VCU news

By Lane Burgess
Global Education Office

Twenty-eight Turkish government officials arrived in the United States on Sept. 18 for 45 days, two weeks of which will be spent in Richmond for a professional development program hosted by the VCU Global Education Office and the VCU Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

“Our goal is to make sure that this experience is as educational as possible for you,” said R. McKenna Brown, executive director of the VCU Global Education Office, during a welcome reception held at VCU’s Robertson Alumni House.

For the past three years, the Turkish Ministry of Interior has joined VCU to offer short-term and long-term programs for Turkish sub-governors and other officials. This November, another group will arrive for the same two-week program, which is aimed at seasoned government officials. In the spring, a group of ten newly elected sub-governors will stay for a year with an added English language component.

A busy schedule is in place to ensure the visitors learn much about U.S. sociology, criminal justice, homeland security and public policy.

According to Robyn Diehl, an associate professor in criminal justice, a significant number of Turkish national police officers received master’s and doctoral degrees at the Wilder School about seven years ago.

“That evolved into doing some training and education for their sub-governors,” she said. “Turkey wanted them to have a strong understanding of how the U.S. public administration and political system worked and to work on their English.”

The visiting group – comprised of deputy governors, sub-governors, legal counselors and NGO inspectors – will take part in a series of lectures given by Wilder School faculty on topics spanning U.S. government, constitutional law and budget and finance.

“We want to know the American system better,” said Sahin Aslan, deputy governor of Izmir, Turkey.

Chris Saladino, political science instructor, will teach several of the upcoming lectures. He has a personal interest in Turkey and a strong commitment to the program.

“Our relationship with the Turks changed the way I looked at some things and incorporate into my teaching,” he said. “The more international partnerships we have at the university, the better off we are going to be.”

The second component of the program is community involvement. The visiting contingent will meet with local government officials including Henrico County Manager Virgil Hazelett and Virginia Senator Ryan McDougle.

The group toured the Richmond Police Department following the lead of Police Deputy Chief Eric English, who answered questions about crime rates, homelessness and security in Richmond.

“It’s exciting to learn different ideas,” says English. “The big push is learning what we do and how we operate. It’s so different from how they operate. For them, the benefit comes from being here. They can understand why we do what we do.”