{"73954":{"#nid":"73954","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Vice Provost McMath Says Farewell to Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe man who literally wrote the book on Georgia Tech announced last week that he is leaving Tech to become the dean of the Honors College at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. McMath, a professor in the School of History, Technology and Society and vice provost for Undergraduate Studies and Academic Affairs, will join John White, former dean of Tech\u0027s College of Engineering, who has been chancellor of the Fayetteville campus since 1997.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The University of Arkansas has an amazing opportunity to create something very special through its new Honors College,\u0022 said McMath. \u0022Georgia Tech has been my life for 33 years, and I will leave with a great deal of sadness. But the opportunity that has been presented to me at the University of Arkansas is the chance of a lifetime, and Linda and I are excited about giving it our best shot.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcMath, 60, joined the faculty in 1972 after receiving his doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has taught at Georgia Tech since then, and was named an honorary alumnus in 2004.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs vice provost, McMath oversees student academic services and coordinates campus-wide initiatives to improve the teaching and learning environment for undergraduates, including the design of a new undergraduate learning center. He continues to teach undergraduate courses and supervise graduate students. He has received the George W. Griffith Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Dean James E. Dull Administrator of the Year Award, as well as the Governor\u0027s Award for the Humanities.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Quiet leadership is often the most effective,\u0022 said Provost Jean-Lou Chameau. \u0022Bob has proved it through his unparalleled leadership for undergraduate education and faculty excellence. Tech is losing an outstanding administrator, and I am losing a trusted advisor and friend.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcMath said that the decision to move to Fayetteville was not an easy one. \u0022I have so many wonderful friends at Georgia Tech and so many memories of this outstanding institution. We have made so much progress over the last 30 years, and I know that progress will continue,\u0022 he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In my job as vice provost, I am supposed to wake up every morning and think, \u0027how can we make teaching and learning better for our undergraduates today?\u0027 and then go find good people who have the ideas and determination to bring about positive change. Although I\u0027m sad to be leaving some important tasks unfinished, I do so knowing that they are in very capable hands with members of the Tech community - faculty, staff, and students - who will see them through. I hope to come back one day for the opening of the Undergraduate Learning Center!\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcMath will assume his new responsibilities at Arkansas on August 1. In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do in packing up more than 30 years of memories and materials. McMath is the author or co-author of seven books and numerous articles on American history and the history of the American South. He co-authored and edited \u0022Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech, 1885-1985,\u0022 which was published as part of Georgia Tech\u0027s centennial celebration. The book has been widely praised among historians as one of the best scholarly studies of American universities.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcMath hopes to bring the lessons of his Tech tenure to Arkansas to meet their undergraduate education challenges. The opportunity to have an impact on undergraduates is considerable and he feels that his work throughout his career here has prepared him well.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I want to thank Wayne Clough and Jean-Lou Chameau for giving me a tremendous opportunity to lead and to develop new capabilities here at Georgia Tech. Whatever value I bring to the new position at the University of Arkansas is due to the lessons I learned here.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBob\u0027s wife Linda is a public school administrator in DeKalb County. Their two children both live and work in the San Francisco Bay area. Bob and Linda are currently collaborating on a historical travel guide to the eastern shore of Virginia and Maryland.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it is his impact on students that will be McMath\u0027s greatest legacy. \u0022Bob has had a remarkable career at Georgia Tech: historian extraordinaire, teaching virtuoso, and Renaissance man of education,\u0022 Chameau said. \u0022His impact on our educational programs is unequaled.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"The man who literally wrote the book on Georgia Tech is leaving the white and gold to become the dean of the Honors College at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Takes position at the University of Arkansas"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2005-05-19 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:27","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2005-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2005-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73955":{"id":"73955","type":"image","title":"Robert McMath","body":null,"created":"1449178028","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:08","changed":"1475894683","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:43"}},"media_ids":["73955"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}