Progress Report

Guiding Students' Success

The transition to college is difficult for many students. A new type of schedule and a higher level of accountability can be demanding for students who may not have developed strong study skills prior to enrolling at AU. To help students face these challenges, the Academic Success Center (ASC) employs dozens of student tutors, peer mentors, and peer coaches across the core curriculum. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the ASC hosted more than 20,000 visits. The outcomes are showing notable impacts on students' performance in their courses as well as retention in the next academic year when compared to students who did not visit the center. Specifically for the 2019-2020 academic year, that retention comparison was 80% to 67%. More impactful – the personal interaction with knowledgeable and patient tutors that student visitors report as instrumental to their success.

Supporting Students Financially

Working a job while going to school is a balancing act for any student. Financial support through scholarships means students are less likely to have to work and are able to focus more on earning their degree. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Augusta University $905,444 to increase the number of students earning an undergraduate degree in a STEM discipline. While the grant requires at least 60% of the awarded amount to be designated to student scholarships, almost 80% of the amount Augusta University received is being allotted to scholarships, starting in fall 2020, such as to support talented, financially eligible second-year students as they complete their degrees and ultimately increase the number of STEM graduates. To address the national need to increase the diversity of STEM graduates, almost 50% of the scholarships target students underrepresented in STEM fields, including first-generation students, ethnic minorities, and women. The grant is also being used to help students develop soft skills and classroom and lab skills and includes a program that involves peer, faculty, and community-professional mentorships. Read more about the NSF award.

Through its Cyber Security Scholarship Program, the Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Augusta University’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences an amount of funds totaling more than $1.5 million to increase the number of qualified students entering the fields of information assurance, information technology, and cybersecurity to meet the DOD’s increasing dependence on cybersecurity for warfighting and the security of its information infrastructure. These efforts include developing and teaching courses to high-school teachers in the areas of computer science and cybersecurity. Since 2017, a total of 17 students have received this scholarship, including four multi-year recipients. Read more about the 2020 DOD award.

Active Learning Environments

Active collaborative learning environments provide students with genuine exposure to real-world problem solving. Through the collaboration of the College of Allied Health Sciences and the Center for Instructional Innovation, Augusta University’s Innovation Challenge Case Study Competition seeks to provide innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial solutions to a significant real-world health care challenge that affects the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients. In spring 2020, teams of three to five students collaborated and showcased their innovative solutions, ideas, and technologies through a virtual Shark Tank-style business pitch competition with up to $3,000 in scholarships. The 2020 event’s challenge focused on solving the discomfort, distress, and anxiety caused by the use of colostomy bags by patients of all ages all over the world. The 2021 event requires students to create innovative solutions to a challenge currently facing communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this experiential learning opportunity, students have the opportunity to attend workshops hosted by industry professionals and consult with key faculty for support. This competition encourages interdisciplinary creativity and gives students out-of-classroom experiences in which they refine critical thinking and presentation skills and have several options to obtain course credit as they seek to improve the quality of life for affected patients.

Staying Busy at the Interdisciplinary Simulation Center

Despite the impacts of COVID-19 that have required low training room capacities, social distancing, and rigorous cleaning and sanitation practices, Augusta University’s Interdisciplinary Simulation Center has stayed busy. The Center serves Augusta University’s Allied Health, Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing programs through simulation services that include high fidelity simulation, skills labs, procedural training, etc. Programs use the Center to orient students to new clinical responsibilities, train new skills, and hone practical skills. The first month of the fall 2020 semester, the Center averaged around 160 students per day in skills labs, simulation training, and clinical skills encounters across the spectrum of healthcare training programs. Read more about the Interdisciplinary Simulation Center.

Growing Leaders with High Impact

When the Certificate of Leadership was first offered in fall 2016, AU's undergraduate students were provided an unprecedented opportunity to develop professional skills above and beyond the knowledge gained through their chosen majors. The first group of Leadership Certificate graduates boast accomplishments that clearly demonstrate their leadership abilities to employers and graduate schools. They represent a broad cross section of majors, hailing from Pamplin College, Hull College, and the College of Science and Mathematics. Learning experiences have included participating in study away/abroad in North Carolina and Ireland, completing internships with AU’s Department of Athletics and SafeHomes of Augusta, and serving as Lt. Officer of CSI Services Group, a securities agency. Some students also complete a Leadership Experience in which they earn credit for time spent in a leadership role. Outcomes of students’ leadership include raising $13,000 for an organization fighting childhood cancer – a record for the organization, spearheading a Princesses and Pi’s event with Alpha Delta Pi to raise $30,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta, and co-founding the Augusta University Professional Sales Club to create a community for young business professionals to learn from sales professionals, network, and gain business skills. We are excited about the future of AU's emerging student leaders.

