Founder and First President

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Dr. Turgut Ozan
1919-2011 

Dr. Turgut Ozan was born in 1919 in Ankara, Türkiye. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1950, and his M.S. in Production Engineering at the University of Birmingham in England in 1958. He obtained his D.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 1963. In 1960, Dr. Ozan accepted a teaching position at St. Mary’s University with the task of developing engineering education at the University. He initiated Industrial Engineering (1960), Engineering Science (1964), and Electrical Engineering (1977) at the undergraduate level. Additionally, Dr. Ozan established four graduate programs leading to Master of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering, Engineering Science, Operation Research, and Engineering Administration. In 1967, he became the Associate Dean of the Division of Engineering and in 1984, its dean. Dr. Ozan authored the textbook “Applied Mathematical Programming” (Prentice Hall, 1986) and many research papers. He received St. Mary’s University’s Alumni Award, the Long Years Service Award (1983), and the Distinguished Faculty Award (1984). He was also honored with the titles of University Professor and Professor Emeritus by the Board of Trustees of St. Mary’s University (1990). In addition to his academic work, Dr. Ozan founded the American Turkish Association of San Antonio in 1986, serving as its first elected President. He provided leadership and guidance to the organization in support of all its activities. Dr. Ozan was married to Sevin Ozan, who has been a tireless volunteer and leader in ATA-SA since its inception. The Ozans have two children, Dr. Aydin Ozan and Mrs. Oya Cimen, and three grandchildren, Megan, Selin, and Eren. Dr. Ozan passed away in June 2011.