Stovall receives Alumni Distinguished Service Award

Gary Meek

Frank Stovall is recognized for a lifetime of achievement.

ames “Frank” Stovall Jr., a past president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and emeritus member of the Georgia Tech Foundation, is the 1999 recipient of the Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award. It is the highest award bestowed by the Alumni Association.

Stovall, who retired as co-chairman of the United Cotton Goods Co. in Griffin, Ga., in 1985, is a 1941 textile engineering graduate. He received the award during Georgia Tech commencement Dec. 18, in a presentation made by Alumni Association President N. Allen Robertson.

“This award is more than a ‘Man of the Year’ honor,” Robertson said. “It recognizes a lifetime of achievement and commitment to Georgia Tech and to the community. We have all benefited from your leadership, service and generosity.”

A native of Madison, Ga., Frank Stovall entered Tech in 1937. A student leader, he was president of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, senior class secretary, vice president of the student council and a member of ANAK.

After graduation, Stovall worked for a Columbus, Ga., textile mill, soon joining U.S. Rubber Co. in New York as a textile buyer. He found he enjoyed both his new job and the “Big Apple.”

“It was just terrific,” Stovall says. “I was living in New York and having a wonderful time.”

During World War II, Stovall served in the Army Air Force, earning the rank of sergeant. He was sent to China as the war ended, but was transferred home when his father died.

Stovall remained in Madison for a few years, working and caring for his mother. It was during that time that he met his wife, Betty, a school teacher.

The couple moved to Atlanta, where Stovall worked for a small company before joining Charlie Yates, GS ’35, and his firm, Joshua L. Baily & Co.

Several years later, Stovall became co-owner of the United Cotton Goods Co. in Griffin, which manufactured uniforms and linens for linen suppliers and hotels and motels.

“We took that little business and grew it every year,” Stovall recalls. In 1980, the company was bought by a German concern. Stovall continued to work for the company until his retirement five years later.

He and his wife have four grown children—James F. III, IM ’70; Ginny Kendall; Betty; and John, Cls ’81—and six grandchildren, including James Frank IV, who is a student at Tech.

Throughout his business career, Stovall has provided leadership and service to Georgia Tech. He twice served on the Alumni Association board of trustees and was its president for the year 1972-73. An emeritus member of the Georgia Tech Foundation, Stovall served his first term on that organization in 1977. He also is an emeritus member of the former Tech-Georgia Development Fund, serving as both a director and treasurer. He was co-chairman of the Class of 1941 50th Reunion Committee, co-chairman of the Endowment Council for 1984-85 and was a member of the Legislative Network. In 1998, Stovall was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Fame.

Clough tapped for Internet Advisory Panel

eorgia Tech President Wayne Clough has been appointed co-chairman of the Governing Board of the new Internet Policy Institute in Washington D.C.

Also selected as co-chairman is Netscape founder Jim Barksdale.

“The Internet Policy Institute will address a range of issues of growing importance related to the use of the Internet and its rapidly expanding role in our lives,” said Clough, CE ’64, MS CE ’65. “I am pleased to have been asked to co-chair the Board with Jim Barksdale. This is of great interest to me and is a major opportunity area for Georgia Tech.”

The Internet Policy Institute is the nation’s first independent, nonprofit research and educational institute created to provide objective, high-quality analysis, research, education and outreach on economic, social and policy issues concerning the global development and use of the Internet.

“This Institute will generate interest from many circles since it fills a vacuum on matters related to how the Internet should work, now and in the future,” Clough said. “It will tackle issues like information security, privacy, educational use, taxation, national security, etc. When I was in Washington, D.C., I was surprised by the number of people who were aware of this development. It fills a need.”

The institute will also advise the president of the United States on important policy issues regarding the Internet.

igh school students in Georgia now have an easier way to apply for admission to public colleges like Georgia Tech—just point and click. The new Georgia Applications and Electronic Advisor System, or GA EASY, is a Web-based system that allows high schoolers to apply to as many public colleges as they like, as long as they pay the traditional application fee. Students can also get the latest information on colleges they’re interested in at the new site. The new University System site can be found on the World Wide Web at www.usg.edu/ga-easy.

75 Years Ago ... Two buildings referred to in the Georgia Tech catalog as “frame dormitories,” but known on campus as “the shacks,” were razed for construction of a new chemistry building. Because the shacks were isolated from the main campus dorms, residents enjoyed a certain “laxity and freedom.” Some freshmen protested the razing, wearing shirts dyed to a pinkish tint—originally intended as red—in token disapproval. “It was all the more appropriate because the mildness of the color was in keeping with the strength of their objections—they were glad to have the shacks give way to progress,” observed the February 1925 Alumni Magazine.

