Charles Weitz, Resident Representation of the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration (UN-TAA) in Ankara, speaking during the ground- breaking ceremony for METU, Wednesday, 2 October 1957

Date

1957

Author

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

44
views

0
downloads

Middle East Technical University (METU) started its work rapidly to have a modern campus immediately after its establishment. At that time, education was carried out in barracks and although there was no final campus area yet, the campus plan proposed by G. Holmes Perkins from the University of Pennsylvania was accepted. The land behind Yalıncak Village and the Etimesgut Sugar Factory buildings were evaluated as alternatives for the campus. However, in order to speed up the process, a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony was held in Yalıncak Village on October 2, 1957, with the encouragement of the government of the period. In this important ceremony, President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and many ministers, as well as the majority of ambassadors in Ankara in line with the goal of becoming an international university, were present. Vecdi Diker, one of the founding names of METU and the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees, brought an excavator from the General Directorate of Highways for the foundation digging process and ensured that the area was excavated. (Payaslıoğlu, Arif (1996). From Hut to Campus. Ankara: ODTÜ Publications).

Subject Keywords

METU groundbreaking ceremony, METU history, Years of foundation

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112707
https://bellek.metu.edu.tr/handle/11511/112707

Collections

METU Bellek, Multimedia