“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;”>Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is the nation’s leading producer of African-American and women engineers.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>On July 1, St. Louis native Gary S. May, PhD, professor and current chair of electrical and computer engineering at the university, will become the first African-American dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>As dean, May will direct the nation’s largest engineering program, one that enrolls nearly 60 percent of Georgia Tech’s student body. It was also the place where an 18-year-old May arrived from St. Louis to obtain his bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“For past seven years, Georgia Tech has been the fourth-best engineering school in the country,” May said. “My platform has been that we should get on the metal stand. In the interest of being the best, I want us to be the most diverse.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Gordon Moore Jr., director of the Office of Minority Educational Development at Georgia Tech, was one of May’s close friends in their undergraduate years. Working closely with May for so long, Moore said, his appointment is not only well deserved, it is historic.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Before being appointed at the first African-American dean of the College of Engineering, May was the first African-American school chair of an engineering department at Georgia Tech.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“What adds to the historical context is that he is selected dean in the same year that Georgia Tech is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of black students,” said Moore, a former national chairman of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“This is clearly a truly great mark of how far Georgia Tech has come in 50 years. At the same time, we cannot allow our celebration of this historical mark take anything away from the fact that Dr. May was the best candidate for this position.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Ronald Moore, pre-college-initiative director with NSBE St. Louis, said the 35,000 NSBE members across the world are excited about May’s new mission.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“We’re proud that Dr. May is a St. Louis native,” Ronald Moore said. “The National Society of Black Engineers – Gateway Chapter will share this fine accomplishment with our NSBE students. Dr. May has a rich and academically affluent resume of distinctions. He serves as a role model and inspiration for all students, and specifically African-American students.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”> Tip from a mentor
“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;”>When May was in high school, he participated in a summer student program at McDonnell Douglas Corp. (now Boeing). One of his mentors there encouraged May to check out Georgia Tech, as it was one of the primary schools the company worked with.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>May went on to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California–Berkeley. He returned to Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 1991, achieving full professor status in 2000. Two years later, then-President Wayne Clough asked him to serve as his faculty executive assistant, a role that introduced him to administrative responsibilities at an institutional level.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>May, who has chaired the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 2005, shared his aspirations for the future of the college during a public presentation last month.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“My vision is to create an environment where anyone with the aptitude and inclination to study engineering will want to come to Georgia Tech,” he said. In partnership with colleagues in the other colleges, he added, “we will build a community of scholars to address the issues and challenges of the world through technology.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“Gary exemplifies the type of leadership qualities we hope to instill in each of our students,” Provost Rafael L. Bras said. “As a faculty member, administrator and representative of Georgia Tech, his impact on his profession and on this institution has been profound.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>May said this is a dream job for him.
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>“Not only do I get to do the job I’ve always wanted, my family gets to stay in Atlanta,” May said. “They are happy here.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>May’s wife, LeShelle, is also an engineer, and she earned her master’s degree at Georgia Tech. May said he is not sure either of his daughters – Simone, 16, or Jordan, 14 – will follow in their parents’ engineering footsteps. However, as dean, he will have many students watching and following his lead, all hoping to replicate his success.
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his tireless mentorship to students are admirable,” university
President Bud Peterson said. “We are very excited about the future
of engineering education and research at Georgia Tech under Gary’s
leadership.”
