Ivan Allen College to Honor Donors Reed Catlett and John Stern, Six Alumni, and Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Awards Recipients

Posted February 21, 2019

Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts announces the honorees for its 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which will be held the evening of March 12. Among those to be feted are long-time supporters of the College, L. Reed Catlett and John M. Stern of the B and B Stern Foundation.

Alumni who are being honored for their accomplishments are Blake Butler (STaC 2003), Angelina Long Callahan (HSTS MS 2009 and PhD 2013), Leisha DeHart-Davis (PUBP MS 1993 and PhD 2000), Andrew Harris (MS IA 2010), Kristin Lundberg (IAML 2006), and Joseph B. Owens, Jr. (ECON 1977).

The faculty, graduate, and undergraduate recipients of the Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Awards are Shatakshee Dhongde (Economics), Emma M. Browning (International Affairs), and Yonatan Weinberg (History, Technology, and Society). These awards are endowed by Col. Stephen C. (IM 1967) and Mrs. Pamela Hall.

Dean Jacqueline J. Royster will present the final honor of the evening, the Dean’s Appreciation Award, to Reed Catlett and John Stern. Catlett’s and Stern’s philanthropy at Georgia Tech forwards the legacy of former Georgia Tech professor Melvin Kranzberg who pioneered the history of technology field. He was married to Ms. Catlett’s mother, Louise Kranzberg. Mr. Stern is the owner of Methods Workshop and a member of the College Advisory Board. They endow the Kranzberg Professorship in the School of History and Sociology (HSOC) which also affords financial support for graduate students in the History and Sociology of Technology and Science master’s and doctoral program. They also endow scholarships for students in Georgia Tech’s Navy Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (NROTC).

Professor Kranzberg’s seminal Six Laws of Technology were truisms, the first of which states “Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.” These laws, and their continuing relevance, were featured in the Wall Street Journal in November 2017 in the article “Six Laws of Technology Everyone Should Know.” They are displayed on a plaque in “The Mel” conference room which Catlett and Stern dedicated “as a place for students to meet, work, teach, and relax.”

Kranzberg was Calloway Professor of the History of Technology at Georgia Tech from 1972-1988. He was a founder of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) and served two decades as editor of its journal Technology and Culture. Kranzberg came to his office at Georgia Tech seven days a week even after retiring and at one time had a dedicated parking space.

The Awards evening begins at 5:30 P.M. with a networking reception and buffet dinner, then culminates in the awards program which begins at 6:30 P.M. Faculty, staff, friends, and students are invited to attend. Alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College may RSVP for the event here.