PROVIDED BY GEORGIA TECH'S OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
Endowed chair established in Computing, philanthropic momentum building in Asia A trailblazing entrepreneur has made a gift that will be transformative for the College of Computing and set a new standard for philanthropic aspirations in Asia. “James” Jian Zhang Liang, ICS 1990, MS ICS 1991, a native of Shanghai, China, has made a $1.5 million gift to establish the J.Z. Liang Chair in the College of Computing. Liang is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Ctrip.com, a leading travel service provider that offers hotel reservations, airline tickets, and packaged tours to business and leisure travelers in China. Before founding Ctrip, Liang held a number of technical and managerial positions with Oracle Corporation between 1991 and 1999 in the United States and China, including serving as the head of the ERP (enterprise resource planning) consulting division of Oracle China. “This is a historic gift to the College of Computing and to Georgia Tech,” said Zvi Galil, Dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair. “We are grateful for James Liang’s exceptional generosity and for his trust. We will do everything to justify it.” The J.Z. Liang Chair will allow the College to meet one of its most basic needs by providing a resource to attract and retain distinguished faculty scholars today and in the years ahead. It is an essential component in maintaining and building on the high caliber of teaching and research in which the College is engaged. “We were very impressed when my family visited Georgia Tech and the College of Computing last summer,” Liang explained. “I am very pleased with the direction the program has taken and the leadership of Dean Galil. We are honored to be able to help out with this gift.”
(Left to right): Shelton Chan, managing director of development-Asia Pacific; Catherine Liang; James Liang; and Marta H. Garcia, associate vice president for international devlopment. Liang’s gift provides great momentum to Tech’s international development program. Having the ability to reach out to the international community of alumni and friends through a directed and organized program is crucial to Georgia Tech’s future. “With the benefit of accomplished and knowledgeable alumni, parents, friends, and corporate partners, we are expanding the Institute’s role as a leader in global technological education,” said Marta H. Garcia, associate vice president for international development. “Their support and advice are invaluable and much appreciated.” Working closely with the campus community, the international development team will continue to nurture these relationships and resources for the benefit of Georgia Tech, pursuing the engagement of alumni and friends in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. n
College of Sciences surpasses Campaign goal As 2014 drew to a close, the College of Sciences became the second of Georgia Tech’s colleges to surpass its goal within Campaign Georgia Tech. An $8.5 million commitment (see EBB cover story) pushed the College’s Campaign total past the $85 million mark, well beyond its goal of $80 million. “This is a wonderful achievement for the entire College of Sciences family,” said Dean Paul M. Goldbart. “I want to thank all of the alumni, corporations, foundations, faculty, staff, and other friends whose generosity and commitment have made this happen.
of the success we celebrate today.” Goldbart continued, “While we certainly want to celebrate this milestone, we are also keenly aware that there are many more highly strategic needs to be met during this final year of the Campaign.” Among those high-priority needs, Goldbart said, are the endowment of additional scholarships and fellowships and a postdoctoral fellows program, as well as faculty chairs, professorships, early career professorships, teaching excellence recognition awards, school chairs, and a dean’s chair. The College of Sciences joins four other academic units that have surpassed their Campaign goals: the College of Computing, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. n
I also want to recognize my predecessors in the Dean’s Office, Paul Houston and Gary Schuster, for their fine work in laying the foundations Paul M. Goldbart
GTALUMNIMAG.COM VOLUME 91 NO.2 2015
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