Institute of Turkish Studies: Board of Governors

Minutes of the Final Meeting of November 7, 2020

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
VIA WEB CONFERENCE
November 7, 2020
10:00 AM-11:20 AM

Present: Dr. Edward Erickson, Secretary-Treasurer, presiding; Dr. Sylvia Ö nder, Dr.
Kent Schull, Dr. Angela Stent, Dr. Jenny White, Dr. Birol Yesilada; Dr. Sinan Ciddi,
Executive Director, ex officio.

Absent: Amb. Ross Wilson, Amb. James Jeffrey, Dr. Steven Cook, Dr. Walter Denny,

Documents: Financial Statements as of September 30, 2020

Dr. Erickson called the meeting to order at 10.10 am.

I APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MAY 2020 MEETING

It was MOVED and SECONDED to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.
The motion was CARRIED by unanimous vote.

II EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT AND CURRENT BUSINESS

The Institute of Turkish Studies formally ceased to exist on September 30, 2020. The
paperwork and financial reports to the District of Columbia and the IRS (Form 990) will
be filed on time. The ITS website and social media are inactive. All final records and
materials will be transferred on a USB device to Dr. Schull for inclusion in the archives
at SUNY Binghamton. Our net assets now are $37,826 in the bank, but this will diminish
with the accountants’ final bill. We will retain the accounts for six months and then
distribute to AATT and ARIT (which was previously decided by an electronic vote).
Dr. Ciddi noted that Koç will send us the last payment of $25K which will add to
the net in bank. Dr. White asked if that was legal? Dr. Ciddi affirmed that the accountants
said it was legal. We have already given the tax IDs to the accountants for the January
returns. Including the additional funds from Koç, the total funds to ARIT and AATT
could be as much as $27K– which is not inconsequential. We have no outstanding grants,
obligations, or liabilities.
Dr. Ciddi was invited to speak at the MESA conference to explain about the
demise of the ITS. Along these lines, Dr. Schull and Dr. Ciddi are co-writing an article
for the Journal of Turkish Studies about the legacy of the ITS and the future of Turkish
Studies. Board members, past and present, will be contacted for interviews about this (for
both the article and for the ITS archives as well).
Dr. Schull suggested that, because of the additional funding from Koç, the board
consider expanding the distribution of remaining funds to include the Journal of Turkish
Studies. Dr. Schull suggested giving $8K to support the JoTS. He noted that this could
really help in continuing the journal which has about that amount in general debt.

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Discussion followed. Dr. Ciddi will contact the JoTS and make it clear that any funds
given by the ITS are only to be used for clearing the journal’s general debt.

It was MOVED and SECONDED to approve including the JoTS in the distribution of
final finds in the amount of $8,000 (only to be used to pay off the journal’s general debt).
The motion was CARRIED by unanimous vote.

Dr. Ciddi asked whether the board desired another meeting, either electronic or in
person, Covid notwithstanding. He mentioned that it does not have to be in DC. The
board consensus was that it should be done and that adequate finds be sequestered to
accommodate this, to include enough to bring Dr. White from Sweden.
Dr. Ö nder asked about our relationship with Koç? Dr. Ciddi said that they have
been informed and that he will send a letter to our partners expressing appreciation for
their support.

It was MOVED and SECONDED to approve closing the Institute of Turkish Studies and
disburse the remaining funds (after disbursement to the JoTS) equally to AATT and
ARIT. The motion was CARRIED with one abstention.

III CONCLUSION

Bittersweet discussion followed. Dr. Stent thanked the ITS on behalf of Georgetown
University for its work in supporting Turkish Studies. Dr. Ciddi noted that while the field
of Turkish Studies owes much to the ITS, the board must remember that the field is no
longer dependent on the ITS. Turkish Studies in the United States is now self-sufficient
and growing on its own, which effectively means that the original mission of the
institution has been accomplished. The final board meeting of the ITS concluded with
expressions of both regret and satisfaction.

Adjournment

At 11.20 am, it was MOVED and SECONDED to ADJOURN. The motion was
unanimously CARRIED.