Following a several month-long search, Dr. Steven McLaughlin has been chosen as the new provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Tech. McLaughlin currently serves as the dean of the College of Engineering and was picked by an advisory search committee composed of faculty, staff and students.
The search for a new provost began back in March after Dr. Rafael Bras announced that he would be stepping down from the position and returning to faculty. The committee, co-chaired by Charles Isbell, dean of the College of Computing, and Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences, was composed of 18 members and included two representatives from the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Government Associations.
The committee held two town halls in early March to explain the search process and hear feedback from faculty, staff and students before it announced their decision of McLaughlin on September 15th.
“[McLaughlin] has served in leadership roles at Georgia Tech for nearly 25 years and is co-chairing the Steering Committee for the Institute’s new strategic plan, which will be launched later this fall,” said President Ángel Cabrera about the pick.
Prior to stepping in as the dean of the College of Engineering, McLaughlin previously served as the chair for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
He has also committed himself to global education through his previous roles as the deputy director of Georgia Tech-Lorraine, vice provost for international initiatives and the Steven A. Denning chair in Global Engagement. Additionally, in 2014, he co-founded CREATE-X, a program designed to encourage students to develop their own companies.
“He is an inclusive leader who puts words into action as evidenced by the flagship CREATE-X… as well as the work he’s done across campus in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and student mental health and well-being, which he is so passionate about,” Cabrera said.
During his three years as dean of the College of Engineering, McLaughlin led initiatives to improve diversity within the college. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a national newsmagazine, ranks the College of Engineering as number one in engineering doctoral degrees awarded to African American students as well as number one in engineering undergraduate degrees awarded overall to minorities.
“I very much appreciate Steve’s contributions to these outcomes and his commitment to expanding access to students of all backgrounds,” Cabrera said of McLaughlin’s work.
Plans to determine a replacement for the dean of the College of Engineering are set to be announced in upcoming weeks. In the meantime, McLaughlin will begin his official role as provost beginning on October 1, 2020.
“It is a dream come true to step into the role of provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Tech, a top 10 public university, and a place I truly love,” said McLaughlin. “I intend to build on [former Provost Dr. Rafael Bras’] work while driving forward the strategy we’ve built to develop leaders who advance the human condition.”