Dear Yellow Jackets:

I am pleased to share the new strategic plan for the Georgia Institute of Technology. This plan presents our shared vision for the next decade. It is grounded in our commitment to developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition, and is driven by a set of ambitious goals and bold actions to grow the impact we have in the world.

We envision an institution that leverages its unmatched scale and resources to address the most crucial challenges of our time. An engine of innovation and entrepreneurship that helps position our city and state as vibrant hubs of economic opportunity and dynamism. A global institution that develops committed, global leaders who can build bridges of collaboration around the world. An inclusive academic community committed to expanding access so that more voices, more minds, and more perspectives can contribute to creating a better future.

Our world today is wrought with complex challenges that will define the future of our communities, our nation, and our species on this planet: how to power a growing world economy without heating our planet beyond repair and without harming the ecosystems our lives depend on; how to provide access to food, clean water, education, and healthcare to a world population that has doubled during my own lifetime and will add another billion by the end of this decade; how to combat social inequities, racial injustice, and gender discrimination; how to strengthen our democracy, resolve conflict, maintain peace, and defend ourselves against emerging security threats; how to prepare the world to fend off the next pandemic.

Because of our scale and the caliber of the talent we attract and develop, Georgia Tech is in a unique position to respond to these challenges. Our graduates drive innovation in business, government, and academia; they lead transformative companies and create new ones; and they influence the thinking of other leaders in the private and public sectors. Our faculty consistently deliver breakthroughs in science and technology, they critically assess the potential and risk of new technologies, and they shape the minds of current and future leaders.

Our plan is to amplify that impact by expanding access to more talented individuals of more backgrounds, ensuring that our graduates are equipped to lead and make a difference and that our research responds to questions of great consequence, empowering innovators to create new solutions and companies to make them accessible, and opening the doors of technology and innovation to everyone. The priorities articulated in this strategic plan are firmly grounded in our main core value: Our students are our top priority, and that commitment shines through in our goals. We strive for excellence, thrive on diversity and celebrate collaboration. We champion innovation, on our campus and around us. We nurture the well-being of our entire community and are committed to ethical behavior and responsible stewardship.

Georgia Tech developed this 10-year plan through a highly inclusive process involving more than 5,700 individuals, a 64-member steering committee, and six working groups comprised of 250 students, faculty, staff, and alumni. This plan belongs to all of us. And it is up to all of us to make it a reality. As we like to say around here: We can do that!

Ángel Cabrera
President, Georgia Tech