Vision and Actualization in Academia

Although difficult, change in academic structures is necessary today, especially in fast-changing fields today such as biology, computing, management, the social sciences, and others. This includes changes within existing organizations as well as creation of new structures and reorganizations or eliminations of older ones.

This narrative attempts first to document the historical rise of an organization, Georgia Tech’s College of Computing, that has touched and successfully changed the lives of thousands of people. Second, it aims to identify and explicate some of what has led to this widely acknowledged success. The book provides a chronological narrative that highlights major changes taken under each successive leader. These changes have built on one another, knowingly or otherwise, to create a growing organization that rivals in size and prominence longer established parts of the university. The case study, while of an academic organization focused on computing, provides general lessons applicable almost anywhere.

Topics and features:

• Discusses the nature and uses of visions, both general and specific
• Shows how visions can be used to drive specific actions and resource allocations
• Illustrates the choice and use of enduring organizational principles
• Outlines a simple strategic-planning method and its application
• Indicates results of this overall approach

This book will be of interest to anyone interested in organizational change, especially in academia, and to those interested in Georgia Tech. It will also appeal to policymakers in education, government, and industry; as well as anyone interested in the historical growth of the computing milieu broadly.

Peter A. Freeman was Founding Dean and Professor in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech from 1990 to 2002. Today he is an Emeritus Dean and Professor.

Peter A. Freeman is Emeritus Dean and Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was Founding Dean of the College of Computing in 1990 and served in that capacity until 2002. From 2002 until 2007 he was Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. From 2007–2012 he was a Director with the Washington Advisory Group and since 2012 he has worked independently. He is a resident of the Washington, DC. Area.