Producing Critical Thinkers

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS) provides students hands-on experience working with the questions, challenges, and processes of their discipline. While CURS celebrated its 10^th anniversary in 2018, its Summer Scholars Program (SSP) celebrated 10 years in May 2020. The intensive 9-week program provides intentional mentoring and professional development as well as experiential learning for undergraduates, increases opportunities for underrepresented students to become engaged in research and creative scholarship, and supports high impact scholarly activity to yield significant student development and research achievements while furthering AU’s research productivity. Project topics vary widely: Pain-related Depression of Behavior, Low Energy Photon Interference, Citizen Perceptions of Police, Connecting the Extracellular Matrix to Ciliogenesis, HPV Vaccination Administration by Georgia Health Care Providers, and Quantitative Analyses of African American Poetry. The SSP requires students to work 20 hours each week and provides a stipend. In the summer of 2020, nearly 60 student and faculty collaborators from a variety of disciplines participated in the first virtual Summer Scholars Program event during the pandemic. To apply, visit the SSP’s application webpage.

Growing Honors Program

Augusta University’s Honors Program provides undergraduate students the opportunity to receive advising, instruction, and mentoring from Honors faculty and staff and support to present their research at appropriate state, regional, and national conferences. The fall 2020 semester showed significant increase in students’ enrollment in the Honors Program. By welcoming 123 new students, enrollment for the program became a record high, with core courses at 100% capacity. Specifically for fall 2020, 34 students enrolled in HONR 4000H: Thesis, which shows a 78.9% increase when compared to fall 2019. Read more about the Honors Program.

Filling the Cybersecurity Workforce Gap

Through a two-year, $6 million grant, Augusta University is part of a coalition of 10 designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity that will recruit, train, and place transitioning military and first responders into cybersecurity work roles in critical infrastructure sectors. These sectors include areas of energy, defense industrial base, and financial services. The coalition will collaborate with government, nonprofit, and industry partners to align the face-to-face, online, and hybrid program pathways with cybersecurity workforce needs. Read more about AU’s participation in the National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program.

Ranking High for High Value Education

Once again, the Washington Monthly annual College Guide and Rankings highlighted Augusta University. The 2020 report included Augusta University in its list of top-25 “Best Bang for the Buck” four-year colleges in the southeast. The report also noted that approximately 30% of the AU’s students are first-generation students. In a prior assessment, Kevin Carey of Washington Monthly noted, “With a focus on in-demand jobs in the health care sector, Augusta graduates earn far more money than our statistical models predict and pay their loans back at a much higher rate, all for an affordable net price of about $10,000 per year for families earning less than $75,000.” As a destination of choice, AU continues to provide new academic program offerings to meet the needs of future students in an affordable manner. Recent programmatic additions include a Master of Science in Biological and Computation Mathematics, Master of Science in Computer Science, Master of Science in Data Science, Bachelor of Arts in Nonprofit Leadership and Administration, and Certificate in Legal Studies. Read more about the 2020 Washington Monthly rating and Augusta University’s degrees and programs.

National Recognition for Chemistry

While we already knew that the College of Science and Mathematics' chemistry degree program was top notch, it was recognized by the world's largest scientific society, the American Chemical Society, in spring 2018. Following several months of self-study, ACS evaluators visitedAU in December 2017 to assess the program's adherence to the society's standards. This certification acknowledges the program's accomplished faculty and the preparation of our chemistry graduates for technical employment. Furthermore, the national recognition of the quality of our chemistry program will assist in these recruitment efforts for high quality students.

Leading Educators to Become Innovators

In March 2018, a new leadership position was created to work with deans and academic vice presidents to develop and advance the strategic academic mission of Augusta University. The new Vice President for Instruction and Innovation leads academic support units to support faculty with incorporating high impact practices into instruction and enhancing instructional innovation to positively impact student learning. Dr. Zach Kelehear, former dean of the College of Education and scholar of arts-based leadership, was named to the position. As part of the university mission, the Division for Instruction and Innovation provides guidance and tools for instructional engagement. Part of that engagement includes the use of faculty community collaborations and advisory committee groups to meet students’ academic needs, foster student success, and support faculty growth. Sign up for the division's electronic newsletter, and find out more about the faculty community collaborations and advisory committee groups.

