Governor to invest $64 million in education at Augusta University

Augusta University will receive $64 million to advance cybersecurity, undergraduate and graduate education, following approval from Gov. Nathan Deal of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.

Included in the 2019 budget is $49.4 million to relocate the College of Science and Mathematics from the Summerville Campus to the Health Sciences Campus. The 155,000 square-foot building will sit adjacent to the J. Harold Harrison, M.D. Education Commons, the Dental College of Georgia and Jaguar Park, a new student housing complex.

“Moving the College of Science and Math to the Health Sciences Campus will enable us to better serve undergraduate students interested in medicine and other health sciences career fields, as well as afford us the opportunity to grow and expand the other colleges and their programs on the Summerville Campus,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Gretchen Caughman.

The budget also includes $4.4 million for operations and administrative personnel at the Hull McKnight Georgia Cyber Center for Innovation and Training. The center, located on the university’s Riverfront Campus, is expected to open this summer and will house the Augusta University Cyber Institute and new School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. A second building is expected to open in December.

In addition, the university received $10 million in the amended Fiscal Year 2018 budget approved March 9 to help offset the cost of Graduate Medical Education program at the Medical College of Georgia.

“GME funding is complicated and currently does not come close to covering the cost, particularly in long-established medical education institutions like MCG,” said Dr. David Hess, dean of the Medical College of Georgia. “I am very grateful that Gov. Deal and our state legislators have made these funds available because it will allow us to continue our mission of providing residents and fellows with the necessary foundation to become excellent physicians and physician scientists for our state and beyond.”

MCG currently has 510 residents and fellows training in 48 different specialties like family medicine and neurosurgery.