The Georgia Institute of Technology has received a $1 million grant from The Gary C. Butler Family Foundation to establish an endowed faculty chair in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISYE), the top-ranked program of its kind in the nation. The grant adds to an existing endowment of $500,000.

Funding for the newly established Gary C. Butler Chair will be used to attract and retain highly regarded and prominent faculty. The goal is to select a chair holder who is considered a preeminent teacher-scholar in his or her respective field. In addition, the chair holder should be capable of attracting highly talented students and junior and senior faculty to the program, stimulating innovative research and leveraging external funding.

“Georgia Tech is pleased to receive this latest grant from The Gary C. Butler Family Foundation, which will enable the School to build upon its remarkable strengths and continue to attract top faculty for our industrial and systems engineering program,” said Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “We remain grateful to Gary Butler and the Foundation trustees for this philanthropic investment, which will benefit the School for generations to come.”

ISYE has achieved national and international prominence through its tradition of unparalleled excellence and leadership in research, education and service, a distinction due to the School’s world-class faculty, top-notch students, outstanding curricula and extensive research focusing on improving quality of life.

Established in 1998, The Gary C. Butler Family Foundation is led by senior trustee Gary C. Butler, a 1968 Georgia Tech graduate with a degree in industrial engineering. A leader in industry and a former CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Butler has remained involved in the life of his alma mater through volunteer leadership and service through appointments on the ISYE Advisory Board and the Georgia Tech Advisory Board. This latest grant from the Butler Family Foundation builds upon previous support from the Foundation to ISYE.