl

A meeting of the ICHE Steering Committee will follow the recital. Dinner will be served at 18:00 hours at Brasserie Ruhlmann, Rockefeller Center, 45 W. 50th St. 2

2nd Day of the Conference Program Wednesday, 2 September

9:00 – 10:30 Session Chair: Nabil Adam, Vice Chancellor for Research and Collaborations, Rutgers University, Newark, USA

The biotech of sulfated polysaccharides from red algae: From idea to product Shoshana Arad, Professor, Ben Gurion University, Israel

Costs of higher education and future directions Henry M. Levin, William H Kilpatrick Professor of Economics & Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA

Panel: Diversification of Cost Sharing in Higher Education: Dynamics of the changing shares of the state, students, donations, project overheads, patents & licenses and other sources Chair: Ignaz Bender; Panel Members: Jared L. Cohon, Nachum Finger, D. Bruce Johnstone, and Henry M. Levin

Coffee Break

10:45-12:45 Session Chair: Andrzej Sokolowski, Vice-, Cracow University of Economics, Poland

Towards a “Fourth Humanism”? Michael Ambrosi, Professor, University of Trier, Germany

The liberal arts/humanities and the professionalization of the undergraduate curriculum Nachum Finger, former Rector of Ben Gurion University, Israel

Panel: University as an Incubator for Innovations and Implications for the Quality of Education Chair: Ehud Menipaz Panel Members: Adnan Akay, Shoshana Arad, Issa Batarseh, Nelson M. Fraiman, Jared. L. Cohon

Lunch

3 Abstracts Tuesday, 1 September Morning

Quality of education as a determinant of peace and prosperity James F. Jeffrey

Right after 9/11, another development emerged that indicated the links between societal unrest and security threats—the UNDP Arab Human Development Report 2002. This report outlined the very low levels of education in much of the Arab world, and linked those levels to other uncompetitive aspects of Arab societies. My own experience in four tours in Arab states, and four more in neighboring Turkey, suggest that a focused effort on education can make the difference not only in societal development but in preserving peace.

The global relevance of the liberal arts: Historical traditions and contemporary developments Philip G. Altbach

The liberal arts, the concept that an educated person requires a broad yet disciplined understanding of the key academic disciplines as well as the ability to think independently and communicate effectively, has been part of many academic traditions over the centuries. Although the liberal arts has maintained some influence in the United States and some other countries in the current period, globally the curriculum has mostly become oriented to the study of specific fields that are considered to be vocationally relevant.This presentation discusses a variety of liberal arts traditions in non-Western contexts and in a historical perspective, including the Confucian and Buddhist academic traditions. The presentation concludes with a discussion of a contemporary resurgence of interest in the liberal arts globally.

The role of liberal arts in undergraduate engineering education Jared L. Cohon

Until 70 years ago, American engineering education was purely technical. This started to change when the “Carnegie Plan” was conceived by Carnegie Mellon President Robert Doherty. Today, breadth in the engineering curriculum is universally valued and, in fact, required for accreditation. Exposing engineering students to the humanities is not just viewed as academically desirable; it is considered essential for an American engineer’s effectiveness and success. Universities in India, China and many other countries have yet to fully adopt the broader approach, but employers’ demands for “soft skills” are stimulating change.

Education for future members of the legal profession in emerging economies: the role of humanities as intellectual infrastructure Sinan Chalabi | Lale Sirmen | Mustafa Nakeeb

Educational institutions should prepare the next generation with a rich and wide perspective. This will enable people with different backgrounds to better understand and respect each other and better connect to other nations around the world. The curricula for the legal profession need to be examined accordingly. In this joint presentation we briefly review various implementations from our part of the world (Kurdish Region of Iraq and Turkey). In addition to studying the relationship between the legal rules and their social context as their functional background, we address the need for supplementary courses in the liberal arts.

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Abstracts Tuesday, 1 September Morning

Educating future scientists Harold Varmus

His memoir The Art and Politics of Science (W.W. Norton 2010) will be the basis for his presentation.

Tuesday, 1 September Afternoon

Institutional challenges to the introduction of liberal arts into existing curricula: The Bilkent experience Adnan Akay /Ali Doğramacı

This presentation will briefly describe the liberal arts focus in Bilkent curriculum across the board, the rationale behind it, and the process by which it was implemented. The presentation will also address the increasing importance of liberal arts education in the future, in particular the increasing need for it in a world with rapidly developing technologies.

Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduate business education in Pittsburgh and Qatar: the role of liberal arts in the curriculum Ilker Baybars

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Program at Carnegie Mellon is based on the following core: Liberal Arts, Quantitative Tools, Analytical Reasoning. The Liberal Arts Courses are on Interpretation and Argument, Global Histories, Business, Society and Ethics. These are supplemented with Liberal Arts Distribution Courses in Science and Technology; Cognition, Choice & Behavior; Political and Social Institutions; Cultural Analysis. I will discuss the rationale behind this approach to our undergraduate business administration program.

The three cultures: the role of the arts in a mathematical education Anthony Scholl

In 1959 C.P. Snow delivered his influential lecture "The Two Cultures", exposing the cultural divide between the humanities and the sciences in western society. We revisit this in the context of the modern internet and multimedia age, and see what implications it may have for the education of mathematicians.

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Abstracts Wednesday, 2 September Morning

The Biotechnology of Algae Cultivation in the Negev Desert: The Estée Lauder Case Shoshana Arad

The climatic and geographic conditions prevailing in Israel—high light intensities, high temperatures, shortage of water, soil unsuitable for agriculture—especially in the Negev desert, led us to develop biotechnology for production of valuable biochemicals from algae. Developing this type of biotechnology involves a multidisciplinary approach and creative methodology. The cells of the particular red algae with which we are working produce novel biochemicals that cannot be synthesized. The main one- sulfated polysaccharide possesses unique qualities and potential for various industries such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food. Following intense R&D, and in collaboration with Estée Lauder Companies, a factory was established in the northwest Negev desert to develop the sulfated polysaccharide into products such as PolySea & Alguard. We are continuing to develop new unique products based on new patents.

Costs of higher education and future directions Henry M. Levin

Although higher education is an excellent private and social investment for most individuals and in most countries, there exist challenges in financing its expansion overall and its accessibility for students from families that lack financial resources. Institutional costs of higher education have risen considerably faster than family incomes. This presentation will suggest some directions for addressing the expansion of higher education equitably through raising productivity and more efficient financing mechanisms.

Toward a "Fourth Humanism"? Michael Ambrosi

This title is a paraphrase of the "Third Humanism" which was propagated in the last century, especially by the German-American scholar Werner Jaeger. That programme implied an orientation towards ancient Greek educational ideals. It has justly been heavily criticised. Yet, in reflecting about the significance of present-day humanities, the past influence of ancient (Greek) thought should be kept in mind, albeit with a critical disposition. In view of the current changes in global economic and political power, in the global cultural climate, and in many educational systems, reflections about a novel "Fourth Humanism" might give valuable conceptual guidelines.

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Abstracts Wednesday, 2 September Morning

The liberal arts/humanities and the professionalization of the undergraduate curriculum Nachum Finger

For hundreds of years the disciplines constituting the liberal arts / humanities have been regarded as the "pillars of wisdom" –the foundations of education. Yet in recent years institutions of higher education face declining enrollments in the humanities with potential long- term impact on society. One of the main reasons for this so called "crisis of the humanities" can be attributed to the professionalization of the undergraduate curriculum. Agreed upon changes in the curricula of the professions to include a minimal core of humanities could help in tempering this crisis.

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Participants

Nabil Adam, Vice Chancellor for Research and Collaborations, Rutgers University, Newark, USA

Adnan Akay, Provost, Bilkent University, Turkey

Philip G. Altbach, Research Professor and Director, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA

Michael Ambrosi, Professor, University of Trier, Germany

Shoshana Arad, Professor of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Israel

Issa Batarseh, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, USA

İlker Baybars, Dean & CEO, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Ignaz Bender, President of ICHE and former Chancellor of Trier University, Germany

Arif Çağlar, former Rector of F

Sinan Chalabi, Minister of Justice,ırat RegionalUniversity, Government Turkey of Kurdistan, Iraq

Jared L. Cohon, University Professor & President Emeritus, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Ali Doğramacı, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Bilkent University, Turkey

Phyllis Erdoğan, Vice President, Bilkent University and Secretary General, ICHE

Nachum Finger, former Rector of Ben Gurion University, Israel

Nelson M. Fraiman, Professor and Director of W. Edwards Deming Center, Columbia University, USA

Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education, USA

James F. Jeffrey, Former Ambassador of the USA to Ankara, Baghdad and Tirana

D. Bruce Johnstone, Distinguished Service Professor of Higher and Comparative Education Emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA

Henry M. Levin, William H Kilpatrick Professor of Economics & Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA

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Participants

Ehud Menipaz, Chairman, The Ira Foundation of Business, Technology and Society, Israel

Mustafa Nakeeb, Coordinator of Program in Cultures, Civilizations and Ideas, Bilkent University

Gülsin Onay, Concert pianist, Turkey

Anthony Scholl, Professor of number theory & algebra, University of Cambridge, UK

Lale Sirmen, Professor, Faculty of Law Bilkent University, Turkey

Andrzej Sokolowski, Vice-Rector, Cracow University of Economics, Poland

Ludvik Toplak, President of Alma Mater Europaea – European Center , and Vice Rector of Alma Mater Europaea

Harold Varmus, Lewis Thomas University Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College, USA

Solidelle Wasser, Economist, USA

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Who is who?

Nabil Adam, Vice Chancellor for Research & Collaborations at Rutgers University-Newark. He is Distinguished Professor of Computers and Information Systems; Founding Director of the Rutgers Institute for Data Science, Learning, and Applications; and Founding Director of the Rutgers CIMIC Research Center. He is Co-founder and past Director of the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute. He was on loan as a Fellow to the US Department of Homeland Security - Science & Technology Directorate where he served as Senior Program Manager, a Branch Chief. He served as Research Fellow at the Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Science, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He was a member of the Science Council of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, NASA Ames.

Adnan Akay, Provost at Bilkent University. He joined Bilkent in 2009 from NSF where he was the director of the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division. Earlier, Dr. Akay was the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University. His research area is in applied mechanics. He has been recognized for his research with awards including the Per Bruel Gold Medal in Acoustics and Noise Control in 2005 and Humboldt Research Award in 2011. He is a Fellow of the ASME and the ASA. Dr. Akay completed his education at North Carolina State University.

Philip G. Altbach, Research Professor and Founding Director of the Center for International Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. He was the 2004 – 2006 Distinguished Scholar Leader for the New Century Scholars initiative of the Fulbright program and has been a senior associate of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is author of Global Perspective on Higher Education, Turmoil and Transition, Student Politics in America, among other books. He also co-edited The Road to Academic Excellence, the International Handbook of Higher Education, World Class Worldwide: Transforming Research Universities in Asia and America and other books. He is a member of the Russian government’s “5-100 University Excellence Commission,” and other international committees.

Gerhard Michael Ambrosi, Professor (emeritus) for European Economic Policy, Trier University, Germany from 1992 on. Member of the I.C.H.E. Steering Committee. Ph.D. and Habilitation in Economics from Berlin Free University. Fellow/Guest Lecturer: University of Siena, (1987), Stanford in Berlin Study Program (1990), Humboldt University, Berlin (1991), Fudan University, Shanghai, China (1996), Murdoch University, Freemantle, Australia (2000), University of Brasov, Romania, 2001, University of Richmond, Virginia, USA (2013). Doctor honoris causa of the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE), Bucharest, Romania. Research, publications on European integration, Economic Theory, History of Economic Thought. Current project: reconstruction of ancient Greek theories of economic exchange and social justice.

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Who is who?

Shoshana Arad graduated with a BSc in biology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds an MSc (cum laude) from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She received her PhD from The City University of New York. Prof. Arad founded and headed the Institute of Applied Biosciences at Ben-Gurion University. She is an expert in the field of algal biotechnology focusing on cell wall polysaccharides. About thirty graduate students have been educated in her laboratory. She has a wealth of experience moving an idea from the test tube to industrial application. Several algae-based products developed by Prof. Arad are already in use by leading cosmetic companies worldwide. She is currently president of the Ruppin Academic Center.