50 Years Ago ... Robert T. “Bobby” Jones Jr., ME ’22, was named the greatest golfer of the half-century in a 1950 Associated Press poll. In 1930, Jones did what had never been done before—and has never been repeated: he grand-slammed golf, winning the British Amateur and Open and the American Amateur and Open.

25 Years Ago ... Georgia Tech’s engineering program was rated eighth in the country in a Change magazine ranking that polled 159 deans of engineering schools. A tally of the 132 responding deans gave Tech a star ranking as one of the top engineering programs. In 1975, Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering consisted of 10 engineering schools, plus the School of Architecture and the Program in Health Systems.

Up with 25 Cleveland retires Price jersey Price’s trophy: a section of hardwood floor from Cleveland’s Gund Arena. Bobby Cremins was one of only a very few who recruited the shy six-footer from Oklahoma back in ’83. But Mark Price went on to make a name, and a legacy, for himself as the little engineer who could. In his career as a Yellow Jacket, Price set the standard for Tech point guards, earning all-America honors for three years and leading the Jackets to their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship. His jersey now hangs in the rafters of Alexander Memorial Coliseum Price went on to prove himself in the National Basketball Association, too. Although picked in the second round because of his height, he went on to become the third-leading scorer in Cleveland Cavaliers history. He also holds the franchise record for steals and assists, as well as the NBA record for career free-throw percentage. Now an assistant coach for Cremins, Price’s No. 25 jersey was raised to the rafters of Gund Arena in Cleveland in November. Joined by family and his former Tech coach for the honor, Price called the spectacle “overwhelming. I really have not let this sink in,” he said.

Mike Booher

The lights are on again at North Carolina’s historic Cape Hatteras lighthouse, following a Nov. 13 ceremony less than nine months after it was shut down and moved to escape an eroding coastline.

The 129-year-old, 5,000-ton lighthouse was moved more than a half-mile inland by engineers, including Randy Knott, CE ’69, chief engineer with Law Engineering and Environmental Services, and a project manager on the lighthouse relocation. An animated rendering of the relocation is on the World Wide Web at: www.widomaker.com/~litehous/movie.html.

National Park Service Ranger Rob Bolling threw a switch that turned on the rotating beacon of two 1,000-watt spotlights. The dusk ceremony marking completion of the $12 million, 23-day move had been scheduled for the Labor Day weekend. But it was delayed by hurricanes Dennis and Floyd.

Senior Joe Hamilton gilded his record-setting career with a four-touch-down finale to ease Georgia Tech past Georgia in a classic 51-48 shootout Thanksgiving weekend. With two minutes to play, Hamilton tied the game at 48-all with a touchdown toss. The Bulldogs marched to the Tech two-yard line, but a controversial fumble gave Tech the ball and sent the match into overtime.

Georgia took its OT possession to the Tech 14, but the Jackets picked off a pass. Tech then marched to the Georgia 19, where head coach George O’Leary opted for a game-winning field goal on third down. Luke Manget’s attempt was blocked but Tech holder George Godsey recovered the ball, giving Manget a second chance. The freshman punched it through from 38 yards, and the uprights came down as Jackets fans stormed Grant Field to celebrate Tech’s second Dogs defeat in two years. “What can you say?” an exhausted but ecstatic O’Leary asked. “It was an exciting game, a good game for Tech. We kept it down to the wire.”

Victory in the 106-year-old series meant an 8-3 regular-season finish and a trip to the Gator Bowl. The Jackets ended the regular season No. 17 in the Associated Press poll. Five players made the all-ACC team, including Hamilton.

Jimmy Carter recognized for global leadership

It’s been two decades since he served as president of the United States, and throughout that time, he’s served as a citizen of the world.

From fighting disease in Africa to monitoring elections in Venezuela, Jimmy Carter, Cls ’46, has worked tirelessly to improve the human condition, earning him the Individual of the Year 1999 Atlanta International Business Award.

“What distinguishes President Carter is that he is truly a citizen of the world, and he has brought the world to Atlanta and Georgia,” said Professor Jeffrey A. Rosenweig, associate dean of the Goizueta Business School.

