A Candidate Returns as President
A Candidate Returns as President
In 2007, a U.S. senator from Illinois visited Georgia Tech as a presidential candidate. He spoke at what was known as Yellow Jacket Park — now Tech Green — about his family background, his campaign platform, and the need to “turn the page” on an outdated political system.
Around 20,000 people attended the rally that was coordinated by Georgia Tech’s College Democrats and African American Student Union, reported the Technique student newspaper.
In the time since President Barack Obama was last on Tech’s campus — nearly two presidential terms ago — Georgia Tech has grown and evolved.
Back then, the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons was a parking lot, the Scheller College of Business was known as the College of Management, and Georgia State University students lived in the North Avenue Apartments. There were no MOOCs, and there were 2,000 fewer undergraduate students.
Eight years later, President Obama returned to Georgia Tech to speak to Yellow Jackets again.
He unveiled a plan in 2013 for making college more affordable and accessible, and recently unveiled a proposal aimed at giving every student in the U.S. the opportunity to attend community college for free.
In February 2015, Gary May, dean of the College of Engineering, wrote an essay for Inside Higher Ed in response to the proposal.
For its part, Georgia Tech routinely ranks among the top schools in the nation for return on tuition investment, most recently coming in at No. 8 in a Payscale.com ranking.
President Obama addressed nearly 10,000 members of the campus community on Tuesday, March 10, in McCamish Pavilion.
