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Microsoft grant gives OMED another reason to celebrate at Tower AwardsRichard Hermes Institute Communications and Public Affairs Georgia Tech’s talented African-American, Hispanic and Native American students soaked up the spotlight on April 13 at the Seventh Annual Tower Awards: A Celebration of Performance. One by one, they walked across the stage in the Hyatt Regency’s International Ballroom and accepted their recognition for achieving a GPA of 3.0 or better. The tuxedo-clad staff of OMED: Educational Services organized the banquet and equipped the room with two oversized video screens, giving the event extra flair. This year, adding to the excitement, Microsoft Research’s University Relations Group announced a grant that will put “bundles” of its latest software and publications in the hands of 1,000 underrepresented students over the next two years. “These awards represent Georgia Tech’s commitment to quality diversity, and they serve as a quick snapshot of the lives of students who deserve credit for overcoming the odds and performing at a top technical school,” said S. Gordon Moore Jr., OMED’s managing partner and director. The metaphor is appropriate, as Eastman Kodak Company placed a complimentary disposable camera at each seat. The software gift, valued at approximately $1.5 million, will strengthen OMED’s existing educational programs and allow the office to integrate technology into the lives of its students from the moment they step on campus. “Microsoft’s gift provides our minority students with the same technological tools as their peers,” Moore said. “They already have the ingenuity and creativity it takes to succeed. Now, for the first time, they also have the resources. Microsoft is going beyond the issue of recruitment here, to retention, which is just as important.” “We are honored to support a program which clearly is providing leading edge learning experiences to minority students entering technical fields,” said Craig Cumberland, program manager, Microsoft Research University Relations at Microsoft Corp. Dorothy Cowser Yancy, president of Johnson C. Smith University, gave the keynote address. Yancy, the first female African-American full professor at Tech and the leading force in the establishment of OMED more than 20 years ago, urged the students to remember their obligation of service as they achieve success. In one of the most touching moments of the ceremony, James E. Wright, father of master’s degree candidate Monifa F. Wright, emerged from the long line of students and accepted the award for his daughter. “We came all the way from Columbia, S.C.,” he said, and the look of pride on his face reflected the expressions of hundreds of other parents in the audience. “Many of the award winners are first generation college students—certainly the first generation to enter science and engineering,” Moore said. “That newness is one reason why it is important to continue to celebrate in this way. The Tower Awards are a reaffirmation not only for the students, but for an entire community.”
The awards banquet is part of a three-day series of events that includes the Society
of Hispanic Professional Engineers Awards banquet and a design competition where
students and corporate friends interact in an informal, creative, high-energy
environment.
Approved by the Office of External Affairs on 09/24/97
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