With all the shared joy in the arena, the smiles on students’ faces, and the cheering by family members, Commencement is the most energizing time of the year — and it’s also a good reminder of how much our work matters.

If you’re confused by the ongoing changes in intercollegiate athletics these days, you’re not alone. I’ve been involved in this business for more than two decades, and I am equally perplexed. And yet, with all the uncertainty we face, I have no doubt that our athletics program will continue to thrive, will keep offering life-changing opportunities to hundreds of talented student-athletes, and will be a major net contributor to all of Georgia Tech.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal ran a feature story titled, “Sorry, Harvard. Everyone Wants to Go to College in the South Now,” that circulated widely among alumni. Capped by a full-width shot of the Ramblin’ Wreck, flanked with cheerleaders, leading the football team onto the field, the article covers an enrollment surge among Southern research universities that goes back about two decades and has grown even more considerable recently. Notably, this dramatic jump in out-of-state enrollment among schools in the South is being led almost exclusively by public institutions like Georgia Tech.

In 2014, Georgia Tech made history by launching the first large-scale online master’s degree in computer science offered by a top-ranked institution for a fraction of the cost of a traditional program. The goal was to expand access to an affordable, high-quality graduate education and create a new model of online learning that would serve thousands of students from diverse life and professional circumstances and locations.

Last week, we welcomed the start of a new academic year — and with it, the largest incoming class in Institute history. I can’t tell you how proud I am of Georgia Tech’s faculty and staff, who are finding ways to serve more students every year and deliver one of the highest-value educations among American universities. Think about this: Just this past week, Georgia Tech was listed as both the nation’s fastest-growing public university and the nation’s No. 1 best-value public university. I can’t think of any other university that has achieved both.