Welcome Wreck Program Supports New Research Faculty Hires

Research faculty now make up nearly 60% of Georgia Tech’s faculty population, and of the full-time, non-GTRI faculty, more than 25% are research faculty. However, this growing subset of the faculty often misses out on traditional welcome experiences because of year-round onboarding. The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty aims to change that with the launch of the new Welcome Wreck program.  

Welcome Wreck pairs seasoned research faculty ambassadors with newcomers to provide support and ready access to community during the start of a research faculty member’s career at Georgia Tech. Created by the College of Computing and Institute for People and Technology’s Carrie Bruce, and supported by the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation’s Zerrin Ondin-Fraser, Welcome Wreck launched in May with eight ambassadors representing a range of Schools and units across campus. 

Inaugural ambassadors include: 

• Maribeth Gandy Coleman — Regents’ Researcher, Institute for People and Technology 

• Christine Conwell — Director of Planning and Operations, Strategic Energy Institute 

• Elena Garcia — Senior Research Engineer, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory 

• Anthony Giarrusso — Senior Research Scientist, Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization  

• Salimah LaForce — Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Advanced Communications Policy 

• Jeonghyun (Jonna) Lee — Director of Research in Education Innovation, Division of Lifetime Learning 

• Noah Posner — Research Scientist, Institute for People and Technology, School of Industrial Design  

• Jeff Young — Senior Research Scientist, School of Computer Science 

“Georgia Tech’s community of research faculty now numbers more than 500 non-GTRI employees,” said Coleman, who also serves as the interim assistant vice provost for Research Faculty. “This is an incredible opportunity to create a warm welcome and important connections for new members of our community, as well as connections across units for those senior research faculty who have been Yellow Jackets for some time.” 

If you are interested in contributing as an ambassador or would like more information about participation, visit the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty website for more information.  

Writer: Brittany Aiello, Faculty Communications Program Manager, Organizational and Academic Communications, Institute Communications