September 2015, just two months after Brooks Keel took the helm at Augusta University, the Board of Regents changed university’s name to Augusta University from Georgia Regents University. That would be the first of many changes Keel has seen in his tenure as president.
The cybersecurity and medical footprint of the college has further developed since Keel’s arrival. The $100 million Georgia Cyber Center opened in July 2018, supplementing the area’s cybersecurity and military presence, already anchored by Fort Gordon, and AU Health has nestled into the productive medical research and care community found in Augusta.
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Keel said AU is made up of unique parts, and growing all of them together is integral for the school going forward.
“We’re seeing incredible things happening with the bridging of arts and medicine and the bridging of cyber and humanities. It presents unique opportunities for us here as we expand our academic programming,” Keel said. “I want to avoid talking about Summerville campus and the Health Sciences campus as separate entities. Over the next five years, I think we will see more blending of the two.”
For students who have no desire for a career pathway that leads into cyber or medicine, Keel said the other undergraduate programs that exist at the university will never go away.
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“The college has always has an incredible social sciences and humanities presence. When I was a student at Augusta College, the fine arts areas at the college were very strong, and they still are,” he said. “We will always offer those traditional fine arts courses and also try to innovate them as we attract prospective students.”
In terms of supporting such a diverse array of programs, Keel identified a nurturing faculty as a key component.
“One of the great strengths at the university since I was attending was faculty that care. It sounds so simple and trivial, but it is hugely important,” Keel said. “You will get an education here like no other, and that is all based on the diversity of programs and faculty members we have here.”
Zooming out, Keel believes the state is more than ready to offer the resources and support the school needs as they continue to grow.
“The state has provided tremendous support. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance that the healthcare community provides. The governor called AU when he needed help taking COVID-19 testing statewide. He did that because of the expertise we have here,” Keel said. “The state has turned to us to provide that expertise throughout the entire state. I have great enthusiasm in the support the state will continue to provide to us for the next five years and the next 50 years. They recognize the role we play in the CSRA and in the state of Georgia.”
Keel believes the state’s decision-makers that he works with on a daily basis, the Board of Regents, are of all one mind as well.
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“We have a unified team and vision. The rebranding we did after the name change — unifying under one name, one logo and one banner — it really galvanized the community into what the university is and can be. We are an eight-year-old university with 150 years of history, which is a very unique spot to be in. We are still developing what this university can be, and that is incredibly energizing for us.”
On July 20, 2021, Bank of America presented a check for $250,000 to the university to help fund the Science and Mathematics Building on the Health Sciences campus. A statement from Bank of America read that the gift was designed to support “institutions and initiatives that anchor the local community.”
Keel said those types of gifts pay dividends back to the area due to the university’s symbiotic relationship with the city of Augusta.
“I think all you have to do is stop and look around. The city of Augusta and this university have always co-existed in that what’s good for one is good for both. Economic development is a huge responsibility for us, by virtue of the skilled workforce we produce. In return, the city of Augusta provides a quality of life for our students and graduates,” Keel said. “And it’s not just about the students we graduate that then enter the workforce. It’s about the industries that are attracted to our area as a result.
“When we changed the university’s name for the final time — and let me emphasize final. We will never change the name again — and put Augusta back in the name, I think that went a long way to solidify the important relationship between the university and this community.”
In September 2021, the new College of Science and Mathematics building will be officially opened on the Health Sciences (Downtown) campus. The rationale for constructing the new building, which also relocates the College of Science and Mathematics hub from the Summerville campus, is to place it in closer proximity to the Medical College of Georgia, the Dental College of Georgia, and the Colleges of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, as well as the Augusta University Medical Center, and university residence halls.
“The Science Hall on the Summerville Campus was designed primarily to support instruction,” reads a post on the school website. “Student opportunities to engage in scientific research as undergraduates — to “do” science rather than just study it — will be expanded given the close proximity to researchers on the Health Sciences Campus.”
While most of the listed benefits of the AU website are geared toward the medical presence of AU, Keel said the freeing up of that building space on the Summerville campus grants growth opportunities where there is little room for new construction.
“The physical area of the Summerville campus is not going to lend itself to new construction, new buildings, new dormitories,” Keel said. “That’s due to the historic nature of the land it sits on and the neighborhoods surrounding it. There’s a desire to maintain that almost Ivy League, small campus feel. But one opportunity to grow is repurposing and renovating existing buildings, like we will now be able to do with the Science and Math building that’s being shifted to the downtown campus.”
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The university is embarking on a new five year plan, and Keel said one of the biggest challenges has been and will continue to be spreading the word about the college throughout the state, the nation and beyond.
“Continuing to get the word out throughout the nation and the world, that’s paramount. We have the chance to recruit students from far, far away, and we’ve been seeing that over the past few years. Our enrollment has diversified to the point where the majority of people are not from this area.
“We have to communicate that we offer an outstanding education with an innovative approach. It’s a place where faculty cares about the individual student. It’s a place where you can be as unique as you want but also a part of something bigger. This is where you want to be. That continues to be a challenge for us. But every challenge is also an opportunity.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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