{"130491":{"#nid":"130491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Town Hall Attracts Staff from Across Campus","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELast Friday, a standing-room only crowd of staff members gathered to hear the latest news about Georgia Tech from President G. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson and Steve Swant, executive vice president of administration and finance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI talk a lot about our students and the \u2018other education\u2019 they receive at Tech,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThey learn to be the adults they become from watching how you interact with them and each other. We are fortunate to have you \u2014 you help make this institution what it is.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the town hall, which was webcast to an overflow room and the Savannah campus, Peterson and Swant provided updates about Tech and various initiatives. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrom the Tech Arts initiative, which was inspired by the strategic plan, to the first annual Art Crawl at Clough Commons, increasing involvement in the arts has become more of a priority than ever at Georgia Tech,\u201d Peterson said.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn terms of the student population at Tech, Peterson shared that fall 2012 admission applications are up 3.5 percent from 2011. The Institute also continues to increase its global impact through partnerships with the Korean Institute for the Advancement of Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother point of pride is that Tech was recently named one of 10 National University Transportation Centers. On the state level, Peterson shared that Tech directly and indirectly impacts approximately 70,000 jobs in Georgia and has helped to land more than 30 corporate relocations and expansions over the past three years.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have also collaborated with the state on projects including the recently announced REACH Scholarship,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cTech was the first University System of Georgia institution to partner with the governor on this project, which will target middle school students who have the academic skills for college but may struggle to afford it.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the presentation, the audience was invited to ask questions. Peterson and Swant were asked about their stance on telecommuting \u2014 which Peterson is \u201cvery supportive of.\u201d However, Peterson emphasized that employees need to work out an agreement with their supervisors. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe two also addressed the future of Georgia Tech Savannah and the decision to no longer offer undergraduate programs at the campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy next fall, all faculty from Savannah should be back in Atlanta, and the Savannah campus will be focused on distance and professional education,\u201d Peterson said.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd according to Swant, things are starting to improve when it comes to the financial state of Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe important thing for us to remember is that Georgia Tech has a history of continuing to dream, design and build in good and challenging times,\u201d Swant said. \u201cBuildings such as the Engineered Biosystems Building and the efforts of many in this room are a commitment that we are here for the long haul. After each of us retires or leaves Tech, our legacy will impact many sets of freshmen, graduate students and faculty in the years to come.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELast Friday, a standing-room only crowd of staff members gathered to hear the latest news about Georgia Tech from President G. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson and Steve Swant, executive vice president of administration and finance.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Last Friday, a standing-room only crowd of staff members gathered to hear the latest news about Georgia Tech from President G. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson and Steve Swant, executive vice president of administration and finance."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-05-14 13:41:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"130401":{"id":"130401","type":"image","title":"Staff Town Hall","body":null,"created":"1449178647","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:37:27","changed":"1475894757","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:57","alt":"Staff Town Hall","file":{"fid":"194654","name":"town_hall_the_2__0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/town_hall_the_2__0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/town_hall_the_2__0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2109771,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/town_hall_the_2__0_0.jpg?itok=LGOXcE2U"}}},"media_ids":["130401"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3423","name":"employees"},{"id":"171115","name":"staff members"},{"id":"170704","name":"staff town hall"},{"id":"4204","name":"town hall"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}