The Nov. 12 campus launch of the public phase of Campaign Georgia Tech featured an announcement that provided tremendous momentum to the campaign’s faculty/staff component: an anonymous $5 million commitment from a current faculty member.

The crowd of several hundred students, faculty and staff members who gathered in the Student Center Ballroom for the launch event was elated to hear Anderson D. Smith, senior vice provost for academic affairs, announce the commitment, which has been designated for one of the Institute's academic programs.

“This very generous and transformative commitment will be added to the $3.8 million that faculty and staff members have already committed to the Faculty/Staff Fund since the campaign’s quiet phase began in 2004,” said Smith. “We hope that other faculty and staff will join us in this effort to reach our faculty/staff goal of $15 million by the campaign’s end in December 2015.”

Smith also introduced Corey Boone, president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association, who reminded the students in the audience of the impact that Georgia Tech philanthropy has on their lives.

“In the 2009–10 academic year, 3,000 Tech students received more than $15 million in support that was a direct result of private philanthropy,” Boone said. “One in eight Tech faculty members occupy academic chairs or professorships that were established through private philanthropy. This type of philanthropy has a huge impact on our lives as students every day, and that’s why it’s so important for us to give back.”

Campaign Georgia Tech Chairman John F. Brock III also highlighted the importance of philanthropy to students, citing the scholarship that made his attendance possible more than 40 years ago.

“I didn’t take the time to understand the importance of philanthropy when I was a student,” Brock recalled. “But now, when I think about the rigor of the curriculum and the background that Tech provides and the groundbreaking research that happens here, I realize that this Institute is nothing short of a miracle. Now, it’s up to each of us to determine the future of this great institution.”

President G. P. “Bud” Peterson, who concluded the launch event by presenting the Campaign Georgia Tech video, spoke of the campaign’s vital role in realizing the goals of Georgia Tech’s new Strategic Plan.

“Despite our different backgrounds and interests, the one thing that all of us in this room share is a commitment to Georgia Tech and to building on our legendary history,” Peterson said. “Our Strategic Plan is the basis for this campaign, and we know that our faculty and staff give back to the Institute at the same exceptionally high levels as our alumni. With your support, I am absolutely confident that we will reach our goal of $1.5 billion.”

(This article was written by Dan Treadaway, Communications & Marketing.)