James March-April 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 81
Dr. Ángel Cabrera has been president of the Georgia Institute of Technology since 2019 and presides over one of America’s leading research universities. He arrived after serving as president of
George Mason University. Before that he was president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of Arizona State University, and dean of IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.
As a business educator, Cabrera has played a key role in advancing professional ethics, internationalization and corporate social responsibility. Some boards he serves on include the National
Geographic Society, Atlanta Committee for Progress, Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Bankinter
Innovation Foundation in Spain.
Cabrera earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology and cognitive science from Georgia Tech,
which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds a B.S. and an M.S. in computer and electrical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
PHIL KENT How is Georgia Tech contributing to the workforce, economic
development and business growth of
Georgia, which prides itself on being
the No. 1 state in which to do business?
DR. ÁNGEL CABRERA Probably the most
specific number we have from the
University of Georgia shows we are
the largest contributor of all our state
universities in immediate economic
impact. Last year it was about $5.3 billion. But honestly, that’s a very narrow
way of looking at it. Our biggest contribution is that we have emerged as
one of the biggest and best technological universities in the country, which
means that we produce the talent
that all companies are looking for. The
biggest competitive advantage that
any city and state has is geography
and infrastructure, and we are blessed
with having the Port of Savannah and
the Atlanta airport as well as many
other advantages. But a huge part of
the growth and economic development is access to top talent— and that
is the role that we play.
We keep growing and making
room for more students even though
we’re one of the most selective public
universities in the country. We are also
the state’s biggest research facility and
last year brought in about $1.4 billion
dollars in research grants. We’re the
largest research portfolio in the nation
without a medical school. That research attracts talent, researchers and
innovators. It spills over in the form of
new companies, startups, partnerships
with companies and new investments.
We create an immediate economic
impact, but the biggest part, which is
not captured by that $5.3 billion, is the
companies that we help attract.
I always say if Georgia didn’t have
a Georgia Tech, you would be very
hard to build one. It takes 100 years to
plant the seeds and have something
like this.
PK How many students who are
Georgians would you estimate that are
going into the workforce in the state?
AC Sixty percent of the students we
attract in our undergraduate program
are Georgia residents, 30 percent of res-
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