Bilkent University was founded on October 20, 1984, by İhsan Doğramacı, through the joint resolution of İhsan Doğramacı Education Foundation, İhsan Doğramacı Science and Research Foundation, and İhsan Doğramacı Health Foundation. An act later approved the establishment of the this private university of Parliament. The aim was to create a center of excellence in higher education and research. The name "Bilkent" 'exemplifies the founder's aim since it is an acronym of "Bilim kent" in Turkish for "city of science and knowledge."
The founder's objective was to establish a private university distinguished by its high-quality education and research. The founder, himself an academician by profession, had earlier contributed to establishing numerous public institutions of higher learning and served as rector of Ankara University, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Middle East Technical University, and founder and first rector of Hacettepe University.
Preparations for Bilkent University had begun as early as 1967, with the purchase of a large tract of land to the west of Ankara. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the foundations, as mentioned earlier, undertook construction on Bilkent's future site, the buildings that now house administrative offices, the Faculty of Engineering, and the library. Construction of residences for academic staff, cafeterias, student dormitories, the Student Union Building, and various academic buildings followed rapidly.
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