March 17, 2022

I am excited to announce that Professor Brandon Dixon has been selected to serve in a newly formalized role of Graduate Student Advocate, effective July 1, 2022. The role of the Graduate Student Advocate is to proactively work on improving interactions between faculty and students, informally counsel graduate students, lead lunch-and-talk sessions, promote professional development activities for graduate students, and serve as a liaison between graduate student groups and faculty. 

Dr. Dixon comes well-equipped to serve in this role based on his extensive service in a range of areas at Georgia Tech. He is a current member of the Vice-Provost’s Graduate Faculty Council, a member of the Woodruff School Graduate Student Development Committee, the host of the GWW Future Faculty Breakfast Club, chair of the Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee, past member of the vice-provost’s ad-hoc Committee on Graduate Student Employment, and co-chair of the ME Qualifying Exam Transition Committee. I am grateful for all that Professor Dixon has done in these areas over the last few years, and I appreciate his eagerness to serve in a more structured way to support our graduate student community.

As this new role takes shape you will hear more about implementation and how Dr. Dixon can best support and advocate for our students as he works alongside students, faculty, and Woodruff School staff. Our students are our top priority, and our hope is that this role will give students another avenue of support, in addition to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and our Student Services staff. 
 
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Dixon to this exciting new role.

Sincerely,
Devesh Ranjan
Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair and Professor 
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering