The Office of Special Scholarships at Georgia Tech is proud to announce its name change to the Office of Scholar Programs, a shift to more accurately reflect services provided by the department.
The Office of Scholar Programs continues to recruit and select the nation’s best student scholars, along with offering specialized programming opportunities to Tech’s top students.
“We are excited about this transformation, which allows us to better serve our students and their diverse needs,” said Chaffee Viets, director of Scholar Programs. “Our new name, Office of Scholar Programs, more closely represents the work we’ve been doing for years to support our student scholars in their respective programs.”
These programs include the Stamps President’s Scholars Program, Tech’s prestigious four-year, full-ride scholarship offered to the top one percent of first-year students, the Gold Scholars Program, offered to the top one to two percent of first-year students, and the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Program, which offers a debt-free degree to qualifying Georgia students with demonstrated financial need.
Through mentorship, management of programming, and directing the scholar selection process, the office strives to continue serving all scholars across programs.
The name change also acknowledges the expansions to multiple programs in recent years, bringing more students than ever before to study at the Institute. Last year, the Stamps Program grew to support 10 additional students in each cohort. Additionally, the Tech Promise scholarship expanded from 50 students to 75.
Since the first six President’s Scholarships were awarded in 1981 and the program was formed under then director Randy McDow in 2003, the office has grown to oversee programming for 500 students at Tech. The Office of Scholar Programs, alongside the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, facilitates disbursement of over $7.5 million in scholarship funding to Stamps and Gold Scholars alone.
In addition to the management of in-house programming, the unit has also begun collaborating with other scholar programs around campus, including the Dean’s Scholarship Programs in the College of Engineering, College of Sciences, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and Scheller College of Business. These efforts serve to promote greater synergy and best practice sharing across campus programs.
“In all facets of our work, collaboration with campus partners is essential,” said Viets. “We are incredibly grateful to work with other scholar programs across colleges at Tech, and in turn, to have representatives from other colleges work diligently and enthusiastically with our scholars. Faculty and staff campus-wide play a crucial role in the success of our programs, from the selection process to serving as mentors for these students. Additionally, Tech and our office are grateful to the work of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for identifying and advising the Tech Promise Scholars since its inception in 2007.”
For more information, visit the office’s website. For more news about scholars at Georgia Tech, visit their news page.