G.P. “Bud” Peterson
2009-2019
Under his leadership Georgia Tech grew innovative collaborations and strategic partnerships locally; expanded its global reach and impact, with a focus on innovation; exceeded the capital campaign goal of $1.5 billion by 20%; and more than doubled the new research awards.
G. Wayne Clough
1994-2008
During Clough’s tenure as president, Georgia Tech’s national rankings rose into the top 10 among public universities. The student population increased from 13,000 to 19,000, and funding for external research more than doubled.
John Patrick Crecine
1987-1992
Dr. Crecine initiated the establishment of three new colleges at Tech: the College of Computing (the first such college in the country); the Ivan Allen College of Management, Policy, and International Affairs; and the College of Sciences.
Joseph M. Pettit
1972-1986
Dr. Pettit's direction, the value of research contracts and grants received by Tech increased more than eightfold. A study by the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils recently ranked Georgia Tech's graduate computer science and chemical engineering programs as the most improved in the nation.
Arthur G. Hansen
1969–1971

At Georgia Tech, Hansen served as dean of engineering and, from 1969 to 1971, president of the Institute. New facilities for chemistry, civil engineering, physics, and student activities were built during his presidency.

Edwin D. Harrison
1957-1968
Edwin Harrison was inaugurated as the sixth president of Georgia Tech in August 1957, his outgoing personality helped develop warm and trusting relationships with students, faculty, alumni, and the Atlanta community. His previous positions included Dean of Engineering at the University of Toledo and Assistant Dean at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Colonel Blake R. Van Leer
1944-1956
After World War II Van Leer returned to become the President of Georgia Tech. During his tenure the school, significantly expanded Georgia Tech, admitted women for the first time and began steps toward integration. Women being admitted to colleges and male dominated fields was a topic of debate in the 1950s.
Marion L. Brittain
1922-1944
Marion Luther Brittain Sr. was an American academic administrator and president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1922 to 1944. Born in Georgia and, aside from a brief stint at the University of Chicago for graduate school, spent most of his life serving the educational community there.
Kenneth G. Matheson
1906-1922
Kenneth G. Matheson was elected chairman of the faculty and acting president. During his administration, Matheson oversaw the school's transition from a trade school to a technological university. Matheson pioneered the bill that would eventually result in the establishment of the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
Lyman Hall
1896-1906

Lyman Hall was president of the Georgia School of Technology (Georgia Institute of Technology). Hall's administration introduced degrees in electrical engineering and civil engineering in December 1896, textile engineering in February 1899, and engineering chemistry in January 1901.
Isaac S. Hopkins
1888-1896

Hopkins' interest in technological development led him to be chosen as the president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, then called the Georgia School of Technology, in 1888. He was the first chair of the physics department where he also concurrently served as a professor in the School of Physics.

ACTING PRESIDENTS

  • Nathaniel Palmer Pratt (1922)
  • Paul Weber (1956-1957)
  • Vernon Crawford (1969)
  • James. E. Boyd (1971-1972)
  • Henry C. Bourne Jr. (1986-1987)
  • Michael E. Thomas (1993-1994)
  • Gary Schuster (2008-2009)