President Peterson has announced his retirement

pbrown520

Ramblin' Wreck
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586
Furthermore the president of GT isn't going to kowtow to the head football coach because he makes more money (not that he would even need to do so).
 

gtjackets930

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
352
What's wrong with the reason that GT isn't creating enough engineers to meet GA's needs?
IIRC, the reason was that GT didn't create the type of engineers the state needed and that GT students were recruited on the national / international scale (i.e., didn't always fill the needs in Georgia directly). The state identified a need for "less advanced" engineer (for lack of a better term), which wouldn't command the same expertise / salary as a GT grad. This is where UGA came in - engineering students who can fill in-state needs at companies that didn't need or couldn't afford students from a top 5 US engineering program.

I'm curious why they didn't use the funds to expand / enhance Kennesaw State (SPSU), but I admittedly don't know much on this.

Again, this is just my recollection, so I could be off base a bit.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,789
Not sure what pipe you guys are smoking. The president of the University shouldn't care that much about athletics beyond that they should be competitive. It's not like the President can just take money from the school to pay for athletics - it doesn't work that way, nor should it. I have no idea how good/bad Peterson has been because most of the information that gets floated is based upon the faulty notion that the president can simply just allocate more millions to football and unilaterally add new degree programs, etc. The real job of the president is to look after the well being of the institution as an academic institution - hopefully in a way that isn't detrimental to athletics.

Is it only about the $. Even in the $$ I dont know but it seems like how the facilities are accounted for/ shared would give a lot of flexibility.

Outside of $
Aren't there long term and short term solutions

Could he at least "ask" petition bor for some relief in the way we are classified as a research university. I dont want crap degrees, could we work w other colleges to give a combined high academic BUSINESS/xxx/yyy degree. Could we make a degree requires less rigorous calculus. ?
Could the prez regularly make statements of support for our sports programs - especially as they help in our desire to represent ALL of Georgia.

Could Prez be a part of the recently renewed Total person award.
Could he get reports from each department as to their season ticket purchases and celebrate the depths w highest %.
Could prez have some of the courses use athletics for course material - computer analytics of recruiting vinfo, etc.

Could the prez be visible help in a season tickets. Co


As for this prez s actions.

I think the audit that showed $$ misspent has damaged gt way more than the academic damage players grades cause.
This audit, the new head of research dept, and the timing of the retirement is pretty fishy.



I hope like heck we get a go getter prez that can walk chew gum

At this time of year I hate watching the college football awards because they make me realize how far ga tech sports has been deemphasized . I see NATIONAL awards given based on the esteemed body of work of legends that once worked at ga tech.
Heisman,
Dodd,
Broyles,
Rice.
Pretty embarrassing.
 

pbrown520

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
586
Is it only about the $. Even in the $$ I dont know but it seems like how the facilities are accounted for/ shared would give a lot of flexibility.

Outside of $
Aren't there long term and short term solutions

Could he at least "ask" petition bor for some relief in the way we are classified as a research university. I dont want crap degrees, could we work w other colleges to give a combined high academic BUSINESS/xxx/yyy degree. Could we make a degree requires less rigorous calculus. ?
Could the prez regularly make statements of support for our sports programs - especially as they help in our desire to represent ALL of Georgia.

Could Prez be a part of the recently renewed Total person award.
Could he get reports from each department as to their season ticket purchases and celebrate the depths w highest %.
Could prez have some of the courses use athletics for course material - computer analytics of recruiting vinfo, etc.

Could the prez be visible help in a season tickets. Co


As for this prez s actions.

I think the audit that showed $$ misspent has damaged gt way more than the academic damage players grades cause.
This audit, the new head of research dept, and the timing of the retirement is pretty fishy.



I hope like heck we get a go getter prez that can walk chew gum

At this time of year I hate watching the college football awards because they make me realize how far ga tech sports has been deemphasized . I see NATIONAL awards given based on the esteemed body of work of legends that once worked at ga tech.
Heisman,
Dodd,
Broyles,
Rice.
Pretty embarrassing.

I have seen zero evidence that the President doesn't at least look favorably on athletics. When the athletics department hasn't been inept, they have gotten most of the facilities improvements that they could - I see no evidence that the office of the President hindered that in any way.

Your comments about the degrees may or may not be valid, but I am not sure of that.

I just don't like the thought that the president is somehow supposed to be able to add another $40 mil to the athletics budget and that if he doesn't he's a crappy President.
 

TheSilasSonRising

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,729
And what I am saying, if you bothered to read it earlier, is that the Pres doesn't make that decision. It is mandated by the BOR.

If true, then it was also the BoR who have allowed degree programs into GT that would have never been considered just a few short decades ago.

Can’t have it both ways.

Tis a NWO@GT. I hope.