Issa Batarseh, Professor of Electrical Engineering with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida (UCF). He was a Visiting Assistant Professor with Purdue University, Calumet, IN, before joining UCF in 1991. He is the author or co-author of more than 70 refereed journals and 320 conference papers and the holder of 24 U.S. patents. He graduated 30 PH.D. students over the last twenty years. He is also an author of a textbook titled Power Electronic Circuits (New York: Wiley, 2003). Co-Founded Petra Solar and APECOR and currently serving as board member and technical advisor. His research interests are in solar energy conversion to improve power density, efficiency, and performance. From 2010-2014, he was on professional leave to serve as President of Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Jordan. He received the B.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering, in 1983, 1985, and 1990, respectively, all from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Batarseh is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida and a fellow of the IEEE and AAAS.

Ilker Baybars, George Leland Bach Professor of Operations Management and serves as Dean of Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar. He holds BS from METU and MS and PhD from Carnegie Mellon. Professor Baybars has been at Carnegie Mellon since 1978. He has received the Emil Limbach Teaching Award (1981) and the Cyert Medal (2011). Dr. Baybars is a former member of the Joint Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation; currently member of the Board of Trustees of Bilkent University, Ankara; member of the Governing Board of the Carnegie Bosch Institute, Pittsburgh; and Vice President and Board Member of ABEST21, Tokyo.

Ignaz Bender studied law at Universities of Bonn and Freiburg, active as national student representative. In 1967-68 he served as consultant to the Minister of Education, Baden- Württemberg, analysing causes of student revolt. 1968-69 assistant to rector of University of Konstanz. 1969-70 Vice-Director task force to Minister of Education of Rhineland-Palatinate in starting two new universities. 1970-2001 Kanzler of University of Trier. Positions include: member of Board of Directors of Otto-Benecke-Foundation in Bonn (to integrate young immigrants); currently President of International Conference on Higher Education (ICHE).

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Who is who?

Arif Çağlar is a graduate of Tarsus American College, got his B.S. from the Middle East Technical University, Turkey, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Rhode Island, USA, all in chemical engineering. He was a postdoctoral fellow of the National Research Council of USA for two years before starting his teaching career at Hacettepe University, Ankara. He has been department chairman, dean, rector (for 10 years at Firat University, Elazig, Turkey) and member of the Turkish Higher Education Council. For five years he was founding co-president of the bi-national Kyrgyz Turkish Manas University in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He was distinguished visiting professor at the University of Virginia for two years. From 2006 to 2012 he was director of the Bilkent Graduate School of Education (Erzurum) and general director of the Bilkent Erzurum Laboratory School, an IB school. He has also taught and done research on educational issues, in particular on higher education.

Sinan Chalabi, Minister of Justice, Kurdistan Regional Government-Iraq since June 2014. From October 2009 until June 2014 he was Minister of Trade and Industry for the Kurdistan Regional Government. Between 1973 and 1980 he was a practicing architect in Baghdad and then Erbil, Iraq where from 1980 to 1985 he was a contractor. In 1999 he became Deputy President of the Ihsan Dogramaci Foundation, Erbil and since 2010 he serves as President. He was also President of the Turkmen Front in Erbil from 1996-1998. He holds a B.Arch. and M. Arch. from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.

Jared Cohon served as Carnegie Mellon's eighth president from 1997 to 2013. During that time, the university made progress on many fronts, including teaching and research, international activities, diversity and economic development in southwest . Prior to Carnegie Mellon, he held faculty and administrative positions at Johns Hopkins and Yale. An environmental engineer, Dr. Cohon has worked on large-scale water problems in Argentina, China, India and the U.S. and on energy facility issues. He currently is University Professor of Engineering and directs Carnegie Mellon’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. He also serves on several government, non-profit and corporate boards.

Ali Doğramacı serves as chair of the board of trustees and president of Bilkent University. In this position, and prior to that as rector (1993-2010), he has been integrating international components and standards into educational institutions under the Bilkent umbrella. Before moving to Bilkent, he served on the faculties of Columbia, Rutgers and Cornell Universities. Dr.

PhyllisDoğramacı Lepon holds degrees Erdoğan from Middle, Vice East President, Technical, Bilkent Stanford University and Columbia, Ankara Universities., has worked with assignments have included editing the Turkish Journal of Pediatrics and the Bulletin of the Internationalthe Doğramacı Pediatric institutions Association in various capacities since moving to Turkey in 1970. Her

Secretary General of ICHE since 1995, both and of ofwhich the International were launched Children’s by the founderCenter (Ankar of ICHEa) İhsansince 1999.Doğramacı; She holds establishing a BA from the library Stanford, of Bilkentan MLS University from UC andBerkeley directing and it a for PhD 20 fromyears; Hacettepe acting as Universities.

