{"692587":{"#nid":"692587","#data":{"type":"news","title":"   Georgia Tech Hosts Leadership Discussion to Celebrate Naming of Tennenbaum Family Institute ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology hosted a panel and celebration on Sept. 2, 2026, in honor of a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/692124\/georgia-tech-launches-michael-tennenbaum-family-institute-technology-civic\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehistoric gift\u003C\/a\u003E to establish the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/civicleadership.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMichael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership\u003C\/a\u003E. The new interdisciplinary institute, launched earlier this year, is designed to prepare students to navigate the intersection of technology, civic life, and leadership.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDrawing on distinguished careers in public service, business, and civic leadership, former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and leadership scholar and former Medtronic CEO Bill George shared lessons learned from leading through adversity and complexity. Amanda Murdie, Ivan Allen Jr. Chair and Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, moderated the discussion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his opening remarks at the event, Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera stressed that Georgia Tech\u2019s mission is to develop leaders, including engineers and computer scientists, who use technology to improve society. Effective leaders must learn skills like civil discourse, respect for differing viewpoints, intellectual humility, and curiosity \u2014 all skills the new Tennenbaum Family Institute is committed to fostering.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022For democracy to work, we have to be prepared to listen to the other, to not demonize the other, to sit down, to have real civil conversations, to look at the facts, to listen to the other with respect,\u201d Cabrera said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChambliss and George shared with the audience their advice for leading amid rapid change. Both agreed that change (rapid or not) is an inevitable part of leadership. Chambliss advised that good leaders must work through uncertainty rather than wait for stability or certainty. George conveyed that successful leaders need the courage to try new things and accept that they may fail.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I think today and I see a lack of this frankly of leaders with courage \u2014 the courage to try something new,\u201d George said. \u201cYou may fail, but you may learn more from that failure than you would from your successes.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeing an effective leader also requires a deeper understanding of society beyond one\u2019s industry or profession, George added.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth leaders stressed the need for effective leaders to admit mistakes quickly and work on a path forward.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If you let a mistake or a problem continue to fester in your company or in your family or whatever, it just gets worse. So, you face it, you fix it, you move on,\u201d Chambliss said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor any students aspiring to leadership, Chambliss encouraged them to prioritize truly listening. He said good ideas come from many sources, including people you may not agree with on politics and other issues.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The best legislation I ever worked on was bipartisan legislation,\u201d Chambliss said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorge, a Georgia Tech industrial engineering alumnus, admitted he had lost many elections for office as a student until he received some sound advice from fellow Georgia Tech students that he seemed too focused on himself and his success to be an effective leader. He said the advice shifted his perspective and convinced him he should slow down and invest in genuine relationships. He suggested students invest in their relationships and focus on service rather than status.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn the topic of AI, both leaders said they viewed AI as transformative and potentially beneficial \u2014 with some caveats about responsible governance. Chambliss emphasized the need for public-private partnerships to ensure technologies are developed with the public in mind. He also stressed that negotiations are needed to navigate concerns around the development of data centers and other computing infrastructure.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorge warned that AI cannot replace human values like empathy, vision, and values. Technology should enhance the work of people, not replace the human qualities that make leadership possible, he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAI is great at telling you what is today. It does not have vision. It doesn\u0027t see around corners,\u201d George said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETechnology should enhance the work of people, not replace the human qualities that make leadership possible, panelists said.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Technology should enhance the work of people, not replace the human qualities that make leadership possible, panelists said."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2026-09-14 22:06:57","changed_gmt":"2026-09-14 22:15:39","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681147":{"id":"681147","type":"image","title":"2026-09-02-P2-016-rs.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EFormer Medtronic CEO Bill George, center, shares insights during a panel discussion with former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, left, and moderated by Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Dean Amanda Murdie at Georgia Tech\u0027s Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership. (Rob Felt\/Georgia Tech)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1789423622","gmt_created":"2026-09-14 22:07:02","changed":"1789423622","gmt_changed":"2026-09-14 22:07:02","alt":"A man speaks into a microphone in front of a banner that reads \u0022Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership\u0022 as others look on.","file":{"fid":"265509","name":"2026-09-02-P2-016-rs.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/14\/2026-09-02-P2-016-rs_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/14\/2026-09-02-P2-016-rs_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1685073,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/14\/2026-09-02-P2-016-rs_0.jpg?itok=vZMqte_R"}}},"media_ids":["681147"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"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:megan.mcrainey@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan McRainey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["megan.mcrainey@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}