Reliable energy is required to keep safe in cold winters and hot summers, making it a matter of national security. There are also vying economic policies to consider, political and financial incentives to navigate, and questions of social and economic inequality.
Experts in Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts examine the challenges we face with the U.S. energy transition, and work to help make it safe, fair, and effective for all.
Read the article on the Ivan Allen College website.
]]>If history tells us anything, it’s the right place at the right time.
“This team steps into a void,” said Declan Abernethy, lecturer in Georgia Tech’s School of History and Sociology. “It’s nice to see women’s soccer be valued as a commercial spectacle and exciting for fans in Atlanta.”
Atlanta holds a place in women’s soccer history as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics, where the U.S. Women’s National Team won its first gold medal — the introduction to women’s soccer for many Americans.
Since then, the soccer ecosystem has expanded exponentially, in Atlanta and beyond. Atlanta United began playing in 2017, winning the MLS Cup in its second year as a franchise.
Arthur Blank, who owns Atlanta United and the Atlanta Falcons and purchased the rights for the new women’s team, paid $165 million for this expansion team. Just two years ago, that cost was nearly a third. The total investment will ultimately be more than $330 million. But as Abernethy points out, the purchase price and timing show that this is a serious endeavor.
“It shows Blank is a smart business owner — he’s willing to invest in doing things the right way,” said Abernethy, who has studied and published about both Atlanta United and the U.S. Women’s National Team. “In five years, this team could be a leader in how it is run and how it spends money. We have such a strong legacy of professional women’s soccer in Atlanta and so much youth talent, it could get very competitive.”
It’s not the first time a women’s soccer team has made its home in Atlanta. The Atlanta Beat played at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium in the early 2000s, and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women followed.
Since those attempts, Atlanta has welcomed a professional men’s team in Atlanta United, along with its ATL UTD 2 reserve team and extensive youth development programs. A $50 million contribution from Arthur Blank is helping build a new home for U.S. Soccer south of the city in Fayetteville with the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center.
“It’s hitting at this opportune time with the U.S. training facility, sparks of excitement for the men’s national team, a strong run by the women’s national team with players from Atlanta, and six World Cup games being hosted in Atlanta next year. It could have a nice impact on the soccer ecosystem here,” said Kirk Bowman, Regents’ Entrepreneur and professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
Bowman also points to the culture that has grown from Atlanta United and the infrastructure that supports it. Team flags adorn houses, the BeltLine and MARTA connect in-town fans to a downtown stadium that is surrounded by new development at the Gulch — not to mention a growing pool of legacy soccer players around the metro area, and the surrounding perennial success of ACC women’s soccer teams.
“You’ve now had cohort after cohort of female soccer players of all ages, and families with mothers and daughters who have played soccer and are eager to go to games,” he said. “If they brand it correctly, there’s a lot of enthusiasm and a built-in audience that loves the game.” The WNBA also had record-high viewership last year, with its most-watched game garnering nearly 3 million viewers, demonstrating the increasing popularity of women's professional sports.
The team also enters an open market for fans, without another professional women’s team nearby. Abernethy notes that it takes time to build economic success and fandom, and with more than 50 years of women’s soccer now played, it may have finally hit its stride.
]]>He replaces Alasdair Young, professor and Neal Family Chair in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, who has served as interim associate dean since April 2024. Winders will collaborate with human resources and the faculty affairs team this summer to ensure a smooth transition.
“Bill’s deep experience with faculty issues and his devotion to shared governance and non-tenure track faculty make him an exciting addition to our College’s leadership team,” said Amanda Murdie, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Regents’ Professor, and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair in Liberal Arts and Technology. “I’d also like to express my appreciation to Alasdair Young for his excellent work as interim associate dean over the past two years.”
As associate dean for faculty development, Winders will advise the dean, the college’s executive leadership team, and department/school chairs on matters related to faculty affairs. He will also support the needs of the faculty community and provide resources, mentorship, and leadership that promotes advancement of tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure-track, and research faculty, as well as research and teaching postdoctoral fellows.
Winders has many years of experience in administration, leadership, and the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure (RPT) process. In HSOC, he served as the director of undergraduate studies from 2008 to 2014 and the director of graduate studies from 2014 to 2020. He has also served on HSOC’s RPT committee since 2009 and currently serves as the chair of the HSOC RPT Committee. He also serves as the Georgia Tech representative to the University System of Georgia Chief Academic Officer Advisory Group for Sociology.
Winders has chaired several faculty search committees and was involved in shaping and conducting the annual evaluation process for faculty.
A political sociologist, Winders’ research focuses on national policies, social movements, and inequality in a global context. His courses include Introduction to Sociology, Food and Society, Sociology of Development, and Social Movements. In addition to many journal articles and book chapters, he has written two books and co-edited one book. He is currently working on two projects aimed at producing book manuscripts – one examines the global meat industry and the other focuses on global food crises in historical perspective.
]]>The United States has enjoyed academic freedom for 110 years — causing many of us to take it for granted, said Kate Pride Brown, an associate professor in the School of History and Sociology and the organizer of the Academic Freedom and Human Rights Symposium.
