Turkish Delegation Visits Campus, Signs Terrorism Research Agreement

UC’s new partnership to conduct research into subjects related to terrorism with the Turkish National Police was formalized on Thursday with a signing ceremony in the offices of UC President Nancy L. Zimpher.

A delegation of top officials from the Turkish National Police visited campus, led by that country’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer, General Director and Governor Gokhan Aydiner.

Aydiner and Zimpher signed off on an Institutional Collaboration Agreement that will launch a new level of activity in examining the scourge of terrorism through the expertise available in UC's Division of Criminal Justice.

Aydiner commented on his country’s commitment to security issues, including the fact that they have signed off on 12 international counter-terrorism agreements and 57 cooperative agreements on the subject with European Union countries. "We also place the utmost importance on our relationships with the academies," Aydiner said, "because they don’t represent today but the promise of tomorrow."

UC is currently home to more than 20 representatives from the Turkish National Police who are studying for advanced degrees. Their educational efforts in the United States are being sponsored by the Turkish Institute for Police Studies. That organization’s director, Samih Teymur, was also among the guests at UC on Thursday.

"Why did we choose the University of Cincinnati?" Teymur rhetorically asked the group. "There are several reasons – the hospitality and friendship shown from the university, the success of the research programs here, and also the experience people here (studying at UC) have with terrorism. Turkey has been struggling against terrorism for three decades. I believe if we combine our field experience with your research excellence, we will create new approaches to these problems."

The delegation of visitors was escorted to campus by the Cincinnati Police Department, then handed off in a brief ceremony on McMicken Circle to the University of Cincinnati Police, which had its top leadership on hand and dressed in their formal uniforms.

The UC Police leadership then joined in the ceremony in University Pavilion, along with Ed Latessa and Robin Engel from UC’s Division of Criminal Justice, College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services Dean Lawrence Johnson and Associate Dean Nelson Vincent, and UC Vice Provost International Mitch Leventhal.

"I want to thank our faculty members," Zimpher said. "I think everyone in the room recognizes the key to our partnership is the considerable leadership shown on this issue by Dr. Latessa and Dr. Engel."

"We are committed to providing the best education possible to these young officers," Latessa said. "In the U.S., the word we use for those who pave the way for others is ‘pioneer,’ and these young men truly are pioneers. We hope they lead the way for others."

As the signing took place, Zimpher took a moment to place the agreement’s significance in context with UC’s new global strategy that, under Leventhal’s guidance, is reshaping and re-energizing the way that UC is engaging other institutions around the world.

"In the past, we might have signed an agreement and merely had it as a piece of paper," Zimpher explained to the visitors. "But we don’t do that anymore. We only sign agreements that mean we are committing to a long, fruitful and productive relationship."

Added Aydiner: "The paper we have signed shows that we have placed the utmost importance (on this agreement). I am signing on behalf of my 200,000-plus officers in our organization, and we recognize the importance of this."