A message from the president: A transformational investment

Today Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Georgia will immediately invest $50 million for a world-class cyber range and training facility in Augusta.

A portion of our Augusta University Riverfront Campus will be developed to become a 150,000-square-foot Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. Construction is slated to begin this spring with completion expected in 18 months. When complete, it will house multiple public and private entities, including our own Augusta University Cyber Institute.

This visionary investment in the security of our state and nation will usher in a range of exciting opportunities for our region, our state and our university and, along with the federal relocation of the U.S. Army Cyber Command to Fort Gordon, will further position our home city of Augusta as a national epicenter of cybersecurity and education.

Augusta is already home to a number of cybersecurity assets with the establishment of the Army’s Cyber Command headquarters in Augusta and a growing number of cybersecurity education and training programs.

With some of the nation’s most talented and elite cyber professionals educated and trained in Augusta, the local community will benefit tremendously from increased tax revenues and consumer spending.

I congratulate Gov. Deal for his visionary leadership on the critical issue of cybersecurity and thank him for his investment in our state and local community.

The future, my friends, starts right here in Augusta.

Brooks A. Keel, PhD
President, Augusta University