Hope we win so many football games that GT alums have no degree to fall back on, and because they have no other worth as a human being / employee (er) that they all have to deliver pizzas.
 

gthxxxx

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
150
IIRC, the reason was that GT didn't create the type of engineers the state needed and that GT students were recruited on the national / international scale (i.e., didn't always fill the needs in Georgia directly). The state identified a need for "less advanced" engineer (for lack of a better term), which wouldn't command the same expertise / salary as a GT grad. This is where UGA came in - engineering students who can fill in-state needs at companies that didn't need or couldn't afford students from a top 5 US engineering program.

I'm curious why they didn't use the funds to expand / enhance Kennesaw State (SPSU), but I admittedly don't know much on this.

Again, this is just my recollection, so I could be off base a bit.
Sounds reasonable to me...
 
Messages
13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
If true, then it was also the BoR who have allowed degree programs into GT that would have never been considered just a few short decades ago.

Can’t have it both ways.

Tis a NWO@GT. I hope.

Hope we win so many football games that GT alums have no degree to fall back on, and because they have no other worth as a human being / employee (er) that they all have to deliver pizzas.
I think the engineering/scientific/technical "society" in which we live today more or less forced the BOR to add those degree programs, but they still did not relax the requirements for them or any existing programs at Tech.
 

pbrown520

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
586
If true, then it was also the BoR who have allowed degree programs into GT that would have never been considered just a few short decades ago.

Can’t have it both ways.

Tis a NWO@GT. I hope.

Hope we win so many football games that GT alums have no degree to fall back on, and because they have no other worth as a human being / employee (er) that they all have to deliver pizzas.

WTF are you even talking about? Most common sense alums don't give a crap about the "devaluation" of our degrees based on a few athletes. I know I sure as hell don't. Much less my value as a human being. Most of those who say that are the message board junkies.
 

Skeptic

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,372
Below is the text of an email that my sister (a GT student who graduated in December) forwarded to me this morning. President Peterson has announced his retirement to the campus body.

"To the Georgia Tech campus community:

I have indicated to Chancellor Steve Wrigley my desire to step down as president of Georgia Tech this coming summer. While we have not identified a specific date, I anticipate that in the coming weeks, he will establish a search committee and that I will continue to serve as president until the new president has been identified and is able to begin his/her tenure.

In 1975, I made a career change and resigned my position as an associate engineer at Black & Veatch to pursue a Ph.D. in order to work with young people through my teaching and research activities. It is my hope and expectation that upon completion of my duties as president, I will be able to return to the faculty and resume my teaching and research at Georgia Tech.

The opportunity to serve as president of Georgia Tech for the past 10 years has been one of the highlights of my career. While we have faced several challenges, I believe we are on a very positive trajectory, a trajectory that has characterized Georgia Tech and served it well for many years.

Georgia Tech is a great institution and great institutions are built on great people, great faculty, great staff and great students. Since our very first visit to Georgia Tech in the fall of 2008, Val and I have continued to be impressed with the quality of the people of Georgia Tech, and the dedication and commitment to making Georgia Tech the nationally recognized institution that it is today.

Much like the 3,500 students who graduated last December, Georgia Tech has an enormously bright future. With your continued hard work, dedication and focus on excellence, I have no doubt that we as an institution will be able to accomplish some truly remarkable things in the years to come.

In closing, I want to express my deep appreciation to each of you for all you have done as we continue to strive toward our goal of “defining the technological research university of the 21st century.” Val and I look forward to continuing to work with you through the upcoming transition period to ensure that Georgia Tech can continue its pursuit of excellence, a pursuit that has helped to make Georgia Tech one of the finest institutions of higher education in the country.


G.P. "Bud" Peterson, President
Georgia Institute of Technology"
The man must have spectacular achievements in his life if being president of the Institute is "one" of the highlights of his career.
 

DinnerJacket

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
8
IIRC, the reason was that GT didn't create the type of engineers the state needed and that GT students were recruited on the national / international scale (i.e., didn't always fill the needs in Georgia directly). The state identified a need for "less advanced" engineer (for lack of a better term), which wouldn't command the same expertise / salary as a GT grad. This is where UGA came in - engineering students who can fill in-state needs at companies that didn't need or couldn't afford students from a top 5 US engineering program.

I'm curious why they didn't use the funds to expand / enhance Kennesaw State (SPSU), but I admittedly don't know much on this.

Again, this is just my recollection, so I could be off base a bit.
You don't know why? Really? I'll tell you why...…$$$$$$$. I know for a FACT, that Ugag was never interested in competing with Tech at THE engineering level Tech was and is. No, Ugag set its sites on SPSU and Ga Southern. I know this because I know the president of SPSU at the time and she was told, and I quote, "If you know what is good for you, keep your mouth shut about this." Why do you think SPSU went away and absorbed into KSU? Talk about two schools that had NOTHING in common. Ugag simply wants those students that SPSU and Ga So were getting. ANYTHING that transpires downtown is basically for money. That is why they have an engineering program, plain and simple.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,789
Didn't Bud lose a few lawsuits when he expelled students accused of sexual assault without due process?
Also to the Bud Petterson defenders
We all know the prez cant unilaterally change courses and add cources.

