LMC Course Designs Memorial for Tech Tower White Oak

Posted May 26, 2022

When Georgia Tech announced that the iconic white oak tree in front of Tech Tower would be removed during the winter break due to disease, tree enthusiasts across campus and Atlanta mourned its loss. Although its exact age was unknown, the 103-foot-tall tree appears in campus photographs dating back to 1888 — just three years after the Institute was founded.

Hugh Crawford, associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC), took the removal of the century-old tree as an opportunity to engage with students in LMC about our relationship with trees and their cultural history.

Students in LMC 2050: A Cultural History of Trees, sponsored by the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain, spent the Spring 2022 semester researching the “Tech Tower White Oak” and constructing a memorial garden for the fallen champion, featuring a slice of the tree, planters made from the oak and a laser-engraved epitaph on a piece of the tree.

Read the entire story on the School of LMC website.