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Who is who?

Nachum Finger was Deputy Chair of the Israeli Council for Higher Education and chaired its sub-committee for quality assessment from 2007 to 2012. As professor of business and industrial management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, he served as department chair of Industrial Engineering & Management (1975-76, 1978-84), dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences (1989-94) and rector of Ben-Gurion University (1994-2002). He holds B.S., M.Sc. and Eng.Sc.D. degrees in industrial engineering and management, as well as M.Phil. and Ed.D. degrees in higher and adult education, all from Columbia University. His research interests include the influence of government incentives on industrial management, productivity in industry and services, quality improvement methods, and technology and engineering education.

Nelson Fraiman joined Columbia Business School in 1995. He is Professor of Practice in the Decision, Risk and Operations division and Director of the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness. Fraiman is also Faculty Director of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America (ECLA), a program for Latin American entrepreneurs who aim to be successful across borders. Prior to Columbia Business School, he spent seventeen years in industry and consulting; his last industry role was with International Paper, as Chief Technology Officer for eight manufacturing divisions. His current research centers on entrepreneurship and process improvement. He has written cases on operational excellence on the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the supply chain strategies of Zara and Mango. He has also conducted executive education programs in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and an MS, MBA, and PhD, all from Columbia University.

Allan E. Goodman is President and CEO of the Institute of International Education – the leading not-for-profit organization in the field of international educational exchange and development training. IIE conducts research on international academic mobility and administers the Fulbright Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, as well as over 200 other corporate, government and privately-sponsored programs. The Institute has also rescued scholars threatened by war, terrorism, and repression since its founding in 1919. Dr. Goodman has a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard, an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.S. from Northwestern University.

James F. Jeffrey, Former Ambassador of the USA to Tirana (2002-2004), Ankara (2008- 2010) and Baghdad (2010-2012). He also served as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Executive Office of the President of the United States. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Council on Germany. He received a BA in History from Northeastern University and an MS in Business Administration from Boston University Graduate School of Management. Jeffrey also holds a diploma in the French language from the University of Paris.

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Who is who?

D. Bruce Johnstone is Distinguished Service Professor of Higher and Comparative Education Emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo and director of the International Comparative Higher Education Finance and Accessibility Project. His principal scholarship is in higher education finance, governance, and policy formation in domestic and international contexts. Johnstone has held posts of vice president for administration at the University of Pennsylvania, president of the State University College at Buffalo, and chancellor of the State University of New York system. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Harvard and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Henry M. Levin is the William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University and the David Jacks Professor of Higher Education and Economics, Emeritus, Stanford University. He is a specialist in the Economics of Education and Director of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies at Columbia University. Levin is a consultant to the OECD, the World Bank, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and a former Trustee of the Educational Testing Service. He is the former president of the American Evaluation Association and the Comparative and International Education Society.

Ehud Menipaz, Professor Emeritus, Ben Gurion University, Israel; Chairman, The Ira Foundation of Business, Technology & Society; and Chairman. Graduate Studies Committee, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel. A former senior partner with Ernst & Young International, he has an extensive international academic and business experience. His books include Menipaz, E., Essentials of Production and Operations Management, Prentice Hall, and Menipaz, E. and Menipaz, A., International Business: Theory and Practice, Sage Publications. Ehud is a Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, a Founding Director of Young Entrepreneurs Israel. Formerly a Chair with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Government of Canada, he serves on a number of committees of the Council of Higher Education, Israel.

Mustafa Nakeeb, assistant professor of philosophy at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. He received his undergraduate degree in the history of philosophy from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. in ancient philosophy from SUNY Buffalo. His research interests include Plato, Ancient Historiography and the History of Philosophy. He has been the Coordinator of the Program in Cultures, Civilizations & Ideas at Bilkent since 2004.

