{"47456":{"#nid":"47456","#data":{"type":"news","title":"DOPP Executive Director to Step Down in March","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EExecutive Director Tom Akins will not be completely walking away from the Division of Professional Practice (DOPP) when he retires in March. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAkins, who has worked in the experiential education arm of Georgia Tech for 33 years, plans to continue his work in arranging a centennial celebration for the co-op program in 2012.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn alumnus with a bachelor\u0027s degree in industrial engineering and a former co-op student, Akins returned to Tech as assistant director of the Cooperative Division after a few years as an engineer with First National Bank of Atlanta. In 1977, Akins also earned his MBA from Georgia State University. Students participating in DOPP\u0027s cooperative education opportunities typically alternate semesters of work and semesters of school. During this time, they are paid for their work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There weren\u0027t as many scholarships then,\u0022 Akins said, referring to his own co-op experience in the early 1970s. \u0022Today, there are more students with scholarships. Experience is the main motivator-which is probably how it should be.\u0022 His varied experience with DOPP includes counseling students during their co-op experience. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 1990, Akins became director of the Cooperative Division, and in 2002 he was named executive director of the now-named Division of Professional Practice. Under his leadership, the division added undergraduate internships and work-abroad opportunities for students. He was elected to multiple terms on the Institute\u0027s General Faculty Assembly, Academic Senate and Executive Board. Akins also has served on several search committees and standing faculty committees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2002, Akins proposed to the Office of the Provost an expansion of DOPP by adding an internship program. \u0022This brought more students in because now they didn\u0027t have to commit to every other semester,\u0022 he said. \u0022It also helps students satisfy the work component of the Tech Promise scholarship. We have well more than 1,000 students participating in internships.\u0022 More than 2,700 are classified as co-op students, Akins said. When the graduate co-op program was added to DOPP in 2004 through reorganization, DOPP added 500 students each year, plus 150 or more with the recently created Work Abroad Program, resulting in roughly 4,000 students participating in DOPP programs at any given time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAkins, who grew up in East Point, recalls that his father was a Western Union employee who worked at Georgia Tech football games to ensure the teletypes functioned properly. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022That was my first exposure to Georgia Tech,\u0022 Akins said. \u0022I don\u0027t think my dad would have thought bringing home all those programs from the Tech games would lead to my retiring from this place.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA few years ago, Akins said, his wife asked if he really enjoyed his work. \u0022I told her I didn\u0027t want to do anything else,\u0022 he said. \u0022I truly believe this is what I was supposed to do. I have enjoyed this more and more the longer I have been here.\u0022 And he says this quality is present in other members in the DOPP office. \u0022People in this office have a real heart for students,\u0022 he said. \u0022That\u0027s what I look for when I hire.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EAkins says he tells people that Georgia Tech doesn\u0027t have any peers, relative to cooperative education programs. \u0022If you look at our program compared to other tier-1 research universities, none has the variety and quantity of experiential education opportunities or quality and number of students [participating].\u0022 He adds that taken all together, DOPP students easily earn more than $20 million a year in wages-which Akins adds is more than likely spent at Tech and in Atlanta. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I have other things I want to do,\u0022 Akins said about retiring. \u0022I want to do more volunteer work and give back. I have traveled to Mexico on some missions trips, so I want to do more of that. I\u0027m hoping to go to Romania to aid on a medical mission.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd retirement is where some of his most important work is starting, Akins says. He will work with a retired School of Economics professor to author an economic impact study on DOPP, as well as with School of Modern Languages Chair and Professor Phil McKnight on a grant from the Department of Education. \u0022I will probably still teach one class, \u0027Preparing to Work in the Global Economy,\u0027\u0022 he said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe bulk of his \u0022off time,\u0022 he says, will be spent on preparing for the year-long centennial celebration of cooperative education at Tech, timed for fall semester 2012. Some of his plans include publishing a book, in addition to collating some archival information. \u0022I also hope to raise about $5 million in endowment funds for this office-get a good start for the second century.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\u0022I want to thank Provost Gary Schuster, [Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs] Andy Smith, President [Bud] Peterson and [Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies] Ray Vito,\u0022 Akins said. \u0022Because of them, I\u0027m able to stay on and help with the centennial.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAkins also has been active in the Cooperative Education Division (CED) of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), serving one year as chair-elect and one year as chairman. He served two years as secretary-treasurer. He has conducted workshops and presentations on the state, regional, national and international levels, and serves as chairman of the Awards Committee. Recipient of the CED\u0027s 1998 Borman Award for outstanding service to the field of cooperative education and the Freund Award from the ASEE in 2003, he also served as president of the Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther professional involvements include the World Association for Cooperative Education, the Cooperative Education Internship Association and the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Tom\u0027s leadership over the years to DOPP has been excellent,\u0022 Vito said. \u0022He\u0027s led the charge to offer new opportunities for students-not just here, but also abroad. He\u0027ll definitely be missed for his contributions to Tech.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve accomplished a lot since 1976,\u0022 Akins said. \u0022I don\u0027t have any regrets. I believe I have accomplished what I set out to do, and it\u0027s time for someone else to build on what we started.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Executive Director Tom Akins will not be completely walking away from the Division of Professional Practice (DOPP) when he retires in March. Akins, who has worked in the experiential education arm of Georgia Tech for 33 years, plans to continue his work in arranging a centennial celebration for the co-op program in 2012.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tom Akins to step down as executive director of DoPP in March"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-12-02 14:53:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:49","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"47457":{"id":"47457","type":"image","title":"Executive Director of Division of Professional Practice Thomas Akins","body":null,"created":"1449175107","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:38:27","changed":"1475894442","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:42","alt":"Executive Director of Division of Professional Practice Thomas Akins","file":{"fid":"190120","name":"Akins.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Akins_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Akins_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23164,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Akins_0.jpg?itok=vfWnXb8Q"}}},"media_ids":["47457"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7835","name":"Division of Professional Practice"},{"id":"2198","name":"Retirement"},{"id":"7836","name":"Thomas Akins"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDivision of Professional Practice\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESavant Building, Rooms 103, 112\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-3320\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["profpractice@dopp.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}