“But it was established in the face of threats,” Brown said. “Understanding the history of where it comes from and what it means is important.”
The full-day Academic Freedom and Human Rights Symposium explores just that.
It will take place at Price Gilbert Library on Oct. 10 and feature research on how academic freedom began in the United States, as well as challenges and observations from the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Turkey, Mexico, China, Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The event brings together scholars from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University and will conclude with a keynote address by Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University.
“These examples show us that academic freedom is not simply pretty words. It's a value that is central to any democratic society,” Brown said.
“When citizens have access to valid knowledge, they can make more informed choices. But better-informed choices may not always conform to what powerful people might like,” she added. “Scholars’ fundamental interest is in making sure that knowledge is valid, despite what other interests are at stake. That's their biggest contribution, and it is where they find their greatest success.”
RSVP to attend the Academic Freedom and Human Rights Symposium (lunch will be provided). Speaker topics include:
The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts attracts some of the best minds in the social sciences and humanities, scholars and practitioners eager to further Georgia Tech's mission of educating leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. Our newest faculty members are no exception.
This year, we are proud to welcome 13 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 21 non-tenure-track faculty, including Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellows and new cadre members in our ROTC programs, four research faculty, and 11 visiting faculty.
The collaboration between the Scheller College of Business and the Ivan College of Liberal Arts offers undergraduates a new way to explore new career paths and capitalizes on Georgia Tech’s proximity to sports and entertainment venues and industries.
Atlanta frequently hosts major events such as the College Football National Championship and is home to several professional sports teams. Meanwhile, the entertainment sector adds $14 billion annually to the state economy and supports more than 40,000 jobs, according to a 2021 TAG Media and Entertainment Ecosystem Report.
Richard "Dick" Bergmark, IM 1975, HON Ph.D. 2022, a former swimming and diving student-athlete who has directed his philanthropy to both academic and athletic initiatives, said he was thrilled to support the program.
“My management degree gave me the foundation for my career,” he said. “I’m thankful for both the academic and athletic experiences I had at Georgia Tech. Supporting the next generation is a great way for me to give back.”
The program requires:
Murdie, the new dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and an expert in international relations, also has extensively studied game theory and finds it incredibly relevant to her work in human rights and human security. Typically defined as the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions, game theory relies on understanding distinctively non-mathematical factors like psychology and cultural norms.
“To make a good game theory model, you have to understand the motivations of individuals, and you can't understand those motivations from only the sciences. You really need the humanistic side,” Murdie says. “If you're going to do anything as a game theorist, you must understand how humans function, and that's more than just the natural sciences or the social sciences. It’s inherently interdisciplinary.”
The liberal arts provide that understanding not just in game theory but in any discipline, says Murdie. “Liberal arts are the lifeline through which all other knowledge flows,” she says.
Murdie’s background in human rights gave her an early appreciation of how many research areas outside of international relations play a key role in improving lives worldwide.
“Coming from a human rights tradition, you always start with an interdisciplinary lens,” she says.
Murdie’s training and research have included a wide range of students, professors, and collaborators — from economics, law, history, sociology, business, statistics, and more. She says human rights and international affairs are not at all unique in demanding an interdisciplinary approach. Solving any complex problem requires knowledge of many direct and indirect factors.
To connect the dots, you need collaborators from a range of disciplines. And to trust and work with collaborators from each discipline, you need at least a basic, working level of knowledge about it, says Murdie.
“How do you respect someone else's method of inquiry and someone else's method of creation? That's something universities don't train students well for unless there’s a truly interdisciplinary focus,” she says.
Whether someone is launching a business, creating a new technology, or negotiating a treaty, connecting the dots is crucial to innovation, as well as staying more than a few steps ahead of AI and automation. The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts is perfectly positioned to make more of those connections as a liberal arts hub embedded within an institute making the latest breakthroughs in engineering, computing, and sciences, says Murdie, who joined Georgia Tech from the University of Georgia. She calls it the “Ivan Allen Advantage.”
“I think the Ivan Allen Advantage goes in two directions. I think in one direction, our advantage for all Tech students is that they need that liberal arts training in order to be better communicators and actually think about humanity and how technology can be used,” Murdie says. “And I think the Ivan Allen Advantage also is for those of us who are passionate about the liberal arts, who want to focus on the human condition. Doing so in an environment that is tech-informed leads to better student outcomes.”
The College is also well positioned (as a connector of dots) to channel faculty and student research expertise toward solving problems and improving lives, Murdie says. The Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) and Center for Urban Research represent excellent examples of how the liberal arts can act as a hub and facilitator for tackling complex challenges, she adds.
As AI and other technologies accelerate changes in nearly every aspect of our lives, the ability to be creative, lead complex teams, solve problems, and connect with others has never been more important. What better way to master those skills than to enhance your education with the study of literature, languages, history, and culture? Murdie asks.
“We're going to build the liberal arts into what it should be — the best place for people to get training for the future. But that training needs to be informed by technology, and it needs to be informed by the deep understanding of AI and machine learning,” Murdie says.
“If you’re an engineer who can't write or express ideas clearly, it's easier for your job to be taken by AI. It's our ability to be human that keeps us in the game.”
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