Gülsin Onay began to play the piano at the age of three. At the age of 10, she received a special government scholarship under the Turkish Law for Exceptionally Talented Children, which enabled her to study first in Ankara with Mithat Fenmen and Ahmed Adnan Saygun, and two years later at the Paris Conservatory, where at the age of 16 she graduated with the Premier Prix de Piano. She continued her studies with Bernhard Ebert at the Musikhochschule Hannover. Gülsin Onay has played in the musical centres of 65 countries in a career spanning all continents. An exceptional Chopin interpreter, Gülsin Onay was in 2007 honored with the award of a State Medal by the Polish nation. She is also acknowledged worldwide as the finest interpreter of the music of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, whose works feature prominently in her concerts and recordings. As state artist, Gülsin Onay is an official soloist of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and Artist in Residence at Bilkent University in Ankara.

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Who is who?

Anthony Scholl is a pure mathematician whose area of research is Number Theory. He studied as an undergraduate in Oxford, where he also took his . For several years he was professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Durham. He has held visiting positions in Paris, Princeton, and Bilkent. In 2001 he was appointed to the Kuwait Professorship of Number Theory and Algebra at Cambridge University, a position he currently holds.

A. Lale Sirmen, professor of Civil Law at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. After graduating from the American College for Girls (Robert College) in 1963, she was admitted to the Law Faculty of Ankara University where she completed her LL.M. In 1972 and 1973 she prepared her doctoral thesis at the Law Faculty of Zurich University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Karl Oftinger. After receiving her LL.D , she attended an advanced program on European Law at the Amsterdam University in 1988. She became full professor in 1989. She taught several branches of Civil Law at the Law Faculty of Ankara University for more than forty years. She was Dean of the Faculty from 2001 to 2007. In 2009 she began to teach in the Law Faculty of Bilkent University. She is the author of books and articles on several topics which fall within the scope of Turkish Civil Law and EU Consumer Law and Turkish Consumer Law.

Andrzej Sokolowski, statistician, MS, PhD, Habilitation and Full Professorship in Economics. Head of Department of Statistics and Vice-Rector at Cracow University of Economics, Poland. Former Visiting Assistant Professor at Bilkent University, Turkey. Former President of Polish Classification Society (three terms). Council member of International Federation of Classification Societies. Scientific interests: statistics, medical statistics, data analysis methods, time series analysis.

Ludvik Toplak is professor of Civil and International Business Law. He was rector of the University of Maribor (1993–2002), and Ambassador of to the Holy See (2002–2006). He is currently vice-president of Alma Mater Europaea and president of Alma Mater Europaea - European Centre, Maribor. Between 1980 and 1987 he was Vice-President of Iskra Delta Computers Corporation. He was active in the democratization and independence movement in Slovenia. Ludvik Toplak was a member of the presidency of the European Rectors' Conference and president of the Danube Rectors' Conference. He was governor of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia. In 2000 he received the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in Science award. He is a member of the European Academy of Science and Arts.

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Who is who?

Harold Varmus, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for studies of the genetic basis of cancer, joined the Meyer Cancer Center of Weill Cornell Medical College as the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine on April 1, 2015. Prior to joining Meyer Cancer Center, Dr. Varmus was the Director of the National Cancer Institute for five years. He was also President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for 10 years and Director of the National Institutes of Health for six. A graduate of Amherst College and in English literature and Columbia University in Medicine, he trained at Columbia University Medical Center, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), before becoming a member of the UCSF basic science faculty for over two decades. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and is involved in several initiatives to promote science and health in developing countries. The author of over 350 scientific papers and five books, including a recent memoir titled The Art and Politics of Science, he was a co-chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Public Library of Science, and chair of the Scientific Board of the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health.

Solidelle Fortier Wasser Solidelle Fortier Wasser retired in 2009 as senior economic analyst in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Her study of the BLS technical assistance program under the Marshall Plan won recognition and was followed by timelier articles on the impact of 9/11 on . Her Columbia University master’s thesis analyzed the Philhellene loans of the 1821 Greek Revolution. As a matriculated student in economics at the University of Oslo, she followed lectures by the Nobel laureates Ragnar Frisch and Trygve Haavelmo. She is currently organizing for publication twenty years of student notes from Thorstein Veblen’s classes. Although her tertiary teaching experience was in statistics and economics, she shares with her husband Henry, who was a longtime member of the ICHE Steering Committee, “a lifelong devotion to the life of the mind.” Together they published Higher Education in Europe and the United States of America: A Diverse Collection of Essays.

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