Georgia Tech Alumni Association
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The Georgia Tech Alumni Association is the official
alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...
for the
Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
(Georgia Tech). Originally known as the Georgia Tech National Alumni Association, it was chartered in June 1908 and incorporated in 1947. Its offices have been in the L. W. "Chip" Robert, Jr. Alumni House on North Avenue since 1979. Its first presidents (starting in 1921) were William H. Glenn, followed by
L. W. Robert, Jr. Lawrence Wood "Chip" Robert Jr. (1889–1976) was a 1908 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and founder of noted Atlanta engineering and architectural firm, Robert and Company. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the ...
and Y. Frank Freeman. The current president of the alumni association is Dene Sheheane. Sheheane succeeds Joseph Irwin who previously held the position since 1999. Other notable presidents include Cherry L. Emerson, Bobby Jones, and Frank A. Hooper. As of September 2019, there were approximately 166,000 living alumni of Georgia Tech. Since 2006, Georgia Tech alumni have given between $30 million to $40 million a year, providing about 30 to 40 percent of the institute's development funds. Georgia Tech is ranked third in alumni giving among public universities, and 26th overall.


History

Georgia Tech was founded in 1885 and opened in 1888, and the first two graduates matriculated in 1890. Attempts at forming an alumni association had been made since 1896, until a charter was applied for by J. B. McCrary and William H. Glenn on June 28, 1906 and was approved two years later by Fulton County on June 20, 1908. The organization published its first annual report in 1908, but was largely dormant due to the pressures of World War I. The organization played an important role in the 1920s Greater Georgia Tech Campaign, which consolidated all existing alumni clubs and funded a significant expansion of Georgia Tech's campus. In 1923, the alumni association created one of its most popular programs, an alumni placement service. In 1932, the service was reorganized and run by Dean George C. Griffin and Fred W. Ajax until budget cuts returned forced the program's return to the alumni association in 1949. The alumni association's placement service is now known as "JacketNet Jobs". In 1947, prompted by the
Georgia Board of Regents The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state. ...
' critical lack of funding for the school, the association organized the annual Alumni Roll Call, which asked graduates to donate according to their ability; the fundraiser continues to this day. The association won numerous awards for the performance of the Roll Call from the
American Alumni Council The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketin ...
; this included the organization's highest award, the Alumni Service Award, in 1967 for the development and operation of the Joint Tech-Georgia Development Fund. Also in 1947, the association polled all existing alumni on whether the school should change its name from the ''Georgia School of Technology'' to the ''Georgia Institute of Technology''; the alumni voted 5,113 to 1,495 in favor of the change, a result that Georgia Tech president
Blake R. Van Leer Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956. Early life and education Van Leer was ...
took to the Georgia Board of Regents to convince them to allow the name change. The alumni association (and association president
Fred Storey Frederick Lewis Storey (March 3, 1932 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian curler from Calgary. He won three World Curling Championships and three Brier Championships playing as lead on the Ron Northcott rink. Storey grew up in Empress, Alberta a ...
in particular) was influential in the finding and selection of Georgia Tech president Edwin D. Harrison in 1957.


Publications

The alumni association produces a monthly magazine that chronicles the accomplishments of Georgia Tech, its faculty and its alumni. Initially founded in 1923 as the ''Georgia Tech Alumnus'' under editor Albert H. Staton, who left to work in industry; his place was taken by R. J. Thiesen who was editor of the magazine until 1951. In 1969, the publication had a circulation of 20,000. The publication is now the ''Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine''. A companion publication to the Alumni Association Magazine was established in 1965 as a quarterly newsletter and named ''Tech Topics''. This publication won national Newsletter of the Year in 1967. The organization is the sole subject of a published book, ''Ramblin' Wrecks from Georgia Tech: A Centennial History of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association''.


See also

*
List of Georgia Institute of Technology alumni This list of Georgia Institute of Technology alumni includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech. Notable administration, faculty, and staff are found on the list of Georgi ...
* List of Georgia Institute of Technology athletes


References


Further reading

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External links


Georgia Tech Alumni Association
{{Georgia Tech Navbox Alumni associations of academic institutions
Alumni Association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...
History of Atlanta Organizations established in 1908 1908 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)