Recruiting for the Cyber Tsunami

With the creation of the Georgia Cyber Center located adjacent to the AU Riverfront Campus, our impact is poised to swell to tsunamic proportions. Following the establishment of the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences in summer 2017, Dr. Alexander Schwarzmann, a nationally recognized expert in computer technology whose work primarily focuses on cybersecurity of electronic voting, distributed computing, survivable distributed information systems, and fault-tolerant systems, became the school’s dean in August 2018. Additional faculty continue to be added to the school to support the rapid growth of AU’s computer and cyber sciences programs. The activities of recently recruited faculty include presenting at international conferences, serving on program committees for international workshops and conferences, and conducting research pertaining to high performance computing, parallel machine learning, data privacy in Internet of Things, applied security, etc.

Promoting Teaching Excellence

The Center of Instructional Innovation (CII) consistently seeks new, innovative ways to support Augusta University faculty. Through the Creating Exceptional Learning Spaces series, the CII provides sessions for AU faculty. In the Gamification and the Science of Motivation session, faculty learned about 16 fundamental factors that motivate us and how to use game-based learning, including game mechanics, as a way to engage students. In the Incorporating No Cost/Low Cost Materials in Your Class session, faculty learned about open education resources, such as free or low-cost textbooks, how to incorporate these resources in their courses, and about creating their own materials as class resources. Find out more about the Center for Instructional Innovation.

In response to the use of more online instruction, Augusta University provided training and launched multiple web resources to support student learning and engagement. In preparation for the fall 2020 semester, the Center for Instructional Innovation partnered with the Division of Information Technology to offer online workshops to all AU faculty and instructional staff in the summer of 2020. Through 3 one-week training units offered twice, the online workshops covered a wide range of topics, including AU-approved digital tools for instruction, hybrid and online delivery, and instructional strategies for hybrid and online learning. Eligible faculty earned up to $1,500 in additional pay per training unit completed. Faculty who completed all 3 training units earn an online teaching certification by the Center for Instructional Innovation.

Faculty Support to Increase Experimental Learning

As a part of Augusta University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Learning by Doing, the Education Innovation Fund (EIF) provides grants up to $2,000 to faculty to support undergraduate experiential learning opportunities. Addressing learning outcomes of communication, leadership, professionalism, and teamwork, these experiential learning opportunities include fieldwork, research, and service-learning. Prior EIF-funded experiential learning opportunities for students have included the creation of murals for a local school, digital marketing, and the use of DNA fingerprinting in forensic sciences. Read more about the EIF.

Expansion of Cancer Research

In December 2018, former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal joined AU President Brooks Keel and other state and local leaders formally recognized the opening of the $62.5 million expansion of the M. Bert Storey Research Building at the Georgia Cancer Center. The opening of this building signaled Augusta University and the State of Georgia's commitment to providing patients the most up-to-date cancer treatments. The 4 story, 72,000 square foot expansion adds 42 additional laboratory benches — enough to support up to 11 new cancer research teams and the dramatic connector bridge adds 68 new offices for both physicians and researchers. This bridge, becomes both a literal bridge between the Georgia Cancer Center Basic Science and Clinical Research Centers and provides improved access for collaboration and innovation in Cancer Research.

Advancing Adrenal Gland Treatment

Adrenal diseases are generally uncommon conditions, and many centers don't have specialized facilities to treat disorders associated with the adrenal gland. Georgia Senator Curt Thompson experienced this first hand when his son was diagnosed with a paraganglioma, a tumor from the adrenal gland tissue. His experience interacting with other Georgia families facing the same health challenges led to collaboration with AU Health, to establish the Adrenal Gland Center. This center, which is the only one in the South, will provide patients with access to a multidisciplinary research and clinical teams, which includes physicians, nurses, and clinical research staff. This collaborative team will facilitate the opportunity for all patients to enroll clinical trials, positioning the Adrenal Gland Center to become a major research and treatment center in the United States.

