February 1, 2013

To the faculty and staff:

Georgia Tech is widely acknowledged as an employer of choice. In order to remain so, however, we must be willing to continually review our workplace culture, listen to feedback from our community and act upon what we hear.

In spring 2012, at the president’s direction, we appointed a Task Force on Family Friendly Polices to take stock of the policies and practices that ease the integration of work and life, and enable our employees and students to reasonably take care of family responsibilities.

The committee was charged with studying and assessing Georgia Tech’s environment; conducting a review and inventory of current programs; identifying gaps; and recommending changes that can enhance the family friendly culture. It focused on a single overarching question: What would make Georgia Tech a better place to work?

The task force researched national best practices, paying particular attention to peer institutions. The group also met with deans, academic affairs leaders and University System of Georgia personnel. From this, they have identified seven focus areas and 15 supporting recommendations for improvement.

We believe the final report forms the basis for a definitive plan of action, and we have accepted the report with thanks to the co-chairs and members of the task force for many months of diligent work. Together with other members of the Institute’s leadership, we will prioritize the report’s recommendations for further study and possible implementation.

In the coming months, we will continue to keep you informed of our progress. In the interim, we invite you to review and provide your comments about the report, available at provost.gatech.edu/projects-reports.

 

Regards,

Steven G. Swant,
Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance

Rafael L. Bras
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs