Inauguration Week, taking place from April 21-26, 2025, will celebrate the investiture of Russell T. Keen as Augusta University's second president. A series of special events will mark this historic occasion.
All Augusta University faculty, staff, and students are invited to join President Keen and the First Lady for an afternoon of ice cream, coffee and conversations on the Boardman Patio at Harrison Education Commons.
Celebrate the past, present, and future of Augusta University with the traditional toast at the fountain during Inauguration Week. All faculty, staff, students and members of the Augusta community are welcome to raise their glasses to the university’s continued success and to honor new president Russell T. Keen. Following the Toast at the Fountain, all guests are invited to enjoy the AU Wind Ensemble Performance at Maxwell Theatre.
RSVP to AttendThe Augusta University Wind Ensemble is the university’s premier wind band, comprised of the finest performers on campus. Led by director Isaac Brinberg, DMA, the Wind Ensemble will perform a commemorative collection of songs. Join the President and First Lady for an evening of unforgettable sounds.
Please join us for the investiture ceremony of Augusta University President Russell T. Keen, Ed.D. The formal ceremony signifies the beginning of the next chapter of leadership for the university, and it presents an opportunity for the university and community to witness the formal installation of the new leader. The ceremony features academic traditions, speakers, music and remarks by the president.
RSVP to Attend Delegates Watch CeremonyThe President’s Brunch is a casual, family-friendly annual event during Alumni Weekend with food and activities for alumni. Admission is free and includes plenty of food and activities for children!
Register to AttendFrom 2001 until 2015, he worked at Georgia Southern University, where he advanced from director of annual giving to vice president for external affairs. In these positions, Keen secured hundreds of millions of dollars in university funding from individual fundraising campaigns and state and federal grants. His roles included vice president of governmental relations and community engagement, where he developed relationships with local, state, and federal officials to enhance the success of the university and its advocacy efforts. He previously worked as the major gifts officer at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia.
Keen, a first-generation college student, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Georgia Southern University. He earned an EdD in higher education management from UGA in 2019. His family has been part of the Augusta community for generations.
Outside of his university work, Keen serves the community as a member of several boards, including the Georgia Research Alliance Board of Trustees, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Augusta Tomorrow, the Rotary Club of Augusta, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Peach Belt Conference Board of Directors, and the Government Affairs Council of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.
Read MoreAugusta University’s First Lady Karen Keen was born and raised in Millen, Georgia, where her passion for education began at an early age. She progressed through Jenkins County Public Schools before attending Georgia Southern University as a first-generation college student and earning a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.
Two weeks after graduating from Georgia Southern, at the convincing of a close friend, Karen agreed to go on a “blind date” with a young man who had also recently graduated from the university. Within two years, she married Russell Keen and they set out to make a life together with hearts of service and the aim of creating a home full of faith and joy.
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Write or record a congratulatory message for the president to commemorate his investiture and inauguration week. These messages and videos will be compiled and shared with the president and first lady to remember this historic moment.
A commitment to effective teaching and engaged learning is our long-held mission, supported with an openness to ever-changing methods, fresh courses, modern facilities, evolving degree programs and innovative collaborations – plus hands-on, real-world, whole-hearted instruction that expands impact and access.
Research takes prominence by taking place everywhere and among everyone: in wetlands and archives, with senior investigators and sophomore classes, in health care facilities, and in our community. Our research works to expand knowledge, express ideas, enhance teaching, cure cancer, prevent cyberattacks, and more.
We are committed to ambitious enrollment growth and dedicated to channeling unprecedented resources, resolve, programming, and processes into the extraordinary growth of each of our students: intellectually and culturally, critically and creatively, professionally and personally, individually and relationally.
We strive to foster community on our campus and far beyond, cultivating a new town/gown dynamic that eclipses expectations, fuels both university and community growth, and generates reciprocity, respect, trust, opportunity, and authentic goodwill across our campuses, our city, our region, and our state.
We are determined to build a culture of greater philanthropy and financial sustainability. More importantly, we are dedicated to building relationships with alumni; benefactors from across the city, the state and the region; and career contributors who are working, building and giving right here on our campus.
