Portions of this article were provided by
Bob Harty, GIT Institute Communications and Public Affairs

ATLANTA, GA, November 30, 2001-- Jim Ferris, President of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology [IPST], recently announced that the Institute was studying the possibility of merging with Georgia Institute of Technology [GIT]. The growing relationships between IPST and Georgia Tech and changes within the paper industry led to discussions about the wisdom of considering an alternative structure for the relationship between the two institutions. Dr. Ferris explains, "IPST has been a private graduate school since 1929 with a long and proud history of service to, and support from, the U.S. paper industry. However, our industry is going through unprecedented change brought on by rapid consolidation and globalization. Of the 53 member companies that supported IPST in 1998, fifteen have been involved in a merger and another four are currently in the final process of merging. Most every merger reduces the future revenue of the Institute and we expect the rate of mergers to continue or increase further. As a result, the IPST Board of Trustees has asked us to explore the potential for merging IPST with Georgia Tech."

The study of a possible merger has been sanctioned by the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia and the Board of Trustees of IPST. In response to this directive, an IPST/Georgia Tech task force to study the merger option has been created to consider issues that would have to be resolved, and recommend a proposed framework that would lead to long-term success for an IPST within Georgia Tech. Chaired by Charles Liotta, vice provost for Research and dean of Graduate Studies at GIT, the task force will include faculty and administrators from both Institutions.

'No decision has been made at this point,' said Liotta. 'There are numerous issues to consider in this potential arrangement. Our goal is to understand if it makes sense from an academic and financial point of view and make a recommendation to both presidents on whether or not to proceed. If the recommendation is to proceed, we must also make a recommendation on timing.'

Dr. Ferris says, "The financial support available from the state is significant but not that sizeable. State support will take its place alongside all the other revenue enhancement initiatives developed through the Pathways program last year. All of them will be important to our financial outlook. However, I believe there is potentially a far more important aspect of this proposal. That is, the improved ability of the new IPST to put in place research consortia that involve advanced technology areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, or microelectronics. The solutions to many of the problems facing this industry will be found outside the traditional papermaking technologies in which we excel. These solutions will be found at the interface of papermaking technologies and these more advanced technologies. If we do merge with GIT, our ability to focus these new technologies on paper industry issues will be greatly enhanced."

The group hopes to conclude its study by early 2002.