Goal number two of the Georgia Tech Strategic Plan, quoted below, describes the Institute’s diversity philosophy and provides the framework for campus diversity efforts.
Building a diverse community of students,
faculty, and staff enriches Georgia Tech and the society in which we live. In a
global environment that thrives on innovation, diversity is also a competitive
advantage, providing a broader, richer, more fertile environment for creative
thinking and problem solving. Georgia Tech must continue to build a campus that
understands that "diversity" reaches across racial and socioeconomic
boundaries and embraces the life experiences of each individual.
As an institution with global reach, Georgia Tech’s notion of diversity should include cultural, ethnic, and intellectual dimensions. As a leading technological university that graduates large numbers of minority, women, and international students, we have an obligation to be one of the world leaders in working with the professions represented by our academic interests in improving the numbers of minorities and women engaged in technological pursuits.
Georgia Tech leaders are committed to the achievement of this goal and have established an Institute Steering Committee on Diversity chaired by the president (2000-2008). This committee has generally met each semester and provides executive oversight, funding and feedback on diversity strategy, support systems progress. Dr Gilda Barabino was appointed Vice Provost for Academic Diversity in 2008. In this role, she guides the strategic development of Institute efforts to increase diversity in the Institute’s research, education, and service missions. Serving as the chief academic diversity officer, Barabino is a member of the President’s cabinet and provides the vision to define, assess, and nurture diversity as an institutional and educational resource.