Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 30) G eorgia Tech President Wayne Clough has been named chief executive of the massive Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He will assume the post July 1. Clough was selected to be the 12th secretary of the sprawling complex of museums by a unanimous vote of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents on March 14. His appointment was announced at a press conference the next day. The first alumnus to serve as president of Georgia Tech, Clough took office in September 1994 as the Institute’s 10th president. Forging a mantra that Georgia Tech could define the technological university of the 21st century, Clough has guided the Institute through an unprecedented era of academic excellence and prominence, strategic campus growth and expansion exemplified by more than $1 billion in new facilities, dramatic thrusts in research initiatives and capital campaigns that raised more than $1.6 billion. “Wayne Clough has been one of the greatest presidents in Georgia Tech’s history,” says Gary Schuster, provost of the Institute. “His leadership and vision have been responsible for the unprecedented and revolutionary advance in Georgia Tech’s programs and stature during his tenure.” During Clough’s administration, Georgia Tech consistently has ranked among the nation’s top 10 universities, research expenditures have increased to $473 million from $212 million, enrollment has increased to 18,000 from 13,000 and satellite campuses have been established in Savannah, France, Ireland, Singapore and China. In one of its boldest moves under Clough’s initiative, the campus expanded across the interstate connector and developed Technology Square in Midtown Atlanta, where the College of Management, Georgia Tech Research Institute and Georgia Tech Foundation are located. “Wayne is an extraordinary leader who has guided Tech brilliantly by painting a broad strategic vision and ener- >>> Legacy of Excellence Wayne Clough is taking the reins of the Smithsonian, leaving Georgia Tech with an “unprecedented and revolutionary advance in programs and stature.” By John Dunn CLOUGH LEGACY ACCOLADES Provost Gary Schuster: Wayne and I arrived at Georgia Tech around the same time. I recall one of the first strategic meetings I attended with him to discuss the formation of the Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience. Others in the meeting suggested that the initiative could be housed by renovating a current building on campus. Wayne “ quickly asserted that we needed to think bigger than that if we wanted to make Tech a leading research university of the 21st century. He was right then and has continued to think bigger — which has led to the transformation of Georgia Tech into one of the best technological institutions of our time. He’s been a legendary force at Georgia Tech 30 Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine • Spring 2008
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