AU 2024 Year-in-review

The Augusta University community made tremendous achievements and reached new heights in a year marked by award-winning research, exploration and community engagement.

Across all of our campuses, we saw Jaguars excel, and the university continued to record unprecedented growth in enrollment.

As we take some time to celebrate with friends and colleagues and prepare for an exciting new year, we’re looking back on some of the most notable stories of 2024. The stories included below, and those linked throughout the article, are just a small snapshot of the year at AU.

January

At the end of 2023 and through the beginning of 2024, Augusta University teamed up as a community partner with Junior Achievement of Georgia and the local school districts in Richmond and Columbia counties to encourage learning and community involvement. Approximately 15,000 local middle school students each year will learn valuable life skills, such as financial literacy and career readiness, in an entertaining and interactive environment, thanks to the development of a new Junior Achievement Discovery Center of the CSRA.

2024 marked another year of record-breaking research across the institution, with much of it focused on helping Georgians directly. In January, two of AU’s research teams from the School of Public Health received three grants totaling almost $5 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program to continue projects addressing the opioid epidemic gripping rural areas of the United States. AU, MedLink, GC4R and other community-based organizations have been working collaboratively over the last several years to address morbidity and mortality of substance abuse disorder and opioid use disorder in high-risk rural communities in Georgia.

February

The dedication to future students by many AU faculty, staff and alumni could be felt throughout the year as numerous endowments and scholarships were established. In February, AU’s College of Nursing announced a new scholarship established in memory of College of Nursing Dean Emerita Lucy Marion, PhD, who passed away in April of 2023. Now, through the Ever Onward Award fund, CON will be able to purchase white coats for all incoming Bachelor of Science in Nursing students.

Student success is a cornerstone of AU, and, in February, a new mentorship umbrella was announced to streamline the numerous mentorship opportunities on campus. The Jags4Jags program was introduced in the fall by Amy Abdulovic-Cui, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science and Mathematics, to enhance new student experience by linking first-year students to mentors who are ready to listen, inspire and help navigate any future challenges.

March

In March, the School of Public Health took an important step forward as its Initial Application Submission to transition from an accredited Master of Public Health program to a School of Public Health was accepted by the Council on Education for Public Health. SPH continued to grow throughout the year, including announcing several key leadership additions.

During Augusta Gives, the largest one-day fundraiser to benefit Augusta University, more than 1,000 donors donated nearly $1.4 million during the fifth annual day of giving. Donations to the community-funded, social media-driven campaign were made by alumni, friends, retirees, employees, students and the greater Augusta community, as well as some of the university’s most dedicated supporters who choose to make major gifts on this day. This year’s target for donors was 800, which was surpassed, coming in at 1,008.

April

One of the highlights each spring is the annual Innovate Pitch Competition, and, for the first time in the competition’s five-year history, there were both undergraduate and graduate awards given to the top teams competing. Overall there were nearly 350 submissions for the competition with the final 11 undergraduate and six graduate student teams having moved on to the pitch stage of the competition. The teams were each given five minutes to make their pitch with the goal of solving real-world problems locally and beyond. The top three teams in each division were awarded prize money, and a fourth team in each area was awarded the audience choice award.

It’s well known the Augusta University community is making an impact locally and beyond. Throughout the year, AU highlights many alumni, including Coco Rubio, faculty, like Koosh Desai, MD, and current students, like those found in the College of Allied Health Sciences‘ occupational therapy program. Rubio encapsulated just how important AU is when he shared, “I just look at Augusta University as an example of how things should be growing and improving and getting better. The influence that AU has is very impressive, and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

May

As of the fall of 2023, one-third of students at Augusta University transferred in from other institutions, including Augusta Tech, thanks to multiple pathway programs, including Augusta Advantage and an associate-to-bachelor’s degree pathway. In an effort to provide even more pathways for students to earn a degree in cyber studies, Augusta University signed a statewide articulation agreement with the Technical College System of Georgia in May, paving the way for students to earn an associate degree in cybersecurity from any of the 22 technical schools in Georgia and then transfer to AU’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity.

Augusta University’s spring 2024 hooding and commencement ceremonies took place May 9-10 at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center with more than 900 students participating in the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies. AU’s Medical College of Georgia and Dental College of Georgia also held ceremonies honoring a total of 350 graduates.

June

Every year, AU takes time near the end of the academic year to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of students, but it’s just as important to acknowledge the faculty who pour so much of themselves into teaching, research and sometimes their clinical work.

Two faculty researchers who fall into all three categories of professor, researcher and clinician are Chad Ray, MD, professor in the Medical College of Georgia‘s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Marlo Vernon, PhD, associate professor for the Georgia Prevention Institute at MCG. This year, Ray and Vernon teamed up with Augusta Locally Grown at the Hub for Community Innovation to provide mothers and expectant mothers with not only fresh produce but also other healthy activities, such as meeting with nutritionists, free in-person cooking classes and more. The program has also benefited from students at MCG who are already looking to make a difference.

