ATLANTA, Ga. — University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue on Tuesday named Tim Lieuwen, Georgia Tech’s executive vice president for research, as the school’s interim president, effective Nov. 1.
Lieuwen steps in for President Ángel Cabrera, who has led Georgia Tech since 2019 and leaves Oct. 31 to become president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute announced Cabrera as its next leader in June.
In the system’s announcement, Perdue credited Cabrera with historic research growth and said Lieuwen brings the experience and stability to keep the university moving while a nationwide search continues.
That search began in July, when the Board of Regents named a 13-member presidential search committee chaired by Regent Harold Reynolds. In its first stage, the committee is working to identify three to five unranked candidates for the board to consider.
Lieuwen has more than 25 years at Georgia Tech. As research chief he oversees the university’s research enterprise of more than $1.4 billion, along with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the Enterprise Innovation Institute and 11 interdisciplinary research institutes.
A double alumnus, he earned his master’s degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech after an undergraduate degree from Calvin College. He has also served as executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute and interim chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, and he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Georgia Tech enrolls more than 56,000 students and ranks No. 6 among public universities in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
