Tech president Angel Cabrera delivered his sixth annual Institute Address on Thursday, Sept. 5. Students, faculty and staff filled the Atlantic Theater in the John Lewis Student Center to hear the president introduce several new Institute accomplishments, goals, initiatives and strategies.
President Cabrera began his hour-long address by welcoming the incoming undergraduate class, made up of over 5,300 first-year and transfer students, which is nearly 400 more than the incoming class of last year.
He also welcomed several new faculty members who will serve across the Institute as chairs, deans and vice presidents of their respective colleges and committees.
The undergraduate and graduate presidents of the Student Government Association, Shivani Virani and Kiera Tran were also recognized.
“I want to start with a word of heartfelt gratitude to all members of our faculty, staff and administration and our students, alumni, volunteers [and] donors. You have delivered another banner year for Georgia Tech. Together, we have found ways to serve more students, who provided them with one of the best value propositions in the nation,” Cabrera said.
Tech was recently named the nation’s fastest-growing public university by the Chronicle of Education’s 2024-2025 Almanac. The Princeton review also rated the Institute first in the Best Schools for Career Placement, sixth in the Best Schools for Internships and seventh in Best Alumni Network. Additionally, the Nation Science Foundation ranked Tech’s aerospace program first, engineering second, computer science third and ranked the Institute as 17th overall in the country. The Wall Street Journal also ranked Tech as the number two public school in their 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings and ninth overall.
Uniquely, this year, President Cabrera opted to roll out a refreshed version of the strategic plan for the Institute rather than delivering his usual “State of the Institute” address. In 2019, Tech introduced the 2019-2030 strategic plan with the six goals of amplifying impact, championing innovation, connecting globally, expanding access, cultivating well-being and leading by example.
“I am delighted to report we are delivering on each of those goals. As proud as I am for all the progress made, I am aware that our growth has put pressure on several areas of the Institute. Resources have not always kept up with our growth. The large number of strategic initiatives we are pursuing may be over straining our bandwidth,” he said. “For those reasons I want us to engage this summer in what we call a refresh of our strategic plan.”
As part of the “refresh,” Cabrera introduced the Institute’s “Big Bets,” meant to “assess the progress made and consider how the world around us has changed.”
These bets include being a national leader in outcomes and value for all students, doubling the number of degrees granted and non-degree learners, doubling the scale and amplifying the impact of Tech’s research and building a national hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
“This year, we started in the spring about this in part because this Institute address was a little bit different, it always runs almost like a presidential State of the Union, it’s a state of the Institute. But this year, what was interesting was the fact that President Cabrera wanted to do a refresh of the strategic plan and so he asked people in the spring, and that was run out of Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting, to pull together people to look at what we have done and how could we actually hone in on several key areas, and that’s what got us to the big bets,” explained Abbigal Tumpey, Vice President of Institute Communications and Cabinet Member for President Cabrera.
The president also shared several infrastructure related updates which include new construction, renovations and future plans for the Institute. A new freshman dorm, set to open by 2026, will house 860 beds. Two freshman residence halls, Howell and Smith, are also set to be renovated, with further dining and student service upgrades to follow after.
Early stage plans to build a new building for the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering were also introduced during the address. Progress has also been made on securing $20 million to renovate Skiles Classroom Building, which was met with enormous applause in the audience.
However, one of Cabrera’s largest announcements of the address was the introduction of the Institute’s seventh college: The College of Lifetime Learning. This is the first new college to be introduced in 30 years, and will “elevate the academic study of learning and transform how individuals and organizations understand and practice learning at all levels and ages.”
“Professionals and employers are demanding better learning and resources and development opportunities to keep up with technological change. We have the experience and resources to help them do that,” Cabrera added.
Tech’s foundational values still remain a top priority. This includes promoting the well-being of all members of the community, building a sustainable campus that inspires and supports the well-being of people across the Institute and surrounding communities, improving campus services and processes to enhance the Georgia Tech experience for all and developing the full competitive potential of Georgia Tech Athletics, according to Tech’s Strategic Plan.
In line with these goals, President Cabrera shared that Tech was ranked fifth in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s’ (FIRE) 2025 College Free Speech ranking, a substantial jump from last year when the Institute was ranked 27th.
“That was really interesting because that was a lot of work by Dr. Luoluo Hong and also our legal team, led by Danette Joslyn-Gaul, because we really had to look at our policies. Part of the reason we did not have great ranking initially with some of the policy things, but we’ve moved it from 90th to 27th to 5th, which is incredible progress,” Tumpey added.
During the address, the Muslim Student Association displayed a banner stating “Georgia Tech is funding genocide” as a mode of protesting the Institute’s investments and involvements.
The president took two questions about campus safety and the status of Tech’s instructional sites in China at the end of his address. Cabrera offered his condolences to the families and victims of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia, expressed his trust in the Tech Police Department and encouraged members of the Tech community to remain vigilant.
Cabrera also updated the attendees on the status of the congressional investigation of Tech’s involvements in China, notably the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute (GTSI), adding that “we have been totally transparent.”
The day after Cabrera’s address, the Institute announced that Tech would be leaving GTSI.
“I think what makes this one [address] particularly exciting and inspiring is it’s really charting a path forward. We’re in a really good spot, but what else do we need to do? And I think that the President, in the last couple years, has been open and honest and willing to say that there’s things we might need to improve upon,” Tumpey added.
“We have all these great rankings and whatnot, but there’s still things we’re constantly trying to improve upon as an Institute.”