July

July 1 marked the official first day on the job for AU President Russell T. Keen after he was announced by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia near the end of June. Keen is no stranger to Augusta University as for the previous nine of his 22 years in higher education, he served as executive vice president and chief of staff to the president. He has deep roots in Augusta, the CSRA and around the state, and he and his wife, First Lady Karen Keen, continue to seek out opportunities to learn more about as many of AU’s students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters as possible and find ways to enhance their experiences here while making the university stronger.

Doubling the number of medical students who can be trained in the southeastern part of the state, AU opened its new Medical College of Georgia Savannah campus at Georgia Southern University before the start of the 2024-25 academic year. MCG, which had been sending third- and fourth-year medical students to the Savannah area for clinical rotations and training since 2007, welcomed 41 first-year medical students who will complete their entire four-year journey at the new campus. Leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni from AU, MCG and Georgia Southern, as well as elected officials and other community supporters, gathered to celebrate the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

August

The AU Department of Athletics has long provided Jaguar student-athletes with one of the best platforms to perform at the highest level of competition. The 2024-25 athletic year began with numerous projects aimed at enhancing the student-athlete experience beginning, including new stadium seating and a new video board at the baseball field and numerous projects in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

In August, Augusta University welcomed the Class of 2028 as the largest incoming class ever! From a freshman’s journey of 1,432 miles from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Augusta, Georgia, to 163 students with perfect 4.0 GPAs and three students with flawless ACT scores, this class is full of amazing facts and accomplishments.

One of the newest expansions of offerings that has benefitted students, faculty and staff alike has been the JagPerks program. JagPerks is a program that provides special discounts to students, faculty and staff at participating local businesses, in collaboration with the not-for-profit corporation Destination Augusta, which promotes tourism in the Augusta area. Throughout the year, AU has highlighted the many different types of local businesses that are featured within the program.

Augusta University will have 162 degree programs beginning next year as several new programs were announced, including a first-of-its-kind PhD in Intelligence, Defense, and Cybersecurity Policy offered by Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The program is a natural next step from the robust Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies and has already attracted attention nationwide.

September

Nearly one year after its launch, Augusta University Online celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of 33 students through the Master of Education in Instruction program. It was a whirlwind first year of operations for Marc Austin, PhD, associate provost and inaugural dean of AU Online, and his staff who began building out the framework for the endeavor in 2022, but with the first students having graduated, he is excited to see where things go from here.

Early in the fall semester, AU launched the Augusta Promise Scholarship Program, offering first-generation students the chance to graduate debt-free through financial aid and scholarships while also providing a strong support network through mentorship, leadership and academic support. For its inaugural year, five first-year students received the scholarship: Jimmy Khaouli, Terell LaBord, Tina Do, Mikelle Smith and Margaret Wallace.

October

To say the start of October was a tough one would be an understatement for so many throughout the CSRA and into western North Carolina as the effects of Hurricane Helene continue to be felt months later. In the days and weeks after the storm, the AU community came together to support each other, members of the Augusta community and display what resiliency truly means.

While many things no longer felt normal in the wake of the storm, AU’s commitment to the city remained ever-present. Alumni, like Gary Dennis, have continued to leave a lasting impact on the community we all call home. Dennis earned his Master of Business Administration from AU’s James M. Hull College of Business and is now the executive director for the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.

AU’s faculty and students continued to receive regional and national recognition for their research and efforts, including at the American Heart Association’s 2024 Hypertension Scientific Sessions as several researchers from MCG and The Graduate School were honored for their commitment to life-saving research.

November

In early November, the Augusta University College of Nursing hosted its 19^th annual Costa Layman Women’s Clinic, partnering with Carolina Health Centers Inc. at Ridge Spring Family Practice to provide free health screenings to over 125 female farm workers. The clinic operates with an interdisciplinary team composed of students and graduates from the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Clinical Nurse Leader programs, faculty members from AU’s Medical College of Georgia‘s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wellstar MCG Health phlebotomists and health care providers from Carolina Health Centers, Inc.

One of the biggest problems facing rural Georgia is fentanyl, an incredibly potent synthetic opioid, and, much like heroin and other opioids, it can be highly addictive. Numerous AU researchers are actively working to address the problems caused by this drug, including Guido Verbeck, PhD, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Science and Mathematics at Augusta University. Verbeck has developed technology that would make detecting fentanyl much easier and safer for law enforcement officers, who could overdose just through skin contact with the powerful drug at crime scenes and border crossings.

November also saw Jordon Beasley, PhD, and Alicia Becton, PhD, from the College of Education and Human Development, awarded the college’s largest-ever grant for their project “Train & Retain: A University-District Partnership to Strengthen Student Mental Health.” The nearly $5 million Department of Education grant will enhance the infrastructure to train and educate school counselors studying at AU who will directly participate in the Richmond County School System, providing additional scaffolding and support for the essential mental health needs of high school students. 

December

The year concluded with AU holding its annual fall hooding and commencement ceremonies. More than 650 students participated in ceremonies honoring graduating undergraduate and graduate students during Augusta University’s fall 2024 commencement ceremonies, which took place Dec. 11-12 at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. The fall 2024 commencement ceremonies marked the first commencement for Keen as president of Augusta University.