Q&A With New Vice Provost for Enrollment Management
Rick Clark
Rick Clark was named Georgia Tech’s vice provost for Enrollment Management in January 2026. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in English and journalism. For more than two decades, Clark has served in enrollment roles at Georgia Tech.
Tell us about your background and your new role.
I came to Georgia Tech in 2003 and have served in various roles within Enrollment Management. For most of that time, I worked in undergraduate admission, ultimately serving as AVP and executive director. More recently, I was Tech’s inaugural executive director for Strategic Student Access. In the vice provost role, I am excited to build on the foundation and relationships I have established, to help Tech expand access, amplify impact, and accomplish our ambitious strategic enrollment goals.
What priorities are you most excited to pursue as vice provost?
Our priority is making Georgia Tech a financially logical choice for top talent. From an outreach, recruitment, and financial aid standpoint, we’re creating unique pipelines and strategic pathways for students, and then working to ensure that once we admit a student, our cost is competitive with the other amazing schools that they have offers from.
How do you hope Transforming Tomorrow will benefit undergraduate admission, scholarships and financial aid, and other programs?
In my previous roles, I prioritized working with the Office of Development. As vice provost, I look forward to building on that partnership, helping donors understand how their investments transform Tech and students’ lives. The success of Development is directly correlated to the success of Enrollment Management. And that’s where the campaign plays such a pivotal role. It begins with convincing students to choose us but then extends to providing them the crucial support to take advantage of the opportunities — co-ops, internships, study abroad, networking, mentoring, and professional development — that will catapult them into future success.
How can philanthropic support further Tech’s strategic enrollment priorities and student success?
To live up to our mission, we cannot let a family’s financial background prevent a student from being able to enroll here. Georgia Tech needs to continue to prove to students and families that our return on investment is among the best in the nation. Admission, financial aid, and enrollment is just the beginning of the student experience. Donor generosity is what helps make the full Georgia Tech experience accessible to every student.
What role does the G. Wayne Clough Tech Promise Scholarship program play in furthering Tech’s goals of expanding access?
We're approaching the 20th anniversary of the Tech Promise Scholarship program. Over those 20 years, there have been significant milestones. One of the most impactful developments was when President Cabrera raised the ceiling on family income for eligibility from $33,000 to $55,500. We're now serving more students than ever before. We are fundamentally changing lives on a broader scale. And the students who benefit from this scholarship will, in turn, go out and improve the lives of others, as well as their communities and companies.
Why is expanding access important to Georgia Tech?
We’re like any NBA team or company: We're in the talent acquisition and talent development business. We want the best students to come to Tech — regardless of where they come from or how much money their parents make. To remain competitive with our peers around the country in enrolling students once they’ve been admitted, we need the tools — the packaging and power — to make Georgia Tech the best financial decision for the most talented students across our state, our country, and the world.
What sets Georgia Tech apart from other public and private institutions?
Unlike some of our competitors, we have not seen our best days. If you want to be part of something that is on an incredibly steep trajectory toward excellence, where the better days are still ahead, that's why you come to Georgia Tech.
How have you seen philanthropy transform the lives of students and donors?
At Georgia Tech, our donors are giving students the gift of access and the ability to have choices and make choices, often for the first time in their lives. In the human experience, there may be nothing more gratifying than giving a student that kind of freedom. While talent may be evenly distributed, opportunities are not. Our donors are connecting that talent to opportunity.