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Advisory board focuses on policy leadership
David
Terraso
Institute Communications and Public Affairs
No longer satisfied with being known only for its technological prowess,
Georgia Tech wants to use its high-tech know-how to help government leaders
shape public policy.
“It’s clear to me that technology is interwoven into every part
of our lives today,” President Wayne Clough told members of the Georgia
Tech Advisory Board (GTAB) at the group’s fall meeting on Nov. 8.
“Georgia Tech’s expertise in science and technology puts it
in a unique position to improve public understanding of complex issues
and to assist local and national government leaders to appreciate how
we can best respond to the urgent questions we face today. These include
how we protect ourselves against chemical, biological and cyber-terrorism,
helping save our fragile environment, and using technology to improve
our lives and cities,” he later added.
The advisory board meets twice a year and is comprised of top business
and government leaders from around the nation, most of them Georgia Tech
alumni. Much like a corporate board of directors, GTAB advises Tech’s
administration on planning and helps promote Tech’s activities to
the outside world. Founded in 1957 as the National Advisory Board of the
Georgia Tech National Alumni Association, the board changed its name to
GTAB in 1990.
The board has historically advised the Institute and its presidents on
strategic planning issues and new initiatives such as those undertaken
in the curriculum and research.
This fall’s meeting featured speeches by former U.S. Senator and
current Georgia Tech Professor Sam Nunn; Bell South President of Georgia
Operations Phil Jacobs; Tech alumnus and State Rep. Richard Royal; Renay
Blumenthal, policy director for Gov. Roy Barnes’ office; and E. Floyd
Kvamme, co-chair of President Bush’s Presidents’ Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
Board members also toured Technology Square, attended a dinner that featured
musical entertainment provided by Georgia Tech students and watched the
Tech vs. Florida State football game.
The policy question, however, was central to the agenda. Clough asked
the board for its thoughts on how Tech can be more active in advising
and shaping public policy on a national, state and local level. He also
asked them how Tech can prepare its students to take leadership roles
later in their careers.
The board and the keynote speakers were of one mind in strongly endorsing
an expanded role for Tech in shaping public policy. Placing experts in
key positions to communicate with the media and government leaders were
among the key recommendations made by the board. Georgia Tech’s faculty,
students and facilities were felt to be tremendous resources in an era
where too few are informed about technology. It was noted that most legislators
have neither the background nor the time to fully understand the complexities
of many of the day’s issues. The board also indicated that encouraging
faculty experts to share their expertise with the outside world would
do much to increase the public profile of Tech regionally, nationally
and internationally.
Clough, the board said, is leading the Institute by example through his
work on PCAST and his positions as chair of Gov. Barnes’ natural
gas task force and Mayor Shirley Franklin’s clean water panel. But
Tech has many more experts in residence who can serve the community, and
the Institute should do more to make sure their voices are heard.
The board also recommended Tech increase opportunities for students to
get involved in community and service projects and issues. Ideas that
were discussed included creating more government internships, increasing
enrollment in public policy courses and infusing the curriculum with lessons
on leadership and communications skills.
Tech’s student leadership initiative, announced last year with Chemical
Engineering Professor Arnold Stancell’s appointment to the new Turner
Chair of Servant Leadership, is a big step in the right direction, the
board agreed. The initiative aims to teach leadership skills to all students
through various classroom and teamwork exercises as well as co-curricular
opportunities.
Deservedly or not, Tech students have a reputation for being so involved
in their studies they have little time or interest in getting involved
in community issues, the board said. Tech needs to provide more opportunities
for students to use their knowledge to benefit society.
“Our students ought to graduate with a great sense of dissatisfaction,”
explained board member Ray Anderson. “Dissatisfaction with the world
and the way things are and the commitment to change it.”
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