The Georgia Tech Living History Program was founded in 1994 and conducted its first interview on July 11 with Robert Morris, EE 1944.The mission was to collect, preserve and present the history of the Institute through the stories of her people. For the first six years of the Program, the director was the only employee, aided by student interns. 250 interviews were captured. In March of 2000, a fu
ll-time video editor was hired and the program was able to produce better quality documentaries and expand the interview area by traveling to neighboring states. From the beginning of the program, a class reunion video was created and presented at the 50th Reunion Party at Homecoming, providing a running snapshot of life on the campus over the years. Many documentaries have been produced about Tech’s history, traditions, legends and student groups. They are used at Tech Club meetings, posted on the Georgia Tech Cable Network and available to alumni, faculty/staff and students by request. The Living History Program has undertaken the task of scanning and preserving the annual yearbook, The BluePrint, and then posting them on the digital site SmarTech, where they can be searched for individuals, events, and such. In the fall semester of 2010, the LCC School added a class called Georgia Tech Living History 1102 to its curriculum. The Living History Program, in conjunction with the Library Archives, supports the class. 75 students are enrolled per semester and learn how to research historic documents, create history-related media projects and conduct interviews. They produce 15 actual interviews per semester that are in turn added to the Living History Collection.