Investing in Researchers

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is funding several small grants to support the development of students, faculty, and staff. Among them is a research grant to provide seed funding for faculty whose current work focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) research, as well as a small award to promote the professional development of staff interested in expanding their knowledge, comfort, and skills in DEI, and to encourage staff scholarship in this area.

Improving Recognition of Faculty Scholarly Work

Understanding AU's research impact rests on the availability of accurate, timely, and comprehensive documentation of publications and other scholarly products. AU, as a new member of the ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier) consortium, has committed to decreasing researcher administrative burden through improvements in automation of research records searches and integrating these searches with automated updates of faculty profiles in PACT/Digital Measures. ORCID membership and integration with PACT/ digital measures improves the recognition of faculty expertise through the ability to integrate research records associated with a researcher's ORCID ID and search results in PubMed, SCOPUS, and a wide variety of literary databases.

Expanding Pilot Funding

Augusta University Research Institute (AURI) Intramural Grant Program has a long history of success. In recent years, this program, which included Bridge, TUPP, ESA, and PSRP programs provided a fourteen-time return on investment. To expand opportunities and extend funding efforts to a broader variety of research, the AURI Intramural Grant Program was simplified and consolidated in 2018. This new program provides opportunities for competitive application for pilot, bridge, translational, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research with fewer restrictions on grant application type. Additionally, the new addition of the Research, Scholarship & Creative Grant Program (RSCA) provides funding to support research, scholarship and creative activities related to the arts and humanities: computational, formal, natural, or social sciences; education; cyber and business.

Streamlining Contracts Process

Research at UA supported by outside entities and/or commercial vendors requires execution of contracts that clearly establish the rights, responsibilities, obligations, and compensation. The expeditious execution of contracts and the ability to clearly identify the internal AU entity responsible for each type of agreement is essential for efficient research processes. Supportive of this effort, the Front Door Committee developed a contract workflow checklist which identifies the responsible department for various contract types, Sponsored Programs Administration with the support of Legal Affairs developed contract templates to optimize contract language use, and DocuSign was implemented to support electronic contract routing. Finally, Sponsored Programs Administration developed and hired a new contract specialist to provide dedicated support for contract negotiations.

Supporting Interdisciplinary Research

Focusing efforts on expanding research opportunities across all AU Colleges, increasing interdisciplinary research collaborations, and growing the portfolio of research at the Summerville Campus are the priority of the Interdisciplinary Research Office. This new research office was opened on the Summerville Campus during 2018 and through the leadership of the new Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research and Manager for Interdisciplinary Research have focused on identifying new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, initiating collaborative research groups, such as the Opioid Interdisciplinary Research Group, and supporting faculty in the preparation and submission of their research grants.

Effort System

Reducing administrative burden for faculty while ensuring compliance with federal reporting requirements were primary points of emphasis during the FY 2019 implementation of a new effort system. The new system improves oversight, decreases frequency of reporting, and has greater speed and response times than prior systems. Additionally, this new system integrates directly with PSHRMS, which decreases redundant data entry and minimizes manual corrections.

Faculty-Centered Redesign of Research Website

A major redesign and reorganization of the AU Research website was deployed in 2018. This update addressed the challenge of consolidating research policies, procedures, resources, and accomplishments associated with institutional name changes and integration of research processes across the Summerville and Health Sciences Campuses. The redesign emphasized the organization of research information into thematic research areas, improving navigation, and ensuring that current versions of forms, policies, and educational material are accessible to the research community by integrating the version functionality in Box.

Additions to AU Health’s ambulance fleet allow better transport capabilities between hospitals for patients needing the highest level of care. The Mobile Care Team SUVs provide specialized care by making “old school house calls” for patients with chronic conditions who have frequent health care needs, reducing their ER visits. 

The Children’s Hospital of Georgia is dedicated exclusively to the expert care of children. We currently offer pediatric care to all 159 counties in Georgia and beyond. To learn more, read children’s stories through Pediatric Triumphs.

With AU Medical Center’s Meds to Beds program, a hospital pharmacist delivers a patient’s medication directly to the bedside just prior to checkout, helping to reduce readmission rates to the medical center. 

AU Health uses the Tru-D SmartUVC robot to disinfect and sterilize hospital rooms and other clinical areas to ensure a germ-free environment. The use of this infection-prevention technology lowers the risk of contaminated surfaces in the medical center, clinical areas, and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.

AU Health employs a Patient- and Family-Centered Care approach that fosters collaboration among health care providers, patients, and families. Read more about the four principles of this approach that AU Health practices. 

