Augusta Tech’s president, Dr. Jermaine Whirl, shared updates on the university’s successes and future plans at a state of the college address on Tuesday morning.
Resurrecting athletics
Whirl gave guests a first look at the future of Augusta Tech athletics, announcing the upcoming implementation of football and basketball teams. This will be made possible through partnership with Augusta United Graduate Academy, a nonprofit mentorship program for student athletes.
He said this will be a resurrection of campus athletics, as the school previously boasted a golf team in the 90s.
According to Whirl, basketball is likely to be the first sport introduced as it carries lower costs than football. He also noted that housing facilities are around the bend as well, something he said would be necessary to keep athletes.
A timeline for the establishment of these teams has not yet been announced.
Potential for Aspen Institute recognition
Each year, the Aspen Institute names 150 community colleges that are eligible to compete for a $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence; According to Whirl, Augusta Tech is working its way up to placing on that list.
“We should be a top 150 [college] within the next year, definitely within the next two years,” he said. “We are aggressively moving up the ladder in that regard.”
He added that schools that make the top 150 are “basically [in] the top 10% of all two year colleges in the country.”
In-progress facilities
After a two-year delay, Whirl said that Augusta Tech is hoping to soon see the completion of its T.R. Reddy School of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology. This facility will be built in Columbia County in the Grovetown area.
Whirl said that by building this facility, Augusta Tech could graduate an additional 700 people into the workforce.
“This is a very important project…manufacturing is our number one target industry in the entire region,” he said.
Under construction currently is a facility that will expand Augusta Tech’s business school for entrepreneurship training. This building will be located in the 600 building on Broad Street in the heart of Augusta.
“This is going to be a hub for all things entrepreneurship in the entire region…this place is going to be busy,” said Whirl.
This facility is slated to be completed around the end of this year or sometime in early 2025.
Augusta Tech, along with Augusta National and First Tee, are working together to become joint operators of The Patch in January 2025.
Augusta Tech plans to include classroom spaces along the course for a golf management program.
Whirl said renderings of the new golf course will likely be available to the public by the 2025 Masters Tournament.
“It’s going to change everything about Wrightsboro Road,” he said.
Enrollment Scorecard
Whirl broke down an enrollment scorecard, which the college is provided each year by the State of Georgia.
According to this scorecard, in fiscal year 2024, 5,940 students enrolled for regular credits, 312 received contact training through the college, 6,435 were enrolled for continuing education and 911 were enrolled for adult literacy.
This is a total of 13,598 people passing through Augusta Tech in fiscal year 2024 compared to 12,038 in fiscal year 2023.
“That’s a 13% increase from the prior year,” said Whirl.
New Programs
Augusta Tech’s Thomson Campus has received from the state legislature $5.5 million for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Truck Driver program. A facility is in the process of being completed and the program is expected to be up and running by fall 2025.
“This is something we’ve been desiring to do for a while…this is an incredible investment,” said Whirl.
He added that this program will be able to graduate over 200 truck drivers yearly.
“That’s not actually cutting the demand, but it’s going to put a small little dent into how many drivers we actually need in the region,” he said.
Whirl also said that the college is working with Georgia Power to put in place a curriculum for electric vehicle charging station repair technician training.
“This program is extremely important for our future,” he said.
Upcoming projects
Upcoming projects for the 2024-25 academic year include renovation of Building 100, renovation of engineering labs in Building 800, Testing Center relocation to the library, Computer Lab updates on the Augusta Campus, classroom renovations on the Thomson Campus and updates to the campus store.
Helene’s impact on Augusta Tech
Similar to Augusta University, Augusta Tech received little damage to buildings on campus and had no flooding issues after Hurricane Helene. However, Dr. Whirl said there are still downed trees that need to be cleared from the premises.
“We have enormous amounts of trees lost not only on the main campus but through all of our locations,” said Whirl.
