Serhat Akpinar – A Man with Vision
By Margaret Sheard and Chris Elliott
We were recently granted an interview with Serhat Akpinar, the Founder and Chancellor of Girne American University. We duly
We settled down to begin the interview, firstly asking if a personal profile would be in order and the reply was that this was perfectly alright.
Serhat Akpinar was born in Nicosia on 1st February 1964 and was the eldest of 2 boys. He progressed through the normal educational system in Cyprus at the time and, as there were no universities here, he had a choice of the USA, UK and Turkey to continue his education and as his girlfriend (later his wife) was going to Cambridgeshire in England to further her education, he chose to go to the UK and settled on the City University and later
There were of course many stumbling blocks and Serhat Bey had a difficult time with the necessary paperwork which involved a great deal of time and energy dealing with the Ministry of Education, Under-Secretaries and other Government officials, but eventually he received the permission he
The first University was established in 1985, it was then called the University of North Cyprus and was situated in a rented apartment block in Girne where Molly’s Place is now situated and also premises on the opposite side of the road, commencing with 7 students in the summer months and by September there were 196 students. In those early days Serhat Bey taught as well. One year later the University moved to 3 apartment buildings at the entrance to the New H
It was, however, necessary to achieve legal status and initially negotiations had been conducted with New Hampshire College (USA) to obtain this but unfortunately after working with them for one year they pulled out due to pressure from protesters and new negotiations took place with South Eastern University in Washington which was founded by the Charter of Congress and this time all went well and the University of North Cyprus was then re-named Girne American University.
I asked Serhat Bey the significance of the double-headed eagle,
The “American” influence stems from the early years when there was a great deal of apathy about North Cyprus and when Serhat Bey was travelling overseas to promote the University he had to deal with many protests about the legality of the University in an unrecognised country (North Cyprus). He told us that on a trip to India an incident occurred when he was put behind bars for 24 hours due to Greek Cypriot protests and provocations over Turkish Cypriot representation which resulted in Serhat Bey being accused of misleading Indian students about a university in an unrecognised country. This was resolved by the Turkish and American Ambassadors but it was not the only time incidents of this kind occurred, there were problems in China and Moscow and they are still on-going although the Universities
Since those early days, which must have been very stressful and frustrating, Serhat Bey has gone from strength to strength and as well as Girne American University, North Cyprus, there are now Universities in England, USA, Turkey, Singapore, 3 continents, 5 nations. He must be so proud of his achievement and yet he still has a vision and it will not be too long before there are 6 nations with another University in Hong Kong. It is interesting to see that in one of the images of GAU there appear 8 stars and these represent the 8 international operational sites.
In a more personal vein, I mentioned to Serhat Bey his new project of a Pilots’ Education Program and asked if h
Serhat is married and has 2 daughters, the youngest following in her father’s footsteps in the academic world and the eldest daughter who trained and became a lawyer/barrister has now decided to have a change of career and is currently in London where she has been studying musical drama and is now studying for her Ph.D. in t
We were aware that Serhat Bey is very keen on motorbikes and he owns a Harley Davidson, Chris suggested that this is probably his way of relaxing and I am sure it is a very different and rewarding pastime away from the monumental task of running an International University.
Following the interview, while Chris was setting up an article on his laptop which he wanted Serhat Bey to see regarding the GAU Flying Angels, I took the opportunity of looking at the many antique objects on display, there were wooden doors which I was told were
We needed to have a brief discussion regarding the article we had completed about GAU Flying Angels and at this point we were told that there is to be a new GAU hospital which will be mainly for rehabilitation and when it is completed the new Flying Angels project will be based there which will give them space and a nice working environment to operate from.
The time flew by and all too soon our interview had to come to an end but we thank Serhat Bey for his time and it was a pleasure to be in such a relaxed atmosphere speaking to this softly spoken man who had and still has – “A Vision” and you can read more of of the Girne American University clicking here
To learn more of the Founder and Chancellor, Serhat Akpinar and the Girne American University activities please follow a selection of our articles through these links:
GAU Chancellor Serhat Akpinar congratulated by LinkedIn – click here
GAU and Türksoy Sign a Protocol – click here
GAU – Tűrksoy – Photography Exhibition – click here
GAU – Flying Angels – North Cyprus – click here
GAU – 100 Best Universities in Higher Education – click here
GAU – Pilot Training to World and EU Standards – click here
GAU Karpaz Life Campus – Has started – click here
Girne American University – Mevlana Week – click here
GAU – The Grand Turkish Hamam re-opens in Lefkosa – click here
Click on the screen below to watch the GAU video