The Medical Associates Patient and Family Advisory Council and the CMC Family Advisory Council exist to support patients and their parents, family members, and guardians to ensure a satisfactory experience through enhancing the care experience, effective programs, family-centered care facilities, etc.

The Georgia Cancer Center provides the region’s only Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy program to treat adult leukemia, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and other blood cancers and disorders.

AU Medical Center provides the area’s highest level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Our PICU is one of only two in the state of Georgia.

AU Medical Center holds accreditations in the following areas:

• American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine accredited in Detailed Fetal Anatomic Ultrasound for OB/GYN
• First Stroke Center to achieve Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center status in the state of Georgia
• Nationally Certified Bariatric and Kidney Transplant Surgery Programs
• The Georgia Cancer Center accredited by the Commission on Cancer
• Only American College of Surgeons verified Level 1 Adult Trauma center in the CSRA, and only verified Level 2 Pediatric Trauma center outside of Atlanta
• American College of Cardiologist (ACC) accredited Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Only ACC accredited Electrophysiology Lab in Georgia
• Accredited Patient-Centered Medical Home for Family Medicine through the National Committee for Quality Assurance

Augusta University’s Interdisciplinary Simulation Center provides excellence in health care education and training, fosters interdisciplinary relationships and activities, and serves as a catalyst to advance health care education.

In its commitment to improve health care across Georgia, the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University received approval from its accrediting body, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, to redesign its four-year core MD curriculum to three years. This accelerated track will allow more students to be enrolled, addressing the physician shortage in Georgia.

Augusta University’s Professional Scholars Programs allow students to jumpstart their journey to become health care professionals. These programs provide excellent students the opportunity to earn their BS and MD or BS and DMD degrees in the short span of seven years.

AU Health offers same-day and next-day appointments in select clinics.

AU Health continues to expand its footprint to serve the health care needs of the community. With the most recent expansion, Internal Medicine physicians now serve the Grovetown area; additional services at the two Grovetown care centers include walk-in, on-demand care, and scheduled appointments for pediatrics and women’s health.

AU Health’s Orthopedic On-Demand Clinic at West Wheeler is designed as a walk-in clinic for all those unforeseen sports, work, and home-related injuries.

Actions are being taken to renovate existing clinical buildings, including Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals. A $62,000 grant by the Roosevelt Warm Springs Foundation to the Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals allows the historic cottage to be refurbished and to purchase special equipment for patients. About 340 patients undergo rehabilitation in Warm Springs annually for neuromuscular diseases and stroke, brain, and spinal cord injuries.

In 2019, AU Health finished a complete remodel renovation to its Adult Operating Room to improve the experience of its surgical patients.

New Campus, New School, Greater Impact

As one of the Augusta Metro’s largest employers, AU’s impact on the local and state economy has long been significant throughout our nearly 200 years in operation.

With the creation of the Georgia Cyber Center on the Nathan Deal Campus for Innovation located adjacent to the AU Riverfront Campus, our impact is poised to swell to tsunamic proportions. As one of the Center’s most prominent tenants, the newly established School of Computer and Cyber Sciences has contributed to a re-energized urban center as evidenced by the presence of JagExpress regularly shuttles crossing Broad Street toward the Savannah River.

The economic impact of this convergence of academic, healthcare, corporate, and government entities is only beginning to be felt. But anyone visiting our campuses will notice the number of cranes looming among the city’s skyline, an image that forecasts the growth of our city as well as our institution.

Expanding Ambulatory Care

Providing care in the community when and where patients need us most is important to us. By increasing presence in Columbia County and focusing on growing our primary care offerings, Augusta University will meet the demand of a rapidly increasing population. In late 2019, Augusta University Health opened its first Care Center in the region. Augusta University Care Centers are home to primary care physicians and specialists dedicated to our patients’ well-being. With a total of nine Augusta University Care Center locations, we help power the health of our community in a convenient and family-friendly environment.

