Clough, G. Wayne

Scholarly Materials And Research @ Georgia Tech

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT WAYNE CLOUGH Macon Roll-Out Georgia Sports Hall of Fame May 4,1999 Good evening. It is a pleasure to be here with my fellow Georgia Tech alumni at the brand new Georgia Sports Hall of Fame - the latest in the growing array of outstanding attractions in downtown Macon. This marvelous museum has only been op>en for about 10 days, and this Roll Out is the very first special event to be held here. It's a thrill to see Georgia Tech represented over in the college sports section, even if it is head to head with that other little school in Athens... and to be represented by so many outstanding alumni like Bobby Jones, who have gone down in the record books. But the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame also allows the young in age and heart to shoot hoops and measure their vertical leap, to test their field goal kicking and passing skills, and even try their hand as a sportscaster, calling a game. In addition to sharing the inspiring stories of sports history, the Sports Hall of Fame points out the characteristics that have always made an outstanding athlete - hard work, persistence, self-discipline and commitment... the same characteristics that have always made an outstanding Georgia Tech student. This new museum recognizes both the power of hi story and tradition and the importance of identifying and promoting the characteristics that foster greatness. We're trying to do same thing at Georgia Tech - to cherish the traditions and the enduring foundations that have made us great, and carry those values with us as we make the changes and meet the challenges that will keep us on the cutting edge in the days ahead. This event tonight is nominally about our Capital Campaign, but of course what it is really about is Georgia Tech and its future. So tonight I want to take a bit of time to talk about Georgia Tech... how far we have come and where we can go in the future. Technology has made Georgia Tech a special university with a special opportunity. We are a technological institution in a world ever more driven by technology. And we have the advantage of a foundation built by generations of Tech people who stayed the course and did not let themselves stray from the basics. When I returned to Tech as president back in 1994, we faced some very real challenges. Yet in my heart of hearts I knew Tech was poised to achieve remarkable things. To do so, required us to remain focused, to respect the power of our traditions, to attract the best talent, to apply our energies in the right places, and to build the resources needed to take advantage of our opportunity. 3 To a large extent, we have succeeded in doing many of these things. For example, our state-of-the-art Olympic housing is running close to 100 percent occupancy, and our new athletic facilities are being used to best advantage. Techwood Homes no longer exists. Centennial Park, a brand new neighborhood of multi-income housing, has replaced it. And we are in the process of changing other neighborhoods around our campus by attracting high-tech companies that want to be close to a knowledge-driven institution. We are also attracting top faculty. Three years ago the National Science Foundation introduced the CAREER Award, a recognition given to the young faculty who show the greatest promise in engineering and science. To date, Tech's faculty has received 33 CAREER Awards. We rank third in the nation by number of awards, and we lead the nation with the highest concentration of CAREER Award winners among our faculty. 4 In the last four years, our faculty has helped to bring four national centers of excellence to Georgia Tech, ranging from semiconductor design to biotechnology, from earthquake engineering to tissue engineering. The most recent of these is the semiconductor design center, in which Georgia Tech is the leading agency for a coalition that includes MIT, Stanford and Cornell. At the heart of all of this activity are our students. We have 227 students from the greater Macon metro area on the Tech campus right now. Central High School alone sent us 10 freshmen last fall. This evening we have two outstanding high school seniors with us who will be coming to Georgia Tech next August on scholarships funded by this alumni club - Branan Ennis^of Stratford High and Whitney Setzer of Westside High. We look forward to welcoming them to campus, and I want to thank all of you for helping outstanding students from Macon to attend Georgia Tech. 5 With a new and more informed admissions procedure, we are doing a better job of selecting well-rounded students to attend Tech. While we continue to choose the most academically talented young people from the thousands who apply, we are also seeking those who have heart and desire. This year's freshman class is the largest in our history by 400 students. It is the most diverse, the most talented, and it has the most Georgians. Am I biased about how good our students are? Last year 1,300 companies, a record high, came to campus hoping to hire some of our good folks. That's what you call the bottom line, and it shows the power of combining a Tech education with hard-working, talented young people. Take our faculty, our students and our focus, and you have a rate of growth in recognition that hardly any other university has achieved. Today U.S. News & World Report ranks us as one of the top ten public universities in the nation. Our College of 6 Engineering recently moved into third place nationally, behind only MIT and Stanford. In addition, the College of Computing plus 15 other schools and programs at Tech are ranked in the top 15. And at a time when universities and colleges are under increasing criticism for high cost, Tech remains a remarkable bargain. Last August, the Kiplinger report evaluated over 1,000 universities and colleges and named Tech as one of the top ten best educational bargains in the nation. In a world where celebrity and fluff often win over substance, Georgia Tech stands out as a real deal. As Dizzy Dean said, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." So what's left for us to do? The answer is, a lot, particularly if we are to measure up to our potential and our goals. (3eorgia Tech has the capability that few do in that it can become one of the small number of universities that are called world-class. 7 Achieving world-class status calls for hard work and funding to invest in new facilities, in hiring more top faculty In emerging fields, and in creating a campus that will serve our future. Since 1994, we have completed or have under construction over $200 million in new buildings. This is a good start, but we have a small campus where half of the buildings are 25 years old or older. Today's cutting-edge science and engineering cannot be done in buildings with antiquated wiring and plumbing. The remarkable markets for distance learning and executive education cannot be served in old classrooms. We cannot compete in one of the nation's top athletic conferences with only half the sports programs of our fellow universities. These are some of our challenges. 8 Yet as you well know, Tech has never shied away from a challenge. And we certainly are not going to start now on my watch. You, our alumni... you who built our strong foundations... can help us get to the ranks of the world's top universities. You who survived drownproofing; who pulled dozens of all-niters studying for exams; who rode, marched or cheered in the Ramblin' Wreck Parade... You who know that "the Hill" has nothing to do with our nation's Capitol and that Rose Bowl Field is not in California, but on Fowler Street... You who continue spend cool fall nights in Atlanta, cheering on your favorite team... who continue to insist that the Varsity is a culinary experience second to none... who continue to shout "To Hell with Georgia" like your parents before you... And, finally, you who have "gotten out" but have never gotten over your love for Georgia Tech. 9 You are the key. You know I am committed, and I seek your help in realizing our dream for a great future for our alma mater and all those who come after us. Thank you. 10 

Macon Roll Out

https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/1853/11070/1/clough_043.pdf

Macon Roll Out

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Scholarly Materials And Research @ Georgia Tech