Tech ‘Trailblazers’ to Receive Ivan Allen Jr. Prize

Ford Greene, Ralph Long Jr., and Lawrence Williams, Georgia Tech’s first Black students, and Ronald Yancey, Tech’s first Black graduate, will receive the 2022 Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage.

The likenesses of the four men are permanently enshrined in campus sculptures, but now, decades after breaking the color barrier at Georgia Tech, they will join the ranks of past awardees that include Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, John Lewis, Andrew Young, and other pathbreaking leaders.

“The Ivan Allen Jr. Prize recognizes exemplary, courageous leaders — those who, like Mayor Allen, take on personal risks in an effort to improve the lives of others,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “With great determination, Ford Greene, Ralph Long Jr., Lawrence Williams, and Ronald Yancey withstood hazards and adversity of every kind to prove to the world that Black students had the right to study at Georgia Tech, paving the way for the thousands of Black Yellow Jackets who have earned their degrees here since.”

Greene, Long, and Williams, dubbed the “three pioneers” in the Harrison Square sculpture that depicts them on their first day at Tech, began classes in the fall of 1961. And, although their arrival didn’t elicit violence as it had at other southern universities, it was not easy. They often felt isolated and unwelcome, and they were acutely aware that many around them assumed they wouldn’t be able to succeed here. As Ronald Yancey, who entered Tech a year later, recalled, “It was a lonely and difficult time. ‘Glares and stares’ is the best way I can put it.”

But they persevered. Greene studied chemical engineering at Georgia Tech. He completed his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science at Morgan State University and worked in telecommunications and information technology systems. He died in 2020 at the age of 76. After attending Tech, Long completed his bachelor’s degree at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in mathematics and physics, and was the first Black systems engineer for the Large Systems Group in the southeastern U.S. at IBM Atlanta. Williams served honorably in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, earning several distinctions and honors. A week after graduating, Yancey began a successful career with the U.S. Department of Defense.

“We rarely award the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize to our own students and alumni, but we were long overdue in bestowing it to these four pioneers,” Cabrera said. “We are honored to celebrate the legacies of four brave young men who helped make Georgia Tech — and, by extension, our society — fairer and better for all. Their personal sacrifice, their determination, and their belief that a better reality was possible made a lasting and transformative impact on the Institute that’s still visible more than 60 years after they first set foot on campus.”

The Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage was established in 2010 to honor Tech alumnus and former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. Funded in perpetuity by a grant from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, the prize includes a $100,000 stipend for recipients. The inaugural prize was awarded in March 2011.

Additional details about the timing of this year’s award presentation will be announced soon. To learn more about the prize, visit ivanallenprize.gatech.edu. View highlights from the 2019 Trailblazers unveiling event here.

The commemoration of the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Georgia Institute of Technology encompassed an ambitious slate of events organized by faculty, staff, and students. As part of Georgia Tech’s 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, the 11th Annual MLK Lecture was held on January 12, featuring Freeman Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

View the Recording here

You are invited to attend a webinar given by the USRA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee:

Friday, January 28, 2022, at 2 PM EST

Featuring Alicia J. Knoedler, PhD

Office Head, Office of Integrative Activities

National Science Foundation

Bold Leadership Actions in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

The Nation’s research enterprise is comprised of a broad array of perspectives and experiences, leveraging a multitude of disciplines providing an ever-increasing number of ideas and innovations. Tremendous STEM engagement and participation opportunities exist across institutions of higher education, industry, non-profit organizations, K-12, state and local organizations and communities. The National Science Foundation has invested in broadening participation in STEM, particularly for those individuals and organizations/institutions underrepresented and underserved in STEM. In this presentation and discussion, Dr. Alicia Knoedler, the Office Head for the Office of Integrative Studies at NSF will provide an overview of NSF’s strategy and investments in broadening participation/diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA). In particular, Dr. Knoedler will emphasize a recent call for “Bold Leadership Actions” related to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM and share insights related to the evolution and expansion of broadening participation/DEIA at NSF. 