Highlighting and Promoting Diversity in Our Community

Efforts of diversity reach beyond the campus. For example, the partnership between Augusta University, The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, and Paine College to form the Washington Initiative honors Drs. Justine and Isaiah Washington for the couple’s work in the community. An event that will feature speakers and the dedication of two legacy quilts will be held in the spring of 2021 to celebrate the significant impact the Washingtons had in our community. In addition, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has updated its website, which now includes a resource webpage for the community that has links to trainings, topics, and information related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prepared to Serve Our Community

After responding to back-to-back hurricane disasters in which our faculty, staff and student volunteers spent long hours caring and serving hurricane evacuees from across the state of Georgia in local shelters, the AU Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response partnered with the Office of Volunteer Services and Community Engagement to launch the AU Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The AU MRC offers AU affiliated volunteers an opportunity to serve in their community during a public health emergency or disaster, while gaining "hands-on," real-life experience in disaster relief and emergency response procedures. The AU MRC plays a critical role in emergency response and public health initiatives on campus and at the local level in our community. We partner closely with the Department of Public Health, the American Red Cross, and the Richmond County Emergency Management Agency to coordinate volunteers and resources during emergency events across our area.

Students Caring for the Community

One of the many ways that our students care for the community is through the annual “Give Kids A Smile” event in which students and faculty from The Dental College of Georgia and College of Allied Health Sciences offer oral health screenings and treatments to underserved children in our area. By partnering with the local Communities in Schools chapter, AU dental students, dental hygiene students, faculty and staff teamed up to deliver free dental care that included 102 cleanings, 96 fluoride applications, 212 sealants, 15 fillings, 4 crowns, 16 extractions and 32 x-rays. The value of the care equated to about $35,000 in dental services that the children may not have been able to afford otherwise.

Lending a Hand to a Community in Need

Undergraduate students participating in the First and Second Year Experience program focused on bringing awareness to community needs through its Cardboard City event. This event was an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to raise awareness and learn about the struggles homeless individuals – including children – face every day. Activities included creating their own cardboard “home,” packaging 170 lbs of food, and preparing more than 400 iCare packages for the Salvation Army. Participants also heard from a guest lecturer about the state of homelessness in our community and what they can do to help.

Advocating for Georgia’s Patients

Lee Ann Liska, CEO of Augusta University Medical Center, was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Hospital Association in late 2018. The GHA advance the health of individuals and communities by serving as the leading advocate for all Georgia health care systems before the General Assembly and Congress, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies. As an at-large trustee, Ms. Liska will work with the Board to develop strategies for GHA hospital members, advocate for the highest quality care for patients, and support adequate reimbursement for hospitals. GHA serves more than 170 hospitals in Georgia and promotes the health and welfare of the public through the development of better hospital care for all Georgia’s citizens.

30 Poems to Support a Nonprofit Press

For most people, writing poetry — at least good poetry — is far from easy. So imagine accepting a challenge to write 30 poems in 30 days. Anna Harris-Parker, assistant professor of English, did just that. To support the nonprofit Tupelo Press, Ms. Harris-Parker volunteered to write one poem each day through a fundraiser called the 30/30 Project - often referred to as a “poetry marathon” for writers. At first, Harris-Parker admitted that she was a little panicked about committing to raising pledges for Tupelo Press, but she quickly far surpassed her goal to support this independent press. As an Augusta native, Ms. Harris-Parker used a few local references in the poems she wrote for the 30/30 project. For example, in one poem, she wrote about the closing of Crosby’s Women Apparel, a longtime retail store on Broad Street.

Partnering with Our Cyber Neighbors

At the Nathan Deal Campus for Cyber Innovation, the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences have some pretty exciting neighbors. Current tenants include government agencies such as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Technology Authority (?), international corporations such as Parsons Corporation and BAE Systems, nonprofits such the theClubhou.se, and other educational institutions. The presence of this wide array of technology firms and professionals gives our students in SCCS programs unmatched exposure to the possibilities of their chosen field. Additionally, the proximity to these employers provides rich opportunities for experiential learning opportunities for our students. Already, we have established a partnership with Parsons – an engineering, construction, technical, and professional services firm – to implement student internships within the corporation’s Augusta offices.

Unlimited opportunity

The School of Computer and Cyber Sciences is headquartered in the Hull McKnight Building at the Georgia Cyber Center. Being a part of the Nathan Deal Campus for Innovation affords our students unmatched exposure to connect and network with an impressive group of neighbors. Current resident partners include government agencies such as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, international corporations such as BAE System and Parsons Corporation, and innovation space operated by the Clubhou.se. The proximity to these employers provides rich opportunities for experiential learning opportunities for our students. Internships opportunities are already opening up with Parsons and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with many more to follow.