Colleagues:

In Fall 2019, President Cabrera challenged us to bring together the entire Georgia Tech community and dream big. We did. Thousands of participants, including more than 2,600 students, attended meetings, workshops, and informational sessions or webinars, sharing their perspectives and dreams for Georgia Tech. The work continued outside of the meetings, under the guidance of the 64-member steering committee. Ideas were shared, discussed, refined, and built upon to produce a plan that is aspirational, inspirational, and because we’re Georgia Tech, attainable. This is OUR plan. It is specific but also flexible enough to leave room for unanticipated opportunities and even disruption.

In the middle of designing this plan, we were all faced with a pandemic that demanded our attention in safely operating a major research university while compelling us to develop solutions to save lives worldwide. This strategic plan takes aim at these very kinds of issues. No matter how great the challenge, Georgia Tech is working hard to innovate, lead, and collaborate in creating solutions to the world’s most complex problems.

We are a technological research university. It is in our name and an important part of our mission, and yet we offer so much more. Our students develop their leadership capabilities by applying a full spectrum of skills and knowledge acquired through their Georgia Tech education. Our students gain holistic learning across science, technology, engineering, math, arts, humanities, business, and social sciences. Through greater interdisciplinary and experiential learning experiences, we will nurture their creativity and inspire them to become ethically grounded, globally aware leaders. And, we are committed to lifetime learning, from assisting K-12 in STEM education to partnering with business to develop graduate degrees and professional education. Progress and Service — for all.

Our new mission statement, our ambitious vision, and our actionable goals and objectives all set the stage for carrying out our motto of Progress and Service to amplify our impact, champion innovation, connect globally, expand access, cultivate well-being, and lead by example. As we mobilize this plan, we will expect measurable progress through a culture of inclusive excellence and a cadence of measurement and accountability.

We expect that this living document will be reviewed and refined each year, with ongoing evaluation of our progress. We also anticipate that Colleges, Schools, and programs will develop their own plans to define ways that each division of the Institute can bring the new strategic plan to life. We look forward to your ongoing participation in that process. It has been our privilege to work alongside so many of you in designing Georgia Tech’s new strategic plan for the future. Our future — together.

Maryam Alavi, Dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair, Scheller College of Business

Steven McLaughlin, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Co-Chairs, Strategic Planning Task Force