Georgia Tech is committed to being not only one of the nation’s most research-intensive institutions, but also a leading source of sought-after talent in technology-related fields. Our latest enrollment numbers demonstrate we are making good progress.

This month, we welcomed a new iconic tech company to our neighborhood. I was honored to join Governor and First Lady Kemp, and other state, county, and city leaders, to celebrate Cisco’s establishment of a new innovation and talent center in the heart of Tech Square.

If you haven’t had a chance to read President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough’s new memoir yet, I strongly recommend it. The Technological University Reimagined tells the story of Georgia Tech’s journey during President Clough’s 14 years at the helm — a period of growth that set us on a course to become the powerhouse we are today.

This week, a record-setting incoming class of about 4,500 first-year and transfer students moved in, filled our campus with energy and excitement, and walked to their first classes. Just a year ago, weak national trends in higher education plus the dramatic disruption of the pandemic foreshadowed a bleak future. Yet our community came together and innovated to find a way forward, and we’re now welcoming the largest, strongest, most diverse class in Institute history. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) just announced a large strategic effort to advance the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States, and I’m proud that Georgia Tech was named one of its key leaders. Our decades of investment and world-class work across the Institute were recognized when we received two awards totaling $40 million to establish new NSF AI Research Institutes.