{"675113":{"#nid":"675113","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Remembering Civic and Georgia Tech Giant Joseph R. Bankoff","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoseph R. Bankoff was many things to many people. He was a lawyer, an advocate for the arts and humanities, a civic leader, an academic with a long record of service to Georgia Tech, a caring mentor, a loving father and husband, and even a private pilot who particularly enjoyed taking his glider up over the Rockies in Colorado.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThroughout his life, Joe followed his own path \u2014 non-traditional, to be sure,\u201d his family said. \u201cHe often described himself as a recovering lawyer, a failed arts executive, or a fake academic when in fact, he excelled in all those careers. His expertise ranged across law and policy, economic development, government legislation, fiscal planning, education, nonprofit management, and global issues.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBankoff, the former chair of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs who previously held numerous other Georgia Tech roles across campus, passed away June 10 after a yearlong cancer fight. He leaves an enormous legacy of service to Georgia Tech, the Atlanta metropolitan region, and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cJoe had the special ability to articulate a strategic vision as well as build consensus and enthusiasm in support of that vision,\u201d said Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera. \u201cAs an academic leader, he helped to elevate Georgia Tech\u2019s national profile through the relationships he fostered and the collaborations he championed. I can think of few who exemplify our motto of Progress and Service as well as Joe Bankoff.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018A Keen Vision\u2019\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile newer members of the Georgia Tech community may associate Bankoff with the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, where he served as chair from 2012 to 2019, his connections to Georgia Tech go back to the 1990s when he worked with the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology, a Georgia Tech research center aligned with the Georgia Research Alliance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis abiding interest in emerging technology led to involvement with the College of Computing, where, in 1998, he was named vice chair of the College\u2019s advisory board.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2009, while Bankoff was still president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, then-Georgia Tech President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson asked him to work on the Institute\u2019s next strategic plan.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2012, former Provost Rafael Bras tapped Bankoff to lead the Nunn School, even though Bankoff was not a traditional international affairs scholar. Bras felt Bankoff was the perfect figure to help lead the School in a new direction. This hunch paid off in numerous ways, including Bankoff\u2019s creation of a program that ultimately resulted in the hiring of former NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove and Adm. James \u201cSandy\u201d Winnefeld, former vice chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, as distinguished professors of the practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile chair, Bankoff worked tirelessly to expand the School\u2019s profile and taught more than a dozen classes, including Careers in International Affairs, Global Issues and Leadership, Science \u0026amp; Technology and International Affairs, Law and Global Innovation, and several directed studies courses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENunn School Chair Adam Stulberg described Bankoff as an open-minded and gracious mentor and an entrepreneurial and inclusive leader.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Joe served as chair at a crucial inflection point for the Nunn School, deftly navigating paths to enhance our prominence both on and off campus that continues to pay dividends,\u201d Stulberg said. \u201cHe possessed a keen vision for integrating the social and policy sciences with world-leading STEM research and teaching, augmented by a natural instinct for connecting diverse people and ideas with bold action.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the years, Bankoff also was the chair of the nominating committee for Georgia Tech\u2019s Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage and served on Georgia Tech\u2019s Institutional Review Board, the Georgia Tech Research Institute Advisory Board, and the Georgia Tech Arts Board.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAdvocate for the Arts and the Olympics\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond Georgia Tech, Bankoff was a noted litigator with a significant portfolio of technology, patent, and media law cases, including a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/420\/469\/\u0022\u003Ewin\u003C\/a\u003E before the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark First Amendment case.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis engagement with the Atlanta arts community goes back decades. He helped raise money for the 1983 expansion of the High Museum, joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra board in 1996, and became president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center in 2006.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The arts have been important to me all my life,\u0022\u0026nbsp;he told \u003Cem\u003EPlaybill\u003C\/em\u003E at the time.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe was also a central figure in the movement that staged the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. As a lawyer for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Bankoff negotiated television rights to the broadcast and also commissioned an orchestral piece, \u201cSummon the Heroes,\u201d by famed composer John Williams, for the event. He was later awarded the Centennial Medal for Distinguished Service to the International Olympic Movement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis many other awards include the Justice Robert Benham Award for Lifetime Service from the State Bar of Georgia, the Anti-Defamation League Award for Lifetime Public Service, the Phoenix Award from the city of Atlanta, the Harry West Visionary Leadership Award from the Atlanta Regional Commission, and, most recently, the Dean\u2019s Appreciation Award from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI will miss Joe,\u201d Bras said. \u201cI will miss his ever-present smile, his selfless dedication to his causes and friends, his deep understanding of the human spirit, his optimistic outlook, and his understated intellect. Joe made all of us better, and we are all worse off with his passing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFormer Nunn School Chair Joseph R. Bankoff was a tireless advocate for Georgia Tech\u0027s mission, the arts, and Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Former Nunn School Chair Joseph R. Bankoff was a tireless advocate for Georgia Tech\u0027s mission, the arts, and Atlanta."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2024-06-14 13:39:24","changed_gmt":"2024-06-14 14:26:48","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"376531":{"id":"376531","type":"image","title":"Bankoff ABC Press Photo","body":null,"created":"1449246194","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:23:14","changed":"1475894388","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:48","alt":"Bankoff ABC Press Photo","file":{"fid":"75163","name":"bankoff_abc_press_photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bankoff_abc_press_photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bankoff_abc_press_photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50763,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bankoff_abc_press_photo.jpg?itok=aZyVo_2M"}}},"media_ids":["376531"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"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:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}