*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Atlanta, GA | Posted: February 16, 2016
Rachel Isaac
Institute Communications
Summary Sentence:
Students have the opportunity to award tens of thousands of dollars to the campus initiative they deem most worthy.
Full Summary:
Students have the opportunity to award tens of thousands of dollars to the campus initiative they deem most worthy.
Klemis Kitchen Ribbon Cutting
2015 Student Alumni Association Gift to TechEach spring, Georgia Tech students have an opportunity to award tens of thousands of dollars to the campus initiative they deem most worthy.
All Georgia Tech students are invited to vote on the Student Alumni Association’s (SAA) 2016 Gift to Tech options. This year’s Gift to Tech program will award more than $40,000 to a project that will make a positive impact in the Georgia Tech community. Funds are raised through SAA membership donations; students donate $10 a year to be a member, and $5 of every donation goes to Gift to Tech. The SAA donation is matched up to $10,000 by an alumnus each year.
Students can vote on one of the top eight projects until March 18. This year’s projects include:
The funds from Gift to Tech would create an endowment in honor of SAA, which would be used for programs for the campus community related to Einstein’s legacy in science and human rights, and to promote the collaboration of art and technology.
The Office of the Arts would use the Gift to Tech funds to partner with Athletics and Capital Planning and Space Management to bring free performances and art installations to areas of campus such as Tech Green, the Burger Bowl, Bobby Dodd Stadium, 5th Street Bridge, and the CRC.
Excel is a new Georgia Tech program offering a postsecondary academy for high school graduates with mild developmental and intellectual disabilities. This four-year program provides students with opportunities for social growth, academics, and career exploration to help them build essential life skills. Funding from Gift to Tech would support the growth of career development opportunities at Excel.
The Office of the Arts would use the Gift to Tech funds to create a program to subsidize the cost of using facilities like the Ferst and Dull theaters for Georgia Tech performing arts student groups. Currently, it can be difficult and cost prohibitive for student groups to find and rent rehearsal and performance spaces.
The Georgia Tech Research Equipment Database would be a resource for Georgia Tech laboratories to catalog research equipment across campus. With so many labs on campus, students do not always know where to find state-of-the-art equipment to use to accelerate their research, innovation, and entrepreneurship projects. The Gift to Tech would provide the foundational resources to create this database.
For this project, the Gift to Tech funds would be used to house homeless Georgia Tech students in on-campus housing. The funds would not replace financial aid or student loans, but would be an emergency fund for students who find themselves without resources or financial support during the semester, causing a loss of housing. This initiative would provide students a safe place to live during a time of hardship.
The Work Green program would be an initiative implemented at the campus department or office level to encourage and promote sustainability in campus workplaces. The program would educate employees and create sustainability goals to fit a given office’s needs.
Georgia Tech Health Promotion’s VOICE Initiative is a program that works to prevent sexual violence. The Gift to Tech funds would be used to provide emergency resources to survivors after a trauma for needs such as medical bills, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. The funds would also help VOICE to hire additional staff members and create a stipend for student volunteers to operate an on-call response system. Also, VOICE would use the Gift to Tech funds to purchase software to better document student cases.
On March 28, the top three projects will be announced, and then SAA members will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite of the top three projects. Voting will close on April 8.
The Gift to Tech Celebration will be held Tuesday, April 19, at the Kessler Campanile. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to attend and celebrate with free Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola products, and cake.
For more information and to vote, visit the SAA website.
