As Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera delivered his final Institute Address from the Walter G. Ehmer Theater inside the John Lewis Student Center, he emphasized that the end of his tenure is not the end of a race but rather the next leg of a relay. As he prepares to pass the baton to the next president, he outlined Tech’s unprecedented momentum.
“Here’s what I’ve learned about relays: The best handoffs happen at full speed. Not when a team is limping and not when it’s regrouping, but rather when the momentum is strong, the baton is secure, and the next runner is already moving,” he said.
Since 2019, when Cabrera took office as the Institute’s 12th president, Tech has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing universities, delivering a strong return on investment for students, life-changing research, and record economic impact for Georgia.
Cabrera outlined how Tech is bucking national trends to achieve the goals outlined in its strategic plan.
He noted that, as the No. 2 university in federally sponsored research, Tech continues to conduct life-changing research that addresses real-world challenges. His examples included a cancer-screening breath test, skin patches that deliver vaccines and medicines without needles, stronger and more sustainable batteries, new methods of mining critical minerals, and pioneering innovative aircraft solutions for the next generation of flight.
Tech students fill the job openings of Georgia and the nation’s most critical industries, and funds invested in the Institute become a crucial part of the state’s economic engine. As a hub for innovation, Tech has risen from No. 48 to No. 19 worldwide in patents issued to faculty. Last year, faculty and students launched 179 startups, compared to 57 in 2019.
“Demand for a Georgia Tech degree is at an all-time high because the value of a Georgia Tech degree has never been greater,” he said. “State and philanthropic support are at all-time highs because our quality, scale, and impact have never been greater. Our research enterprise has never been stronger because our research has never done more to make this state and this nation safer, healthier, and more competitive. The public’s confidence in higher education is not something we can lecture our way back into. It has to be earned. Georgia Tech is earning it every day.”
For the second consecutive year, Georgia Tech set a new fundraising record. The Institute raised more than $415 million in fiscal year 2026, exceeding the previous record by more than $100 million and pushing Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech past the $2 billion mark with 18 months remaining.
A $30 million donation has established the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership, a new interdisciplinary institute designed to prepare students to navigate the intersection of technology, civic life, and leadership. It is an integral part of Tech’s efforts to foster open inquiry, civil discourse, and responsible problem-solving through teaching, research, and public engagement.
As he prepares to depart from his alma mater at the end of October, Cabrera sees an opportunity for a smooth transition with a leadership team ready to hit the ground running.
“Look at where we are. Enrollment, research, state support, philanthropy, and economic impact are all at record levels,” he said. “We are several years into a strategic plan that is working and that our community believes in. Our newest leaders are in place and past the learning curve. The executive leadership team is in lockstep. Students want to come here. Companies want to move here to work with us and hire from us. Government agencies bring us their hardest problems. Donors want in on all the amazing work being done here every day.”
Concluding his final Institute Address, Cabrera reflected on the role that Tech has played in his life and his wife Beth’s life.
“I got something almost nobody gets: the chance to come back and lead the place that made me. Serving as your 12th president has been the honor of my career,” he said, becoming visibly emotional. “I’ve had the enormously good fortune to spend seven years working alongside some of the best people in higher education anywhere — to do work that truly matters and makes a huge difference in the lives of countless thousands — at the institution that set the course of my own life.”
On Beth’s role as Tech’s first lady, Cabrera praised the passion and generosity that she has shown since the couple arrived on campus.
“A lot of what people describe as the warmth of this community, or my own, has come from Beth. She’s poured more of herself into Georgia Tech than most people will ever know, and she did it with great joy, without expecting anything in return,” he said.