Ángel Cabrera Izquierdo (born August 5, 1967) is the 12th and current President of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Previously, he served as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

and of

Thunderbird School of Global Management Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University (or simply Thunderbird) is a global management school in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1946 as an independent, private institution, it was acquired by Arizona State University ( ...

, and the former dean of

IE Business School IE Business School is a graduate and undergraduate school of business, located in Madrid, Spain, European Union, Europe. It was founded in 1973 under the name Instituto de Empresa and since 2009 is part of IE University. IE Business School runs ...

. His scholarship includes work on learning, management and leadership. On June 13, 2019, Cabrera was announced as the new President at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part ...

, a post he assumed on September 1, 2019. Cabrera is the first Spanish-born president of an American university.

Biography

Cabrera was born in Madrid, the second of four brothers. He received his

telecommunications engineering Telecommunications Engineering is a subfield of electrical engineering which seeks to design and devise systems of communication at a distance. The work ranges from basic circuit design to strategic mass developments. A telecommunication enginee ...

degree (equivalent to an undergraduate and masters in electrical and computer engineering in the American system) at

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...

, and earned his MS and Ph.D. in

cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which ...

from

as a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

. He joined the faculty of IE Business School in 1998 and was dean from 2000 to 2004. He was appointed President of Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2004 and President of George Mason University in 2012. During his tenure, George Mason University reached the highest research tier in the Carnegie Classification, grew enrollment by more than 5,000 students, opened a campus in South Korea, and built the Potomac Environmental Research Center, the Point of View Center for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall. The university established the Schar School of Policy and Government, the Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute in partnership with Inova Health System and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, the Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research, and the Mason Innovation Exchange, an innovation and entrepreneurship center. In 2013 the university joined the Atlantic 10 conference, leaving the Colonial Athletic Association. In 2016, the

Antonin Scalia Law School The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and ...

was named in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice. In 2017, the university won a national competition to establish a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. In 2018 the university helped attract Amazon second headquarters to Northern Virginia and announced a 400,000 square foot expansion of its Arlington campus to support a new School of Computing and a new Institute of Digital Innovation. In December 2018, the university completed its Farther Farther Campaign, raising more than $690 million, a school record and far in excess of the campaign's $500 million goal. The

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

named Cabrera a Global Leader for Tomorrow in 2002, a Young Global Leader in 2005 and chairman of the Global Agenda Council for promoting entrepreneurship in 2008. He was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

in 2008 and a Great Immigrant by

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

in 2017. He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

. His paper with his wife, Elizabeth Cabrera, "Knowledge-sharing dilemmas" published in

Organization Studies Organization studies (also called organization science or organizational studies) is the academic field interested in a ''collective activity, and how it relates to organization, organizing, and management''. It is "the examination of how individua ...

in 2002 has been cited more than 2,000 times. The paper presents a theory of why some people are more inclined than others to volunteer their expertise and ideas in shared repositories. The theory is based on the notion of social dilemmas in the provision of public goods. In 2014 he received an honorary degree from

Miami-Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida Colle ...

and in 2018 he received an honorary doctorate from

. Cabrera serves on the boards of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...

, the

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve located in Richmond, Virginia. It covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia ...

, and th
Fundación Innovación Bankinter
He has served on the advisory board of the Georgia Institute of Technology, which he chaired in 2011, and the board of th
Northern Virginia Technology Council
He has chaired the Virginia Council of Presidents and the

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member ca ...

' Commission on International Initiatives and has served on the boards of three public companies: eFunds, PetSmart and, currently, Inovio. While President, there have been allegations of political discrimination against student groups which resulted in a lawsuit. This resulted in a settlement by Georgia Tech of $50,000 dollars. Cabrera is married to Elizabeth (Beth) F. Cabrera (née Fraser), an organizational psychologist. Together, they have two children, Alex and Emilia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrera, Angel 1967 births Living people Presidents of Georgia Tech Presidents of George Mason University Georgia Tech alumni People from Madrid Polytechnic University of Madrid alumni Spanish academics Spanish emigrants to the United States Henry Crown Fellows Members of the Inter-American Dialogue