The webinar will be available on Microsoft Teams:

Join on your computer or mobile app

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+1 347-566-2759,,501808972#   United States, New York City

Phone Conference ID: 501 808 972#

This seminar is open to USRA employees and those in the USRA member university community who might be interested.

For more on USRA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, see https://www.usra.edu/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei.

Dr. Knoedler’s brief biography:

Dr. Alicia J. Knoedler is the Head of the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). She joined the NSF in 2021 after serving as the Vice President for Research and Innovation at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Knoedler’s career has focused on cultivating and expanding research and innovation through an emphasis on collaborative, interdisciplinary work aligned with institutional strengths and interests as well as the development and cultivation of strong and diverse research infrastructure and competitive capacity.

In leadership and service to the national research enterprise, Dr. Knoedler has held leadership positions within the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP), served as Vice-Chair of NSF’s Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE), was a member of NSF’s Business and Operations Advisory Committee, and developed professional development programs for senior research leaders within APLU’s Council on Research. She is also the former Co-PI of Oklahoma’s EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 1 award from NSF.

Dr. Knoedler received her MS and PhD from Purdue University in cognitive psychology and her BA in psychology from Trinity University. The depth and breadth of her experience in both instruction and training (psychology, quantitative research methodology, statistics, grant writing, and research development) and institutional capacity building were shaped through various educational, research and administrative contributions at Purdue University, San Jose State University, University of California Santa Cruz, Indiana University, University of Notre Dame, Penn State University, and the University of Oklahoma, Miami University, and Exaptive, Inc.

 If These Ivory Tower Walls Could Talk: Utilizing Education Ph.D. Student Narratives to Understand Socialization, Inclusion, and Equity in Graduate Programs.

 Kerry Wallaert

 Director

Housing & Student Life

 LaGrange College

 Monday, January 24, 2022

3:00 p.m. EST – Zoom event

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88320926208?pwd=S28yOVVLWGxTbmNLU29qMWh4VUJEdz09

*see extra details below

Abstract:

The Ph.D. is the pinnacle of education, producing scholars who impact a discipline, the institution, and society. Expectations of scholars include demonstrating intellectual mastery in the field, conducting research, and creating new or expanding current knowledge.  It is within the context of doctoral education socialization, where attitudes and values of the professoriate are firmly shaped. Faculty and administrators, considered the foundational socialization agents, facilitate teaching and learning of Ph.D. students into the culture of education programs and academia. The Ph.D. experience is wrought with challenges and successes within and beyond the ivory tower, particularly as doctoral students negotiate complex identities. 

 This talk will cover the findings of a recent study on doctoral student experiences, highlighting the importance of Ph.D. student narratives in understanding socialization, inclusion, and equity in graduate programs. 

Biography:

Kerry A. Wallaert is currently the Director of Housing and Student Life at LaGrange College. Her research centers on the experiences of students in postsecondary education, including doctoral student experiences, the scholarship of teaching and learning, experiential learning, and hip-hop culture. Kerry has a passion for connecting her research to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to joining LaGrange College, Kerry served as the Educational Outreach Manager in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Kerry has seventeen years of experience working with collegiate students in housing and residence life, leadership and service learning, scholarships, recruitment and retention, and crisis management. She received the Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University in 2021. 

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Last night, Georgia Techs Office of Diversity and Inclusion presented a  showcase of dance, step, poetry and impassioned speeches from some of the most talented students around Georgia Tech.

You can watch the recording here!

The MLK Student Celebration has not been cancelled, but it will be streamed. Dean Stephanie Ray of the Office of Student Diversity Programs invites you to tune-in and share with your students and colleagues.

 Join us for the 12th Annual MLK Student Celebration on Thursday, January 20^th at 7 PM. Listen to socially aware and actively engaged student speakers addressing the theme, “It Starts With Me: Shifting Priorities to Create the Beloved Community. The event also features students and student organizations paying tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King through dance, song, spoken word, and video production. The Student Celebration is hosted by Mr. & Ms. GT, and will be streamed at https://youtu.be/ASxWSA-Zv-8.