Ercan Balci has been at Clark serving in several different roles since 2019. Originally from Istanbul, a city woven with the threads of ancient empires and bustling modernity, he carried with him not just luggage, but a vibrant tapestry of experiences.
Ercan pursued his passion for language and communication by undertaking advanced studies in Linguistics by earning an MA and Ph.D. at Boğaziçi University. Before coming to Clark, he enjoyed working at the University of Illinois and Brown University for 12 years, where he’d not only taught about language, culture, and Global Studies but also directed programs, nurturing the next generation of global citizens.
He considers himself a global citizen in the truest sense. His joy stems from unraveling the mysteries of different languages, and from sharing the stories woven into the fabric of unfamiliar cultures. Travel isn’t just a pastime for Ercan; it is a pilgrimage. He seeks out the hidden corners of cities, the places where the pulse of local life beats strongest. He strikes up conversations with anyone, eager to hear their stories and to understand their perspectives. He wants to know a place from the inside out, to experience it not as a tourist, but as a fellow human being.
When the world’s vibrant energy becomes too much, he will seek refuge in nature. Surrounded by mountains reaching towards the sky, or with the rhythmic whisper of the ocean at his feet, under the gentle warmth of the sun, he finds peace. In those moments, surrounded by the raw beauty of the natural world, he is reminded of the interconnectedness of everything, the quiet symphony of life that plays out across the globe. This, too, is a language he understands, a language of wind and waves, of sunlight and earth.
