{"131191":{"#nid":"131191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Vice Provost Ray Vito to Retire","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFollowing 37 years of service to Georgia Tech as a professor, researcher, administrator and advocate, Ray Vito has announced his intention to retire at the end of May.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the past five years, Vito has served Tech\u2019s Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, overseeing academic activities such as curriculum development and educational technology, as well as experiential learning initiatives such as the Honors Program, cooperative education and the InVenture Prize.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe most rewarding aspect of my career has been anything that impacts student success,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how clear your thinking on an issue becomes when you ask, \u2018what would be best for the students?\u2019\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing his official retirement, Vito will return on a part-time basis later this year as an emeritus faculty member and special assistant in support of institutional initiatives for both the Office of the Provost and Office of the Executive Vice President for Research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRay has been one of the driving forces in creating the kinds of student experiences that highlight Tech\u2019s commitment to entrepreneurship and creativity,\u201d said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Rafael L. Bras. \u201cAs we start to put the building blocks in place that support our 25-year strategic plan, we will benefit from his experience, his perspective and his enthusiasm.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn the research side, Vito\u2019s involvement will focus on commercialization, the multifaceted process for bringing ideas from concept to reality and, ultimately, to market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough programs such as the Georgia Tech Fund for Innovation in Research and Education and our startup accelerator Flashpoint, we are making significant investments to help foster the creative spirit of our faculty, students and the local community,\u201d said Executive Vice President for Research Steve Cross. \u0022Ray\u0027s leadership and passion for these initiatives have been instrumental in their success.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn expert in bioengineering and computer-aided engineering design who was named an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow in 2006, Vito has remained connected to the School of Mechanical Engineering, both as an instructor and as a faculty advisor to Tech\u2019s student chapter of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Ray Vito was in the vanguard of bioengineering research in the 1980s along with Don Giddens and Bob Nerem and really helped to put us on the map,\u201d said William Wepfer, chair of the School of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cIn the last few years Ray has been a strong advocate for students and for the emphasis on creativity and innovation in the undergraduate curriculum. Ray\u0027s contributions to Georgia Tech are epic in impact and I am glad that he will be working with us after retirement to continue to advance these goals.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA retirement celebration event, co-hosted by the School of Mechanical Engineering and the Office of the Provost, is being planned for the beginning of the fall semester.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFollowing 37 years of service to Georgia Tech as a professor, researcher, administrator and advocate, Ray Vito has announced his intention to retire at the end of May.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Post-retirement plans include service as special assistant for institutional projects centered on entrepreneurship and creativity"}],"uid":"27299","created_gmt":"2012-05-16 13:18:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:18","author":"Michael Hagearty","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"40070":{"id":"40070","type":"image","title":"Raymond Vito","body":null,"created":"1449174146","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:22:26","changed":"1475894231","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:11"}},"media_ids":["40070"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/provost.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of the Provost"},{"url":"http:\/\/evpr.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of the Executive Vice President for Research"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"541","name":"Mechanical Engineering"}],"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:jennifer.herazy@carnegie.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJennifer Herazy\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOffice of the Provost\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-3037\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}