{"532941":{"#nid":"532941","#data":{"type":"news","title":"86-Year-Old Graduate Prepares for Commencement","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn many ways, Leo Benatar is very similar to many of his fellow graduates at this week\u2019s Commencement ceremonies. He\u2019s following up his bachelor\u2019s degree from Georgia Tech with a master\u2019s degree from the Institute. He\u2019ll line up early and walk across the stage on Friday evening. And it\u2019s a day he\u2019s envisioned for years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut in one way, he is very different from his peers: Benatar is 86 years old.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy kids joke that I\u2019ll have to update my resume this weekend for my next job interview,\u201d said Benatar. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBenatar will earn his Masters of Science in Industrial Engineering degree Friday night, 59 years after he was ready to receive it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBenatar graduated from Georgia Tech with his bachelor\u2019s degree \u2014 also in industrial engineering \u2014 in 1951 during a ceremony on Grant Field. After a stint with the Navy, he returned to campus in 1954 and began working on his master\u2019s during night classes. Six months shy of graduation in 1957, while preparing for his thesis defense, his advisor left the Institute and Georgia Tech couldn\u2019t find anyone knowledgeable enough about the topic to effectively hear the defense. Commencement came and went and Benatar continued taking classes. A replacement wasn\u2019t found the next year either. Eventually, the Atlanta native decided to begin his career and leave campus without the degree.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA few years later, Georgia Tech dropped the thesis requirement, allowing students to graduate if they had taken enough courses. Benatar had, so he followed up with John White, the director of the School of Industrial Engineering at the time, to ask about finally getting his degree. But White left shortly afterwards and the request fell through the cracks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBenatar made some inquiries every so often during the last few decades, but wheels started to move in the right direction when he mentioned it last summer to Edwin Romeijn, the current chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EH. Milton Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. In December he got the word that he was officially a member of the Class of 2016.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPsychologically it\u2019s a tremendous feeling for me,\u201d Benatar said. \u201cI\u2019d done the work and gone to the classes, but didn\u2019t get the fulfillment of the degree. I\u2019m the type of person who wants to complete everything that I start. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve done in business \u2014 it\u2019s what Tech taught me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong a long list of career accomplishments, Benatar served as the director, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Engraph Inc., a $500 million manufacturing company at the time of his retirement in 1996. He\u2019s a former chairman of The Federal Reserve (Sixth District, Atlanta). He\u2019s also the principal of Benatar \u0026amp; Associates and serves on the board of Aaron\u2019s Inc.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech was a great learning experience,\u201d he said. \u201cIt prepared me for business by forcing me to think through possibilities and work really hard to determine solutions. To be frank with you, I couldn\u2019t get into Georgia Tech Tech today. The quality of the students that we\u2019re attracting is mind-boggling.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBenatar and his wife, Louise, are members of The Hill Society (Georgia Tech\u2019s most prestigious giving society) and established the Leo and Louise Benatar Endowment for the Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering. The east entrance of McCamish Pavilion, the site of this weekend\u2019s ceremonies, is named after the couple. Seventeen members of his family and friends will attend.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCompleting this gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction,\u201d he said. \u201cFar more than the worth of the degree. It will be fun \u2014 it\u2019s not often that you\u2019re older than the president who will give you the degree.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Leo Benatar will receive his master\u2019s degree in industrial engineering"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEighty-six year old Leo Benatar was a member of the Class of 1951 as an undergraduate. Now he\u0027s ready to walk this weekend and pick up his master\u0027s degree in industrial engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Eighty-six year old Leo Benatar was a member of the Class of 1951 as an undergraduate. Now he\u0027s ready to walk this weekend and pick up his master\u0027s degree in industrial engineering."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2016-05-05 08:34:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:35","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"532671":{"id":"532671","type":"image","title":"Leo Benatar","body":null,"created":"1462478400","gmt_created":"2016-05-05 20:00:00","changed":"1475895314","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:14","alt":"Leo Benatar","file":{"fid":"89407","name":"leo_benatar.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/leo_benatar_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/leo_benatar_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1214780,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/leo_benatar_0.jpg?itok=6g1DsEeA"}},"532911":{"id":"532911","type":"image","title":"Leo Benatar Hood","body":null,"created":"1462478400","gmt_created":"2016-05-05 20:00:00","changed":"1475895314","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:14","alt":"Leo Benatar Hood","file":{"fid":"89410","name":"benatar_gown.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/benatar_gown_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/benatar_gown_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1332702,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/benatar_gown_0.jpg?itok=vAvhlENn"}},"532681":{"id":"532681","type":"image","title":"Leo Benatar 1951 Yearbook Photo","body":null,"created":"1462478400","gmt_created":"2016-05-05 20:00:00","changed":"1475895314","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:14","alt":"Leo Benatar 1951 Yearbook Photo","file":{"fid":"89408","name":"yearbook_1951.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yearbook_1951_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yearbook_1951_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":588815,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/yearbook_1951_0.jpg?itok=zdkRY3bH"}}},"media_ids":["532671","532911","532681"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/users\/adult_learners_age_62_and_older","title":"Georgians over the age of 62 go to college free"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"11866","name":"Industrial Systems and Engineering"},{"id":"172009","name":"Leo Benatar"},{"id":"14992","name":"Office of Development"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}