{"692778":{"#nid":"692778","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u2018Never Been Better\u2019 \u2014 Murdie Celebrates the State of the Ivan Allen College","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts (IAC) is maturing into a tech-forward powerhouse for transforming timeless humanities and social science perspectives into tangible social and career advantages, Dean Amanda Murdie said in her second State of the College Address.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking Sept. 17, 2026, at the Georgia Tech Alumni House, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/amanda-murdie\u0022\u003EMurdie\u003C\/a\u003E told the IAC community that despite the headwinds facing higher education, the College has smashed through fundraising goals, largely held its own in enrollment, and continues to innovate, on campus and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have never been better as a community, and the Institute increasingly recognizes the value of our work in the humanities and social sciences, especially as the rise of artificial intelligence puts what it means to be human front and center,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EView Murdie\u2019s State of the College Presentation\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtvault-my.sharepoint.com\/:p:\/g\/personal\/amurdie3_gatech_edu\/IQASvPkLo0OeRrza_OPUiiAfAZaLln5mpc__HiQ90XGUjDE\u0022\u003EPresentation Slides\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mediaspace.gatech.edu\/media\/Ivan+Allen+State+of+the+College+Fall+2026\/1_wcxjok1v?st=255\u0022\u003EVideo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe College recently convened leaders of liberal arts units at tech institutions from around the country to discuss AI in education and is leading the upcoming AI \u0026amp; Society speaker series focused on the intersection of data, human rights, energy, and health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe College has also taken a foundational role in the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership, created to prepare students to navigate technology, civic life, and leadership.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also highlighted the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/advantage\u0022\u003EIvan Allen Advantage\u003C\/a\u003E, the lifetime earnings premium Georgia Tech liberal arts graduates enjoy thanks to the additional STEM training represented in their bachelor and master of science degrees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech students with IAC credentials on their resumes also are ranked as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/690441\/recruiters-rate-candidates-with-liberal-arts-stem-more-hirable\u0022\u003Emore hirable\u003C\/a\u003E, whether they are primarily liberal arts students or studied a STEM curriculum, Murdie noted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt works both ways, for our students being embedded in a tech institute having that B.S. with that math training, but also for the rest of the Institute and having those future-proof skills that come from the liberal arts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnder Murdie\u2019s leadership, the College also recently completed a refresh of its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/strategicplan.iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Plan\u003C\/a\u003E. The Spring 2026 update didn\u2019t change the College\u2019s core mission or goals but provided ways to better measure progress and address emerging challenges and opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn all 86 IAC faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College participated in the update.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMurdie also highlighted initiatives such as the launch of the Staff Advisory Council, fully funding Ivan Allen College Ph.D. students, and course evaluations that continue to show Ivan Allen College units coming out on top with students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMurdie said that the College must continue to focus on recruiting and retaining the best students, overcoming barriers to transfer that make it difficult for some students to switch to Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne way to do that is through new offerings, she said. The College is holding listening sessions soon to discuss possible opportunities in computational social science, medical humanities, AI and society, and interdisciplinary social science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our students are still writing their stories and contributing to that Ivan Allen Advantage, and that all depends on you,\u201d Murdie told attendees. \u201cThank you for the work that you\u0027re doing. I hope you see yourself reflected in where we\u0027re going and where we\u0027ve been this past year, and I am super excited about how we are all contributing to this important conversation about the role of humanity in the age of AI.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have never been better as a community, and the Institute increasingly recognizes the value of our work in the humanities and social sciences, especially as the rise of artificial intelligence puts what it means to be human front and center,\u201d Murdie said.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Murdie spoke to the Ivan Allen College community on Sept. 17, 2026."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2026-09-23 14:59:14","changed_gmt":"2026-09-23 15:05:19","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681238":{"id":"681238","type":"image","title":"murdie-sotc-169.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College Dean Amanda Murdie speaks at the State of the College event at the Georgia Tech Alumni House on Sept. 17, 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1790175787","gmt_created":"2026-09-23 15:03:07","changed":"1790175787","gmt_changed":"2026-09-23 15:03:07","alt":"Ivan Allen College Dean Amanda Murdie speaks into a microphone in front of a banner highlighting the Ivan Allen Advantage","file":{"fid":"265606","name":"murdie-sotc-169.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/23\/murdie-sotc-169.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/23\/murdie-sotc-169.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":334566,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/23\/murdie-sotc-169.jpg?itok=imNAsTBr"}}},"media_ids":["681238"],"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: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":""}}}