Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

1888

GT opens its doors; English is among the original six subjects taught

1898

English Department Chair Kenneth Gordon Matheson begins operation of a college library out of his office

1904

Department of Modern Languages is established

1906

Kenneth Gordon Matheson is named third president of Georgia Tech

Matheson receives grant from Andrew Carnegie for first library building

1908

English Department begins teaching Economic Theory, General History, Political Economy, and Physical Geography in response to new curriculum requirements

All GT majors (except Textiles) establish a requirement for two years of foreign language

1910

Georgia Tech President Kenneth Gordon Matheson articulates the role of liberal education at Tech:  "English and the modern languages are . . . necessary to produce men able to communicate with doctors, lawyers, statesmen and financiers on an equal footing. Without [them] . . . the technical man never reaches full potential."

1913

School of Commerce is established

English Department begins teaching Economics and Business English

1921

Marion Luther Brittain is named the fourth president of GT; he announces a policy of educational emphasis on English and Mathematics

1933

Ivan Allen Jr., for whom the Ivan Allen College will be named in 1990, graduates from the School of Commerce

1934

Departments of Economics and Social Sciences are established

1948

The General College, precursor to the present day college, is created

1968

Engineering faculty approve a new core curriculum that includes Humanities and Social Sciences

The History of Technology program is created in the Department of Social Sciences

1975

The General College is renamed College of Sciences and Liberal Studies (COSALS)

1980

Department of Social Sciences becomes the School of Social Sciences; first social science-related degree is approved - the Master of Science in Technology and Science Policy

1990

College of Sciences and Liberal Studies is disestablished

School of Social Sciences is divided into Schools of History, Technology, and Society; International Affairs; and Public Policy

English Department is renamed as the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture (LCC)

Ivan Allen College of Management, Policy, & International Affairs is established and named in honor of Ivan Allen, Jr. (Commerce 1933) encompassing the Schools of History, Technology, and Society; International Affairs; Literature, Communication, and Culture; Public Policy; the Department of Modern Languages; the School of Economics & Industrial Management; and the ROTC units

1992

PhD in History of Technology is inaugurated in the School of History, Technology, and Society.  Program is renamed History and Sociology of Technology & Science in 2003

1996

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves PhD in Public Policy and the program is inaugurated

Retiring U.S. Senator Sam Nunn joins the College as a distinguished faculty member in Public Policy and International Affairs; the School of International Affairs is renamed as the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs 

A Public Policy joint PhD with Georgia State is added

1998

School of Management is established as a separate college

Ivan Allen College mission is redefined as liberal education

1999

Sue Rosser is named Dean of Ivan Allen College, the first woman named to an academic decanal post at Georgia Tech

2001

College awards the first Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Progress and Service to former Georgia Governor and U.S. Senator Zell Miller; the prize is awarded annually through 2010

2003

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves a PhD in Digital Media for the School of Literature, Communications, and Culture, the national's first digital media doctoral program; the program is inaugurated in 2004

2007

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves a PhD in International Affairs, Science, and Technology for the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, the only professional school of international affairs at a major technological institution; the program is inaugurated in 2008

2008

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves a PhD in Economics for the School of Economics; the program is inaugurated in 2010

2010

Jacqueline Jones Royster is named Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts becoming the first African-American to hold an academic decanal post at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is the first university in nearly a decade invited to join the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU); Tech President G. P. "Bud" Peterson emphasized research examining the ways in which scientific exploration affects public policy (research conducted primarily in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts) as a key to Tech's membership

The legacy of Ivan Allen Jr. is expanded to encompass the whole of Georgia Tech through establishment of the Ivan Allen Jr. Institute for Advanced Studies and the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage; Georgia Tech President G. P. "Bud" Peterson states, “We intend to provide our students with the means by which they can make decisions based on the kinds of moral and ethical principles that led Ivan Allen to risk being ostracized by his peers in order to defend what was right. We want our graduates to be easily identified not only as preeminent in their respective fields, but also as leaders with values, principles, and compassion.”