What has he D O N E to help thecGtaa -big programs that have major minority student representation.?
Even if it was not approved by BOR, what initiatives did he make??
 

GTpdm

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Location
Atlanta GA
He and his wife did stop by my tailgate one day.
I’ve actually seen Bud and wife mingling through tailgates (in and around Peters parking deck) multiple times in 2016 and 2017. (2018 doesn’t count—I missed most of the season due to health issues.) He also passed through our railcar during our AA trip from Chicago to Southbend, in 2015. And by “passed through”, I really mean “spent about 30 minutes talking to alumni about football, and his experiences as a college FB player”.

He also stopped to talk with me for a few minutes about academics at one tailgate, when he realized I was faculty. (For those of you about to object to PBP’s over-emphasis on academics, ADTS has also stopped to talk with me about academics when he realized I was faculty—twice.)

I’m not going to canonize the man, but neither will I demonize him. Overall, as to his impact on GT athletics, I think he’s been a modest positive. He gets that the AA makes Georgia Tech better, but at the same time, he understands that his job is 90% about the academic side of the equation.

(My opinions about how well he’s done on the academic side is a separate issue, and none of y’all’s bidness.)
 

Animal02

Banned
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6,269
Location
Southeastern Michigan
Not sure what pipe you guys are smoking. The president of the University shouldn't care that much about athletics beyond that they should be competitive. It's not like the President can just take money from the school to pay for athletics - it doesn't work that way, nor should it. I have no idea how good/bad Peterson has been because most of the information that gets floated is based upon the faulty notion that the president can simply just allocate more millions to football and unilaterally add new degree programs, etc. The real job of the president is to look after the well being of the institution as an academic institution - hopefully in a way that isn't detrimental to athletics.
The real purpose of the President is getting grant $$$$$ and be the "Face" of the Institute. Provost is the chief academic officer. It is all about the $$$$$
When he signed his name and Georgia Tech's prestige to the letter moving the ACCCG from Charlotte to Jacksonville because of the North Carolina bathroom law is when he should have been fired. Pure PC BS, and he should have kept GT out of it, but he had to virtue signal.
When one of your primary jobs is keeping the grant mmoney flowing..... Considering the political climate at the time......he did not have much choice.
 

gtstinger776

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
565
I was at GT during the beginning of Bud’s tenure. I’m not a big fan of the man, but it’s only fair to judge him by individual criteria:

Fund raising: I imagine our endowment and fund raising has substantially grown during his tenure.

Academics: Did not extend the curriculum while many peers have. Could’ve extended the brand through new majors or programs. Instead, we’ve stuck to obvious / adjacent extensions such as data analytics programs. Meanwhile uga and other programs have encroached into our core offerings. In terms of rankings, we are pretty much in the same place we were 10 years ago.

Research: I think he did a decent job at extending the GT research influence with the tech square hub. Beyond that, I’m not sure what he accomplished that wasn’t conceived or put in motion by his predecessor.

Governance: The optics of the corruption, poor student safety, and suspension of student rights to due process just look terrible.

Athletics: We have become less competitive in most sports since he took over. He did little to steer the hill or support the AA. Friends of mine connected to the program and big money donors have repeatedly told me that Peterson remained unwilling to change the academic environments for the sports programs. His unwritten policy was that sports should be a self-sustaining venture rather than a substantial opportunity necessitating support / investment.
 
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iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,789
I was at GT during the beginning of Bud’s tenure. I’m not a big fan of the man, but it’s only fair to judge him by individual criteria:

Fund raising: I imagine our endowment and fund raising has substantially grown during his tenure.

Academics: Did not extend the curriculum while many peers have. Could’ve extended the brand through new majors or programs. Instead, we’ve stuck to obvious / adjacent extensions such as data analytics programs. Meanwhile uga and other programs have encroached into our core offerings. In terms of rankings, we are pretty much in the same place we were 10 years ago.

Research: I think he did a decent job at extending the GT research influence with the tech square hub. Beyond that, I’m not sure what he accomplished that wasn’t conceived or put in motion by his predecessor.

Governance: The optics of the corruption, poor student safety, and suspension of student rights to due process just look terrible.

Athletics: We have become less competitive in most sports since he took over. He did little to steer the hill or support the AA. Friends of mine connected to the program and big money donors have repeatedly told me that Peterson remained unwilling to change the academic environments for the sports programs. His unwritten policy was that sports should be a self-sustaining venture rather than a substantial opportunity necessitating support / investment.
Thank you for posting your insites.

Please post more.

After 14 orange bowl at the on field trophy awards he was all alone with his wife. That s so sad. Yea , he was all into our sports.

Caretaker prez
 
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