Within the scope of the 100th anniversary events of the founding of our Republic, the first of a series of seminars to examine and understand the architectural heritage initiated by the Faculty of Architecture of our University was held. In this context, Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe, Head of the Department of English Language Teaching at Gazi Faculty of Education, gave a seminar titled “The First Educational Institution of the Republic: From the Middle School of Education to Gazi University”.

In her opening speech, Prof. Dr. İdil Ayçam, Head of the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, stated that as the Department of Architecture, which is one of the important departments of Gazi University, which is rooted in the early years of the Republic and named after Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, they aim to educate productive and hardworking architects who love their country and nation, are equipped with modern knowledge and skills with the developing education system, are competent in their field, have a high potential for interdisciplinary work and production, adopt creative and innovative approaches. Prof. Dr. Ayçam emphasized that as such a well-established department, they are excited for the events they organized in the 100th anniversary of the Republic and thanked everyone who contributed to the organization of these events and participated in them.

In her speech, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Prof. Dr. Cemile Nakış Karamağaralı said that they especially wanted to start the first of this series of talks in our Rectorate building, which is the building of Mimar Kemaleddin, one of the most important architects of our Republican period, and in the hall named after him, and said, “Because Mimar Kemaleddin is a symbol name for both our Republican history, architecture and our University.” Prof. Dr. Karamağaralı expressed that he was very excited and happy that the Thursday seminars, which were traditional in the Department of Architecture but had been suspended for a long time, would be restarted and continued while celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Republic.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Rector of our University Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız said that in this important year when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, the Faculty of Architecture, as one of the oldest architecture schools in the history of the Republic, has organized a series of events by drawing attention to the importance of looking back at our architectural heritage, learning from history and re-imagining the future with historical knowledge. Rector Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız mentioned that in these events, the Department of Architecture emphasized the role of benefiting from the accumulation of science, technology and art in building the future both intellectually and physically.

Rector Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız continued his words as follows: “The importance of organizing events of this nature is obvious in order to produce graduates who can be active in the social field as well as in the professional field, who have environmental and cultural awareness and a critical perspective by acquiring contemporary knowledge and skills in line with the academic core mission of the department. In this sense, I would like to thank the Faculty of Architecture and the Department of Architecture for taking these valuable steps towards their goals.”

Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız stated that it is very valuable to start these events organized by the Department of Architecture with this presentation on Gazi Muallim Mektebi, the first educational institution of the Republic, and said, “It is a source of great happiness for us to rethink the educational principles and ideals of the Republic through Gazi Muallim Mektebi, in the building of Architect Kemaleddin Bey, one of the important names of the Republic and our architectural history, and in the hall dedicated to him.”

Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe, in his presentation titled “The First Educational Institution of the Republic: From the Middle School of Education to Gazi University", gave information about the Middle School of Education, one of the first educational institutions of the Republic, the historical process from the establishment of the school to the present day and the architectural structure of the Rectorate building in the light of documents.

Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe talked about the opening process of the Middle School of Education and noted that preparations began on April 26, 1926 and the Institute was opened in late 1926. Prof. Dr. Cephe also gave information about the first administrative and teaching staff and said that 16 male students from the first teacher training school were admitted to the literature department and graduated in 1928. 

Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe also talked about the emblem of the Middle School of Education, which was used at that time and in later years, and stated that this emblem, consisting of five-pointed stars on a half blue and half navy blue background, was designed with inspiration from Atatürk. Prof. Dr. Cephe informed that the Teachers' Anthem, which begins with the line “A wreath of knowledge on our foreheads...”, the anthem of the Gazi Institute of Education, which is still used today, was composed by Cevad Memduh Altar, who was both a music teacher and assistant principal in 1929-30.

Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe said that the Rectorate building was home to the Gazi Institute of Education, Gazi Middle School of Education, Gazi Middle School of Education and Institute of Education, Gazi Institute of Education and Gazi Faculty of Education, starting from the Middle School of Education. Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe noted that this institution, which witnessed the change of the Republic in the fields of education and played an important role in the enlightenment of the republic, has been transformed into Gazi University since 1982.

Organized within the scope of the 100th anniversary events of our Republic, “The First Educational Institution of the Republic: From the Middle School of Education to Gazi University", which was held within the scope of the 100th anniversary events of our Republic, ended with the presentation of a certificate of appreciation to Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe by Prof. Dr. Cemile Nakış Karamağaralı, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, and Prof. Dr. Mahmut Selvi, Dean of Gazi Faculty of Education.

At the end of the event, the participants visited the historical Rectorate Building and received information about the building.