President Bill Clinton presented the award at a ceremony last summer, saying, “the work that President Carter has done through the Carter Center to improve our nation and our world is truly unparalleled in our nation’s history.”

The Carter Center has worked this year to cure and prevent five major diseases in Africa by securing donations from pharmaceutical companies. Last year, the center monitored elections in Venezuela, and this year, Carter personally became involved in fostering democracy in Nigeria and East Timor, according to John Hardman, executive director of the Carter Center.

“The way our programs are set up reflects President Carter’s commitment to make a difference and not just study a global issue and write a paper about it,” Hardman says. “There is a great deal of follow-through and focus on results.”

Even at 75, Carter’s colleagues are in awe of the Plains, Ga., farmer’s energy and wide-ranging interests.

“He is a person of extraordinary depth —intellectually, emotionally and spiritually,” Rosenweig says,

Carrie Harmon, director of public information at the Carter Center, says she is impressed with the former president’s zeal for life. “The range of his interests is tremendous—from monitoring elections to writing books and building furniture—and he goes after each with absolute focus and determination.”

Gary Meek

When Henry L. Smith was among the first students attending Georgia Tech at the end of the 1880s, his sister, Dolly, painted his portrait. Smith went on to become Georgia Tech’s first graduate. He and George C. Crawford earned their mechanical engineering degrees in 1890.

Being Tech’s first graduate, Smith said in an interview many years later, was “the greatest honor I ever received, and I received it through chance. George Crawford and I got together before graduation and agreed that this decision was too important to make on an alphabetical basis, so out came a coin—it was a 50-cent piece—and I won the toss.” After remaining in the family for many years, the picture was presented to Georgia Tech in the 1970s and displayed in the College of Management.

When Tech became the “Home of the Olympic Village” in 1996, the portrait was misplaced, and later reclaimed by Charles Walker, the great-great-nephew of Smith and the great-great-grandson of Dolly, the artist. Walker restored the painting and presented it to Georgia Tech in a ceremony at the President’s Luncheon during Homecoming. The picture of Tech’s first alumnus will now be displayed on exhibit at the Alumni/Faculty House.

Christmas at the Roosevelt House

Alan David

The Georgia Tech Alumni Association staff treated residents of the Roosevelt House to its 17th annual Christmas party on Dec. 1, including gifts supplied by Atlanta merchants and a visit from Santa. This year’s event was a brunch. The Waffle House supplied the makings for a hearty breakfast, and Sodexho Marriott Management prepared the meal.

Foley named to head initiative to spur high-tech growth in Georgia

Gov. Roy Barnes named James D. Foley, formerly head of Georgia Tech’s Graphics, Visualization and Usability lab, as executive director of the Yamacraw Mission, an initiative to establish Georgia as a high-tech leader.

Foley, currently chairman and CEO of ITA-Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America in Cambridge, Mass., will also serve as a professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech.

“Jim is a highly respected teacher and researcher with a keen understanding of industry-oriented research and development,” says President Wayne Clough. “It’s wonderful to welcome Jim back to Georgia Tech, and I have every confidence that he will make this important statewide initiative a success. Georgia Tech is playing a key role in Yamacraw, and Jim is the ideal person to lead that effort.”

In addition to Georgia Tech, Foley served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina and George Washington University. He received his bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University, and his master’s in electrical engineering and doctorate in computer information and control engineering from the University of Michigan.

In addition to Foley, other key staff members have recently been added to the Yamacraw Mission team. The University System of Georgia has named Daniel S. Papp, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College, as director of Yamacraw Educational Programs. And the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism has hired Stan Holm as director of Marketing for Yamacraw.

The Yamacraw Mission is a strategic economic development initiative combining the efforts of academia, industry and state government to promote and brand the state of Georgia as the center for semiconductor chip design in the areas of embedded software, high bandwidth telecommunications, system prototyping and content processing.

Yamacraw has allocated $4 million to this effort with the goal of attracting a major share of electronic design job growth. The research agenda of Yamacraw extends from basic system-on-a-chip electronics through the design of wireless and broadband communications systems. Three major research areas are under way, including embedded software, led by Professor Vijay Madisetti; broadband access hardware, led by Professor Joy Laskar; and system prototyping, led by Professor Nikil Jayant.

Five institutions are involved in Phase I of the University System of Georgia’s Yamacraw Mission project, and jointly they have hired 21 new faculty. These include 15 new faculty in Tech’s College of Computing and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as faculty at Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, Southern Polytechnic State University and the University of Georgia.