We remember the life of U.S. President and humanitarian Jimmy Carter, Cls 46, HON PhD 79. At 100 years old, he was the nation’s longest-living president.
Born and raised in Georgia, Carter attended Georgia Tech and the U.S. Naval Academy, before becoming a submariner and later entering state politics. He served one term as Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975, before making a bid for the United States presidency. He was elected and became the 39th president in 1977. Several foreign policy agreements occurred during his administration, including the Camp David Accords, a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. In 1979, he visited Georgia Tech to address students at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum (now McCamish Pavilion) and receive an honorary doctorate. Alumni remember Carter joked about having to become president to get a degree from Georgia Tech.
Even more than his time in the Oval Office, Carter is remembered for his decades-long work as a humanitarian. After leaving office in 1981, he and his late wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center in partnership with Emory University. The Center is a nonpartisan organization working to improve health and promote peace and human rights through national and international public policy. Among The Carter Center’s many programs around the globe, the Center spearheaded efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease and engaged in multiple conflict mediations.
In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts and advance democracy and human rights.
Hardworking and dedicated to service, Carter volunteered for more than 35 years with his wife at Habitat for Humanity, championing the organization’s mission to build affordable homes. He continued building houses with the organization well into his 90s. In addition, Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church since the 1980s.
In 2017, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter became the first couple to receive Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. Carter was predeceased by his wife, Rosalynn, who died Nov. 19, 2023.
The Georgia Tech Living History Program interviewed President Jimmy Carter in 1999 and 2008. Watch the full interviews.