TCA and University of Utah Establish Turkish Program

The University of Utah and the Turkish Coalition of America are pleased to announce the establishment of a major new academic program, “The Origins of Modern Ethnic Cleansing:  The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Emergence of Nation States in the Balkans and Caucasus.” 

This novel program will advance scholarship on a critical period in a region that continues to make headlines, in part due to the turbulent forces unleashed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  According to Project Director, Professor M. Hakan Yavuz, “Our new program will explore the shaping of modern Turkish identity through scholarly work, conferences, community participation, and support for new research, much of which will focus on a series of traumatic formative events including crises in the Balkans and the Caucasus, the loss of major territories, and forced migration that presaged the establishment of the Turkish Republic.” 

Lincoln McCurdy, President of the Turkish Coalition of America expects this program to be particularly vital because it will produce a new cadre of scholars who will impact the study of Turkey and the surrounding region for years. To provide insight and guidance, a Partnership Board composed of recognized experts and leaders has been formed: Dr. Sukru Elekdag, Member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and former Ambassador to the United States,  Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges  of Turkey, Professor Yusuf Sarinay, Director of the State Archives of Turkey,  Professor Norman Stone, Historian and Professor of International Relations at Bilkent University, and Alev Alatli, journalist and writer.  The project is made possible thanks to a generous multi-year gift from the Turkish Coalition of America.