‘Proud history, promising future’

President Bud Peterson addresses the crowd of faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends of Georgia Tech after being officially installed as the Institute’s 11th president on Sept. 3.

Peterson officially installed as Tech’s 11th president

Robert Nesmith
Communications & Marketing

President Bud Peterson was officially installed as Tech’s 11th president during the Institute investiture ceremony held Sept. 3. Students, alumni, faculty and staff—along with representatives from other institutions around the state and country—attended the ceremony.

Alumnus Bill Todd, president and CEO of the Georgia Cancer Coalition, welcomed the crowd to Alexander Memorial Coliseum and introduced the major speakers throughout the event. Ceremony, Todd said, is an “important ritual that allows [the Institute] to look back while looking forward. This place is filled with leaders of all types—some are leaders today, and others are the leaders of tomorrow.”

	Gov. Sonny Purdue (from top), Joseph Evans from the Alumni Association, Distinguished Professor Robert Nerem and Pearl Alexander with the Office of Human Resources addressed the audience attending Peterson’s Investiture Ceremony.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, the first speaker, told the crowd how impressed he is with Peterson professionally and personally. “Bud [Peterson] has an incredible record of service,” Perdue said, citing the excitement and anticipation of his taking the helm of Georgia Tech. “He has become a leading voice in higher education and in the research community.” He added that the state is entrusting “one of its crown jewels in higher education” to the right individual.

Joseph Evans from the Alumni Association, Distinguished Professor Robert Nerem, Senior Director of Employee Relations Pearl Alexander, Graduate Student Government Association Student President Linda Harley and Undergraduate President Alina Staskevicius each spoke, welcoming Peterson and his wife, Val, on behalf of the alumni, faculty, staff and students. “In spite of the current economic and budget crisis, the faculty are ready to take the next step forward,” Nerem said. “With a spirit of cooperation on behalf of the faculty, the best is yet to come.”

USG Board of Regents Chair Robert Hatcher and School of Public Policy Professor and USG Executive Vice Chancellor Susan Herbst addressed the audience, after which Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. thanked Regent Willis Potts and the Presidential Search Committee for presenting Peterson as a finalist. “Dr. Peterson has completely immersed himself in the Institute, in the city and in the state,” Davis said, referring to Peterson’s extensive tour of Georgia to learn how Tech can better assist with current and future challenges. “He is the right person to lead Georgia Tech.”

After receiving the symbolic mace and medallion to enthusiastic applause, Peterson expressed his gratitude to the Tech community for the warm reception he and Mrs. Peterson had received since his arrival in April. Turning the focus from himself, the newly installed president reflected on the Institute’s history and reputation.

“We can all be proud of Tech’s reputation as one of the nation’s top 10 public universities, with outstanding programs in engineering, architecture, computing, liberal arts, management and the sciences,” he said, going on to recount the Institute’s numerous superlatives: $525 million in annual research expenditures; its more than $2 billion impact on the economy; its athletic tradition; its faculty, staff and students; and its 121,000 alumni around the globe.

He recounted his participation in Tech’s physical growth, witnessing the opening of the Marcus Nanotechnology Building, the Zelnak Basketball Practice Facility groundbreaking and construction of the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.

“Higher education is an investment in the future,” he said. “In addition to preparing graduates, our institutions of higher learning contribute to society [by] helping with needed research, assisting in commerce and strengthening our communities through outreach. Clearly, it is our universities—in particular, our research universities—that are preparing the next generation of people who will identify and resolve the problems of the future.”

	Val and Bud Peterson, from left, School of Public Policy Professor and Executive Vice Chancellor Susan Herbst listen as University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. addresses the audience.

Peterson credited the state of Georgia—“its people, the regents and the legislature”—with understanding the importance of and contributing to higher education. Using the state’s HOPE scholarship as an example of this commitment for families, Peterson spoke of Tech’s G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise program, which provides a debt-free education to qualified students. “At its best, higher education connects what is going on in academia with the rest of the world,” he said. “And while here at Georgia Tech we have the Tech Tower that serves as a symbol of our proud past, we have never been restricted to existence in an ivory tower.”

	Distinguished Professor Robert Nerem leads the processional following the ceremony.

Peterson spoke of the Institute’s leadership in its biomedical engineering collaboration with Emory University, in its nanotechnology research and even in its ability to peacefully integrate in 1961. “Here at Georgia Tech we’re not only solving problems for today, we’re also designing the future,” he said. “That is why we initiated a strategic planning process to develop a 25-year strategic vision, a plan that will envision what Georgia Tech should look like on its 150th anniversary.”

He invited the faculty, staff, students, alumni and other friends of Tech (“who know the Institute best”) to join in the process and help shape the future, starting with afternoon strategic planning sessions in the Global Learning and Conference Center. He encouraged those in attendance to participate in the process throughout the coming months.

“As we design our future, we will embrace the values that have made Georgia Tech what it is today,” he said. “While our influence and reputation will increase, the culture upon which our reputation has been built … will remain steadfast and serve as the foundation as we strive not only to define, but to be the technological research university of the 21st century and to educate the leaders of a technologically driven world.

“It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your president in such an exciting and pivotal time in the history of the Institute and of our society. I am absolutely convinced that together we can accomplish anything.”

Video of the ceremony is available at the Investiture Web site. Photos from events throughout the day are available in the online gallery.