Prof. Dr. Yasemin Bayyurt, the elected dean of the Faculty of Education in Boğaziçi, Prof. Dr. Özlem Berk Albachten, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Prof. Dr. Metin Ercan, the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, were dismissed from the most prestigious University in Turkey on January 19, 2022. At the beginning of March 2022, the Turkish government appointed an external ‘trustee dean’ from a different school to head these faculties.

According to Mehmet Baran Kılıç from Diken, one of these deans is Prof. Dr. Murat Önder, who was appointed to the faculty of economics and administrative sciences and worked in the field of ‘political science and public administration.’

After being appointed dean, Önder became a member of the university’s senate and board of directors. Previously the Boğaziçi University elected the administrative heads with democratic elections from within the school. However, with the top-down dictum of “One Man Rule” in Turkey, under Erdogan’s regime, the democratic elections were canceled, and only the government-friendly, religious, and unqualified lackeys started getting appointed to higher education institutions to direct them to more Islamic and obedient practices rather than the secular sciences that were taught. These new breeds of administrators, and their close families and friends, usually occupy several positions and get paid accordingly in universities today.

He created new posts just for himself

Using his new power at the university, he opened a staff position for the department of political science and international relations in October 2022, qualifications of which matched his own previous experience and training precisely.

On the second day of the earthquake of Feb 6th, Önder was appointed to become a permanent staff by the decision of the university board of directors of which he was a member. Thus, his position at the Yıldırım Beyazıt University got transferred to the Boğaziçi University with no loss of seniority or other benefits.

He appointed himself to the heads of departments.

In the faculty of economic and administrative sciences, there are three departments. These are business, economics and political science, and international relations. Önder appointed himself the head of the business department in October 2022 and the head of the economics department in November 2022.

In January 2023, a week after leaving the business administration, Önder appointed himself as the head of the political science and international relations department, the department he wanted to end up in eventually.

He then resigned as head of the economics department. He is still the head of the political science and international relations department.

Again he appointed himself

A new position was added to the services this leader could bestow upon the school recently. Önder appointed himself as the head of the management sciences section of the political science and international relations department.

According to the information obtained by Diken, Önder, in his letter to the rectorship of the university in his capacity as dean, requested the appointment of Prof. Dr. Murat Önder, in other words, himself, to the head of the department in question. ‘Trustee rector’ Naci İnci, also appointed by the government in contrast to the democratic elections tradition, immediately accepted this request. Önder was appointed as the head of the department on March 31.

Önder also serves as a coordinator in the university’s qualification commission.
Thus, Önder is now carrying out seven tasks at the same time. They are as follows:
University board membership, Senate membership, Deanship of the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Head of the Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, Coordinator of the Quality Commission.

Source: Diken
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